Winning teams get the most out of their different “personality types.”
Losing teams get stuck and entrenched in personality conflict and never reach their potential.
I’ve gotten to watch that story play out again and again over the past 20 years of observing team dynamics.
- The visionaries vs. the detail-oriented people
- The optimists vs. the pessimists (the pessimists like to call themselves “the realists”)
- The risk takers vs. the risk avoiders
- The extrovert vs. the introverts
Great teams realize they can benefit from getting a good mix out of both ends of the personality spectrum.
Most great sales people will create a huge mess and a poor customer experience without a detail-oriented back office to manage the delivery of the goods and services.
The problem is, most of us really think our style or our approach is the best way to do it. We have limited patience and appreciation for the other person’s approach.
This issue becomes even more pronounced and complicated as a family business. Not only do family members not appreciate their sibling’s approach, they have years of pent up frustration of dealing with the other person.
When you can learn to step back and look at the issue without all the history and baggage, you can begin to look with a more objective set of eyes.
Here are a few steps you can take to move past your personality:
- Don’t be so stubborn and so proud. Take a moment and bring an open mind to look for what might be valuable about the other person’s perspective.
- Call out your differences rather than hide from them. Find a simple online personality assessment or email me and I’ll give you some suggestions. It helps when you can clearly label and understand each other’s styles.
- Have a meeting and talk about it in a professional, mature way. It’s amazing what happens when you can set a tone of curiosity and learning about how to be a more effective team.
One of the 20 simple exercises in my Family Business Playbook is “Understand Our Personalities and Its Impact.” The exercise is a simple step-by-step guide to help you have a great dialogue about your style differences. Email me and I’ll send a free copy of the exercise.
Don’t let personality differences hold your family team back. Lean into the issue and you’ll be a stronger, more successful and sustainable team!
Pete Walsh is a demanding, courageous and playful Master Coach in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the founder of Peak Workout Business Coaching and the Family Business Performance Center. He can be reached at pete@peakcoach.com.
