Teams that understand their members' personalities can communicate more effectively, resolve conflicts constructively, and leverage diverse strengths for better results.
Why Personality Matters in Teams
Different personality types bring different perspectives and capabilities:
Building Balanced Teams
Effective teams typically benefit from a mix of personality types:
Vision and Strategy
Intuitive types (N) excel at seeing possibilities and long-term implications. They help teams think beyond immediate constraints.
Implementation and Detail
Sensing types (S) focus on practical realities and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. They ground ambitious visions in actionable steps.
Logical Analysis
Thinking types (T) provide objective evaluation and help teams make tough decisions based on facts and logic.
People and Values
Feeling types (F) consider the human impact of decisions and help maintain team harmony and motivation.
Practical Applications
1. Team Mapping
Have all team members complete a personality assessment and create a visual map of the team's composition. Identify potential gaps or over-concentrations.
2. Communication Agreements
Establish norms that accommodate different preferences. For example, provide agendas in advance for introverts while allowing time for discussion for extraverts.
3. Role Assignment
Consider personality fit when assigning tasks. Detail-oriented work may suit sensors, while brainstorming sessions energize intuitives.
4. Conflict Navigation
When conflicts arise, consider whether personality differences are at play. Reframe disagreements as different perspectives rather than personal attacks.
Cautions
While personality insights are valuable, avoid:
The goal is to understand and appreciate differences, not to create boxes that constrain people's potential.