Bring out the best in your team

Do you have employees so quiet they make you uncomfortable? What about employees so talkative they flat out exhaust you? While most individuals don’t live at the far extremes of the introversion/extroversion continuum, knowing your staff’s personality preferences empowers you to set up your team for success.

Imagine how unproductive your team would be if all of the employees were the same. While a team of introverts might sound blissful to an introverted leader, interactions that spark new ideas would be lacking, teamwork and collaboration would suffer, and communications with the public and other departments would be left wanting. On the flip side, who would listen and thoughtfully observe if your team was entirely extroverted? Who would enjoy solo tasks and long-term projects?

Capitalize on the strengths of these contrasting yet complementary personalities.

Introverts tend to be quiet, reflective observers with little need to call attention to themselves. They weigh their words carefully before speaking to ensure they say precisely what they mean. Introverts also tend to enjoy working solo. Additionally, introverts are generally well suited to large projects requiring ongoing and prolonged concentration. Introverts thrive when given the space they need for thoughtful reflection, problem solving and recharging their batteries.

Unfortunately, introverts are often overlooked in hiring and promotion decisions, as well as in meetings and discussions, leaving their insights and skillsets underutilized.

Empower your introverts by sending out meeting agendas in advance and by creating space for them to speak, not letting verbal dominators drone on. Draw them out by asking what they think or if they have anything to add. Schedule a follow-up meeting once everyone has had a chance to digest what was said, or ask staff to send additional thoughts and insights to you.

In addition, protect your introverts from nonstop interaction such as all day meetings and ongoing internal and external interactions. Guard your introverts, and they’ll be energized, productive and highly loyal employees.

Unfortunately, what brings out the best in introverts drains and discourages extroverts. Accessible, straightforward and full of life, extroverts tend to be energized by external stimuli including variety, action, sharing ideas, interacting with others and social gatherings. With their generally relaxed and confident attitude and outlook, extroverts tend to converse easily with a wide range of individuals and are generally the first to speak in meetings.

In addition to clarifying and refining thoughts as they speak, extroverts have a tendency to act first and think later. The best way to let an extrovert know they’ve been heard is to respond verbally. Otherwise, they will keep explaining what they are trying to say.

Extroverts are motivated by interacting with others; their creative juices are kindled by teamwork, group projects and collaboration. Additionally, preferring work with breadth rather than high complexity and depth, extroverts generally perform best when given a variety of tasks.

While extroverts must work alone at times, you’ll want to ensure they aren’t grinding to a halt by placing them in jobs that are isolated or by giving them tasks that keep them secluded and cut off from others.

Understanding how people are wired helps prevent introverts from viewing extroverts as shallow or pushy, and keeps extroverts as perceiving introverts as secretive, dull or uncommunicative. Collaborative, high performance environments utilize and honor the contributions of both types.

Dr. Sherene McHenry is an international speaker, coach and consultant who works with individuals and organizations who want to improve their communication and human relations skills so they can be more profitable and effective on a daily basis. sherene@sherenemchenry.com.