At Brilliant People, we believe that anyone can learn to lead no matter their personality type. I know, I know. We talk about personality a lot, but here’s why: Your personality determines how you show up at work. If you want to learn to lead then, you have to start by determining which strengths specific to your personality style will help you be a better leader and which areas you may need to develop. To help you along your leadership development journey, we’ve outlined 1 specific thing your DiSC personality style can begin doing today in order to be the best leader you can be.
The Conscientious Leader
If you are a Conscientious, or “C” type personality, you tend to be task-oriented, and you emphasize quality and accuracy in everything you do. You’re usually questioning and curious and have well-defined goals. As a leader, you are conscientious (duh!), objective, and dependable. These strengths let your teammates know that they can count on you to be precise and correct. But leadership is more than producing the perfect project or product. To be a leader, you have to have people willing to follow you. Which means the perfectionism that you pride yourself on may get in the way of developing good working relationships with those you lead. To lead, you have to learn to rally the troops which means understanding that humans are, well, human. They make mistakes. You make mistakes. Mistakes help us to become better at what we do, IF we take the time to learn from them.
Tip For The “C” Type Leader
Having high expectations is important. Remember that perfectionism is a state we aspire to, but never truly achieve. Focus instead on connecting with your teammates. Your teammates may have a variety of personality styles that you don’t understand. So, take the time to find out who they are and what makes them tick. And let them see into your personality as well. The more you understand each other, the better the team will operate. Which means that they’ll get closer to the perfection you seek.
Lead With The Dominant Personality
If you are a Dominant or “D” type personality you tend to be results-oriented. You make quick decisions, are direct with others, and you don’t have an issue confronting conflict when it arises. As a leader, you are dynamic and engaging, you encourage innovation, and focus on solutions. You’re also agile, a big thinker and you encourage innovation. Your teammates know that if there’s a way to win, you will find it. But don’t get a big head yet. Leading isn’t just about competition and being 1st to cross the finish lone. It involves encouraging others to work as hard as you, without intimidating or coercing them because those behaviors are destructive. To encourage your teammates you need to know what motivates them. Different personality types are motivated by different things. I know it may come as a shock, but not everyone is motivated by competition. 😉
Tip For The “D” Type Leader
To figure out what motivates your team members, you need to slow down and ask questions, being considerate of their feelings and their answers. Make the time find out how to motivate your people appropriately will ultimately get you the results you crave.
Lead With The Influence Personality
If you are an Influence, or “I” type personality, you tend to be very people-focused and a creative problem solver. As a leader you are great at rallying others to a cause or goal, negotiating conflict, and creating a caring work environment. People on your team genuinely like you because you’re fun and creative. Plus they know work will never be boring if you’re around! However, to be successful at leading, you have to move beyond motivating, creating and innovating. Accountability and producing results are just as important. So, you’ll need to learn to provide some sort of structure for the team, even if it’s difficult for you. This is no small feat for someone who is always searching for the next new idea that just might save the day, win the award, make the most money, or have the most impact.
Tip For The “I” Type Leader
Putting structure into place doesn’t have to be boring, it just needs to keep your team on track til the end of the project. So use a visual or graphic organizer for the team and yourself. Work backwards when planning to make sure you don’t miss a necessary step in your processes. Put reminders on your calendar, use time blocking, or some other method to keep you on track. The key will be to make it colorful and/or fun to keep you engaged.
The Steady Leader
If you are a Steady or “S” type personality you are probably very process-oriented, and accepting and supportive of others. You give people space to share their ideas because collaboratinon is very important to you. As a leader, you nurture the culture by encouraging teamwork and exhibiting diplomacy, empathy, and diligence. Your teammates see you as a true team player because they know they can always count on you to listen. These strengths help you to build mutual trust and respect which is critical to team building, but to be a really good leader, you also have to be agile. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that to succeed in this world, you have to learn pivot when necessary. As an “S” type, you prefer a stable environment, but stability can also breed complacency and a lack of innovation.
Tip For The “S” Type Leader
Develop a healthy relationship with change by viewing it as a prerequisite for innovation and opportunity. Your team needs to see that you are willing to set the example or at least be a willing accomplice to some new ideas and processes. This doesn’t mean you have to abandon the tried and true for the new-fangled. It just means you need to train yourself to be willing to see the value of something new when it’s in front of you.
Conclusion
Your personality type is what makes you, you. It’s your special sauce, and should help you shine as a leader, not hold you back. Continuing to only focus on your strengths will not do you any favors. In fact, the areas where you are the weakest, have the opportunity to undo all the progress your strengths have created. As a leader, you must be willing to develop and hone new skills. Obviously this takes time and patience, but hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day! To lead with personality, just start practicing the tip that matches your personality type and watch the progress begin.
The culture (r)evolution starts with you!
If you’re interested in learning how to maximize the strengths and minimize the struggles of your particular personality type, give us a call. We specialize in the diversity of personality.
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