Let’s be brutally honest: you are surely acquainted with one or more individuals that you are not particularly fond of. It may be that Rita, your neighbour, is too loud and nosey for your liking. It could be that Uncle George is overly fussy and pernickety. Or, maybe, the chatty guy at the bus stop simply does not give you good vibes.
The chances are that there is someone at your workplace who you struggle to connect and communicate with. When collaborating and rowing in unison towards the same goal, any form of discord can slow down the team’s progress on a task. Moreover, at the end of a meeting, you may feel frustrated with a colleague who has not cooperated in the way you would have liked them to.
Ultimately, talking and working with ‘idiots’ is challenging. By ‘idiots’, we do not mean a stupid or foolish person. In the eyes of Thomas Erikson, a Swedish author and lecturer, an ‘idiot’ is just an individual who has a different behaviour profile and, therefore, style of communication. For you to better understand their complex personality, it is also crucial to become more familiar with your own traits.
This article will outline how learning more about yourself can both improve your abilities as a leader and truly boost your team development. Taking inspiration from Erikson’s bestseller “Surrounded by Idiots”, we will discover how you can better connect with your staff and empower your employees.
Humans are not monothematic robots. Instead, each person has their own unique, intricate character.
In the office, workers approach and deal with tasks in their own way. Some will follow every single rule to the letter, glued to their laptop from 9 to 5. Others will instead take it a bit easier, alternating work with the odd playful chat, even on the busiest of days. As a boss, depending on your own personality, you will prefer one or the other type of employee. Are you an authoritative, rigorous leader? Or are you more people-orientated, favouring your staff’s wellbeing over the timely completion of tasks?
There is no right or wrong answer. We all have our own way of going about our business. But shaping the way you interact with your employees can do wonders for the confidence and self-belief of your staff.
Erikson categorises human behaviour into four different colours – red, yellow, green, and blue. In short, each colour encompasses a range of components that, ultimately, form an individual’s behaviour. By understanding what each colour stands for and how it carves employees’ personality, you can learn to dialogue and manage your workers in a way that truly valorises their qualities. Here is a quick summary:
With an identikit of your workers at hand, it is time to take a look at how you can both learn more about your own persona and develop your skills as a leader. Here are a few tips:
Leading a team of people, each with their own unique traits and character, is no easy task. By identifying your strongest assets and understanding your staff’s personalities, however, you can truly boost the performance of your colleagues.
So, what do you think? Will you get to know your employees better in the future?
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