At last month’s Annual Society for HR Management International
Conference, Morris Yankell, Principal, captained the USS HRnterprise into semi-charted
territory, where only some men and woman have gone before… cue theme music!
Using the learnings from 35 years of successfully
implementing technology and process change projects as well as the teachings of
Carl Jung, Meyers/Briggs, John Gray and Men are Mars, Women are from Venus,
Personal Intelligence by John Mayer and the Holland Code for making the best
career fit for your personality, Morris spoke on the influence of personality
on career choice, communication style, ability to change, and conflict and time
management. He presented tools and
techniques to harness what we know about traits and types to better manage and
communicate.
By looking at the personality traits of those who choose
certain professionals, we begin to see patterns of behavior and can learn new
ways to be more productive. Keeping the
difference in mind is not intended to be stereotyping but to be aware of and
adapt the message and management style as needed. Many people in HR Talent Acquisition and HR
Business partner roles are categorized as Feeling Extraverts. Meanwhile IT tends to attract Perceiving and
Intuitive associates and Finance draws Sensing and Judging staff. The presentation goes into much more detail
on the characteristics of these personality traits.
At this point, Morris led a networking discussion as the
audience broke into small groups, introduced themselves based on a short script
and took a 4 question personality assessment to get a better understanding of
their own personality type and the use of personality survey tools.
The presentation then moved on to the potential preference
towards offering solutions over of listening for “Martians” and towards sharing
feelings and relationships as important as success for “Venusians”. Morris then offered suggestions to better
engage and cooperate amongst different personality types and “species”.
Some examples of how to communicate better based on these
types are:
•
Win the support of Feeling types by including
those impacted in the decision-making.
•
Hold a town hall meeting, so Extraverts can
discuss and ask questions.
•
Start with the big picture and explain the Why before
the How to provide context for Intuitive types.
•
Explain the timelines for Judging types, but let
Perceiving types know what’s negotiable.
•
Provide clear, factual, step-by-step
descriptions for Sensing types. Steer clear of vague and theoretical explanations.
Communication
and collaboration are more important than ever as we move to
multi-generational, multi-country and more diverse projects and work
teams. By better understanding how
people are predisposed, how they may perceive reality based on their personal
intellectual make up, we can hopefully better work together and achieve
success.
The SHRM
presentation was well received. Many in
attendance came forward with stories that related to their own perception of
these traits as manifest in HR, Finance and IT.
Attendees definitely benefited from the suggestions and tips to improve
how they perceive and relate to their co-workers.
You can benefit as well. Email Morris@hrcomputes.com
to receive the presentation or establish a networking phone call.
