10
Temperamental Questions To Ask Before Fixing Your Team
In every organization, one of the great
challenges facing the average manager is the ability and intuition required to
harness the various potentials of the individual employees of the company to
achieve the ultimate organizational goals and objectives. This has become one
of the hardest nuts to crack for many corporate managers. Managing individual skills in an organization
is akin to the work of a football coach, who only succeeds with the individual
talents of the players at his disposal, when he can tactically and technically fix
his team in such a way that those individual skills would complement one
another in a proper game selection to achieve team success. Individual skills
never win a championship; it is team work that does it.
And one of the things that would help
the organizational manager to understand his team members very well, so as to
rightly fix them to achieve desired result, is to identify their basic
temperaments, especially as it relates to the vital areas of the organization.
We have the four basic temperaments in Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic and
Phlegmatic. Let me show you what to
expect from each of these temperaments, and then the choice would be yours to
make in fixing them
1.
Learning under a
tutor:
You can decide to organize a seminar or workshop for your newly-employed and
watch how each learn under a tutor. The Sanguine is the talkative type, who
would want to laugh, talk and discuss with the next fellow what the speaker has
just said, that he would not catch the next sentence. Be sure his note would
not be complete. The Choleric is the troublesome type, not taking note, but
busy quarreling with the Sanguine of disturbing everybody with his crackling
laugh. He may also accuse the Melancholy of claiming to know more than every
other. The Melancholic is the thoughtful type; he is the one that pays more
attention, writes in details, and would be ready to repeat all that the speaker
has said after all; he has got a retentive memory and attentive spirit. The
Phlegmatic is so timid he never asks questions, as he is not also interested.
2.
Obeying
instructions:
Be sure that each of these temperaments can flout your instruction as a boss;
but understanding why each of them fails to keep to the exact instruction would
help you identify your men. When the sanguine fails to keep to instruction,
it’s because of indiscipline- he simply forgot it while he was busy talking and
jesting. The choleric fails to keep to instruction out of incorrigibility- he
is naturally stubborn and insubordinate, and would always want to do things his
way. The melancholic fails in this area out of ingenuity. When he feels there’s
a better way to do it, he might shelve the exact instruction given by the boss;
to do what he feels is the right and best thing to do at the moment. The
phlegmatic fails here out of indolence. He is such a lazy bunch, that he cannot
stress himself to keep what he perceives as a hard line.
3.
Sales
Rep/Customer Care Service: In this area, the sanguine is the sociable
type-the best hand in this area, of course the reason why many of your
customers and clients keep calling. The choleric is the strict type-so strict
that no customer wants to meet him the second time. The melancholic is the
serious type- he loves the people and would be ready to show interest, but too
preoccupied with the business at hand, that he would never go the sanguine
extent. The phlegmatic is the sluggish type. Employing him in this area is to
do the work yourself.
4.
Training others: What would you expect if you’re to appoint
one of them as a team captain to train others? The sanguine is inconsistent- he
would never follow through because of his personal life of indiscipline; he
would be the first to break the rule. The choleric is intolerant-he might crush
others while doing this as he has no room for tolerating others’ inadequacies.
The melancholic, being ‘Mr Perfect’, is impatient with slow learners. His
assessment level of others, as well as himself is so high. The phlegmatic is
indifferent-it is none of his business whether the people learn or not.
5.
Keeping to
organizational standards and principles: The sanguine is compromising-he hardly
keeps to standards and principles; better count him out here. The choleric, the
moment he believes in it, courageously move on with it, irrespective of
whatever opposition that might come from colleagues or external forces. The
melancholic is careful in this regard- he doesn’t want to fail at any end-he
would not want to destroy the age-long standard of the organization; at the
same time, he would not want to sacrifice the innovative potentials on the
altar of tradition. This makes him indecisive at times. The phlegmatic here is
conventional-to him, let the status quo remain; he keeps to it.
6.
Team membership
drive:
You need a team and not individual experts! However, there are factors that
drive each of these basic temperaments to flow as a committed team member. For
the sanguine, it ego- he only enjoy to be in a team where he finds it easy to
show his ego; he loves the ‘fun way’. The choleric can only be a committed team
member if only he is in the executive class; he loves things being done ‘my
way’. The melancholy loves ethics, and where ethics is thrown into the bin, he
ceases to be a committed team member, and then resort to criticism and
withdrawal; he loves the ‘right way’. The phlegmatic is the easy going member
of a team, and would remain committed to the team, as long as there is no
pressure on him to step it up. He loves the ‘easy way’.
7.
Self-life
interest:
Every man has got a self-life interest that drives him. For the sanguine, it is
self-exaltation-he loves to talk about his achievements and greatness. The
choleric has got a self-sufficient interest-this makes him to be proud and
self-independent; he doesn’t feel he needs others to make it in life. The
melancholic is self-sacrificing-sometimes to the detriment of his own life and
family. The greatest humanitarian services the world over are undertaken by
melancholic. The phlegmatic is self-starving-in spite of his financial position,
he might still make do with an old Peugeot 404 and a two-room apartment; and it
doesn’t move him.
8.
Power of control: If you give
each of them power, how do you expect them to get others to subordinate to
them? The sanguine employs his natural power of influence to carry others
along; and they gladly follow him. The choleric employs the power of
intimidation-to him, if you handle them with a kid’s glove, you’ve lost your
authority as a leader; and the people fearfully follow him. The melancholic
employs the power of involvement to carry his people along-he never asks them
to go the way, without first going it; and with that, they respectfully follow
him. The phlegmatic employ the power of indifference-he allows every one to do
as he pleases, at least to allow him enjoy his peace- with this attitude; he
has more sycophant followers than others, as they sarcastically follow him.
9.
Leadership trait: The sanguine
as leader cooperates freely with his people- to him; he doesn’t lose anything
for coming so low. The choleric controls from top- no rival, no objection; his
instructions are law. The melancholic consecrates to the core. He pays higher
price in leadership than others combined. He labours more than the people he is
leading; and he finds joy doing just that. The phlegmatic condescends authority
to those under him; that is why it is very easy for cabals to take over the
government of a phlegmatic in a very subtle way; after all, he is not too
interested in power and position.
10.
Ultimate goal: Each of your
man in the team has an ultimate goal; get it. For the sanguine, it is
popularity; give it to him, and he is satisfied. For the choleric, it is power;
until he gets it, he is not satisfied. For the melancholic, it is perfection;
without this, he is happy, he is not satisfied. For the phlegmatic, it is
peace; anything that guarantees peace appeals to him, even in compromise.
Please, add your own point.
No comments:
Post a Comment