10 Personalities in the Workplace (And How to Work with Each One)
The following contribution comes from Indeed, the world’s number one job website and a global leader in recruitment and hiring, with a presence in more than 60 countries. More people find jobs on Indeed than anywhere else because we prioritize job seekers, offering powerful tools to search for jobs, post resumes, research companies, and much more.
The article is written by Jennifer Herrity, an experienced career services professional with over 12 years of experience in career guidance, recruiting, and leadership positions, dedicated to helping others find their ideal job.
In a workplace, there are many types of people, and each employee has a unique personality with different strengths and weaknesses.
It is important to understand the different personality types that employees may have and how to get the most out of each one. An effective office also needs to efficiently integrate employees with unique personalities to foster teamwork and improve employee morale. In this article, we analyze different personality types in the workplace and offer tips on how to work effectively with each one.
What is a personality type in the workplace?
Personality types in the workplace are a way to categorize staff to better tailor your approach to their needs as an employee or colleague. While no two people are exactly alike, and most employees will have traits that fit into several categories, understanding general personality types and how to leverage each one can serve as a guide for working with your staff and keeping them happy and productive.
Why is it important to understand personalities in the workplace?
Employees with different work personalities can have very different approaches to work, from their preferences about how they are treated or assigned tasks to how they treat others and approach their responsibilities. The better you understand the different personality types in your office, the more accurately you can tailor your approach to daily operations to the needs of your staff. Understanding workplace personalities and tailoring your approach to each can increase the likelihood of employees staying with your company, thus improving talent retention.
10 Personality Types in the Workplace
There are many personality types among your staff, and each employee possesses unique characteristics that influence their performance.
Using personality categories in the workplace can be an effective way to conduct general assessments of your team members and provide a framework that you can customize to get the best results from each employee.
Here are some of the most common personalities in the workplace:
- The Analyst
An analyst is a meticulous and organized employee who prefers to work within a defined structure. They have determined their best working methods and like to stick to them.
Consistency is important to an analyst, and unannounced changes that disrupt their ideal approach to the day can cause conflict.
When working with an analyst, it is important to discuss any changes to their routine in advance. By notifying them well in advance of any changes to their responsibilities or procedures, you give the analyst time to determine how best to adapt to the changes, minimizing the impact.
- The Ambitious One
An ambitious person is a team member who is usually eager to advance their career as quickly as possible.
This can be beneficial in the office, as they are often willing to take on extra work to make a good impression.
It is important to observe other employees’ reactions to an ambitious person to ensure that they don’t create discomfort among those who might perceive them as overly selfish.
While hiring an ambitious person can be beneficial to the company when they seek advancement ethically, it’s also important to monitor how they try to exceed expectations so they don’t harm other employees, which could lead to conflicts that damage overall productivity.
- The Illusionist
Identifying an illusionist requires diligence and observation of staff, as their goal is to project a desirable personality image.
An illusionist stands out for making their contributions to a project appear greater than they actually are, delegating responsibilities to others and looking for shortcuts in their own work, only to then take credit for the final product.
Having an illusionist on staff can negatively affect morale, as other employees may have to work harder to take on the additional work.
By monitoring each employee’s work, you can identify when a team member isn’t doing their fair share and is trying to hide it. By addressing this situation and improving their performance, or even letting them go, overall staff satisfaction can be maintained and performance levels raised.
- The Individualist
Individualists perform at their best when given the freedom to carry out a project on their own.
Even when working in a team, they typically prefer to manage their specific responsibilities in their own way.
They also tend to prefer a hands-off management style that allows them to work as they see fit and be evaluated based on results.
An individualist who understands how they work best can be an invaluable asset to a company, delivering high-quality work without requiring too much time from management.
If an employee prefers to work alone, but their results fall short of standards, you can offer them closer supervision or the opportunity to work alongside a more experienced staff member to help them develop their skills until they can meet standards using their preferred method.
- The Motivator
A motivator is a highly energetic employee who is often seen as a leader. They believe in pushing themselves and others to achieve as much work as possible. Sometimes, this can lead the motivator to overstep boundaries and offer motivation that the recipient didn’t request and doesn’t find helpful.
It’s important to manage a motivator carefully, but they can be extremely useful.
While it’s important to ensure that other employees don’t feel pressured too far outside their comfort zone, the motivator can be helpful in increasing the productivity of their colleagues.
- The People-pleaser
A people-pleaser prioritizes being liked by as many people as possible.
In the workplace, this can mean that the people-pleaser helps others regardless of their own workload.
While this can be beneficial, as it fosters positive relationships and allows them to help other colleagues, it can also be detrimental if they take on too many responsibilities, are overly insistent when colleagues don’t need help, or avoid addressing a problem for fear of causing controversy.
It’s important to observe how a people-pleaser interacts with the rest of the staff. If there are potential problems you’re unwilling to address for fear of upsetting another employee, this can allow the problem to escalate.
If you notice a people-pleaser taking on too much responsibility or encroaching on another employee’s comfort zone while trying to help, a private conversation explaining why they should be less intrusive can keep everyone happy.
- The Perfectionist
Perfectionists always strive to deliver the best possible work. This often means great attention to detail and the ability to deliver impressive final products.
However, focusing too much on perfection can lead to delays if their time management isn’t excellent, and their high standards can also create discomfort for the rest of the team if the perfectionist interferes with their colleagues’ work and responsibilities.
When you have a perfectionist on your team, it’s important to supervise them to ensure they don’t put unnecessary pressure on themselves or others.
Offering positive reinforcement on projects can help a perfectionist feel more at ease, but it may be necessary to directly address the importance of understanding when a project doesn’t need more work to help them find an ideal balance between quality and speed.
- The Star Player
A star player is an employee who loves being the center of attention in the office.
They tend to be very talkative and don’t hesitate to highlight their contributions when discussing a project. They will often try to draw attention to themselves in informal conversations.
The artist may be one of the most popular members of the team, as they are usually very sociable; however, their personality and talkativeness can be uncomfortable for some colleagues.
As long as they maintain good relationships with other employees, they don’t need specific instructions regarding their extroversion.
If their actions create tension among the rest of the staff, you can talk to them about showing more restraint.
- The Worryer
If there is a worrier in your office, you will recognize them as someone who often appears anxious about the work they do. They need constant reassurance to ensure they are meeting expectations and delivering satisfactory results.
When you identify a potential worrier on your team, it is important to work on building their confidence.
As a worrier reduces their anxiety, they can become more independent and produce higher-quality work without questioning their actions. 10. The Employee Who Seeks Support from Superiors
An employee who seeks support from superiors exhibits atypical behavior when interacting with higher-ranking staff, compared to peers or lower-ranking employees. When speaking with management, they behave in a people-pleaser manner, while with other team members they may resemble a motivator or perfectionist, frequently offering advice and criticism.
Often, this type of employee can negatively impact staff morale, as colleagues may feel mistreated while simultaneously seeking preferential treatment.
If you notice someone seeking support from superiors, it is important to speak with them immediately to correct their behavior and emphasize the importance of mutual respect.
The 8 Most Important Personality Types Every Manager Needs (on Their Team)
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Authorship by the team.
As a manager, creating a balanced team should be one of your top priorities. With the right mix of personalities, you can cover all areas, from planning and execution to vision and design.
When you hear the term «personality types,» you probably immediately think of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
But let’s be honest, it’s not an exact science. Instead, we’ll focus more on practical traits and the roles that best suit them.
With the right mix of personalities in team members and the right roles, you can start developing team behavior that leads to success.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many personality types are there?
According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, there are 16 personality types, but following the theory too rigidly can obscure the obvious.
Eight of the most important types for business are:
– Leaders
– Planners
– Communicators
– Team Players
– Experts
– Creatives
– Innovators
– Pragmatists
How do different personality types help businesses?
While it’s important for the team to pursue the same goals, having a variety of personalities provides a more holistic perspective for each project.
How do companies work with different personalities?
One of the most common ways companies work with different personality types is through Scrum teams.
A Scrum team is made up of members from different departments who collaborate to find unique solutions to complex problems.
How can I positively influence team behavior?
As a manager, you can influence the behavior of your entire team by identifying each personality’s strengths and assigning them tasks they feel comfortable with. Incorporate extroverted individuals who foster team cohesion, and you’ll notice a significant improvement in their behavior.
- The Leader
Your leader doesn’t need to be an expert in any specific field. Their primary role is to drive progress. Leaders have a clear vision of what the final project should look like and use their problem-solving skills to address any issues that arise.
- The Leader Leaders possess a team-oriented personality and almost always hold management positions. They don’t get involved in the details of each individual task, but they tend to mentor their team members, motivating them to meet deadlines and improve both professionally and personally.
Your leaders must be able to make confident decisions, keeping the overall goal in mind, which can sometimes lead to conflict within the team. For this reason, leaders must be mediators. After earning the respect of their team, they must be able to maintain impartiality and composure during difficult times, finding solutions that benefit the project as a whole.
In short, leadership skills should encompass aspects of each of the other personality types.
For example, they need to have a good understanding, though not necessarily be experts, of the team’s objective and be able to plan a project, albeit not with exhaustive detail.
This essentially makes them generalists by nature, but their vision and influence make them a vital part of any team.
- The Planner
The planner is a perfectionist who leaves nothing to chance and brings structure to teamwork. They are meticulous with budgets and deadlines and quickly point out when a new idea doesn’t fit the scope. However, this isn’t a bad thing; it’s much better to spend time discussing ideas that are viable.
Planners are proficient with project management tools and can accurately create a task roadmap for the duration of a project.
The best planners also consider each team member’s workload and assign tasks in a way that shares responsibility equitably.
They are interested in every detail to turn assumptions into data-driven estimates and take pride in their work. However, this highly precise approach can often go hand in hand with a limited view of the bigger picture. Make sure your leader reviews their ideas before sharing them with the entire team.
During the project, their focus on punctuality can lead to frustration when deadlines are missed, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to channel this frustration into motivating the team.
When reviewing projects, the planner will look for ways to improve in the future and identify areas where they underestimated their capabilities. Their analysis of past performance will be crucial for the team’s continuous improvement.
- The Communicator
Let your technicians focus on what they do best and make the communicator the face of the team. This is the person you send to meet with new clients, speak at press conferences, and lead presentations. They don’t need to be a specialist in their field, but if they lack a solid general knowledge base, their lack of experience will soon become apparent. Due to their extroverted and results-oriented nature, communicators often spend more time making friends than learning their lines, so be sure to conduct some dress rehearsals before they enter the workforce.
But communicators aren’t only useful in an external role. They can be just as valuable in the office, handling announcements, interdepartmental collaboration, and being the voice of your social events.
Similarly, if you need someone to take notes in meetings, look no further. They can quickly synthesize their notes into a concise report and send it to all attendees.
To give
