Don't Let Personality Differences Get in the Way of Performance

No manager is an island. Dealing with people, in particular their direct reports, is central to what they do. And a big part of this is getting the best out of those who work for them. To do this effectively, managers need to understand their own personality and the way it differs from the people they work with. Research shows that in most situations, teams that are more diverse in personality type outperform less diverse teams, especially if managers apply personality differences positively. But where managers ignore or misunderstand differences in personality, this can get in the way of performance.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) framework is often used to help managers understand their personality and how this differs from other people. It measures four aspects of who we are:

• Extraversion-Introversion: Do people prefer to focus their attention on the outside world of people and things (Extraversion, E), or on their inner world of thoughts and feelings (Introversion, I)?

• Sensing-Intuition: Do they prefer and trust information that is practical, realistic, and based on the evidence of their five senses (Sensing, S) or do they prefer to look at connections, the big picture, and future trends (Intuition, N)?

• Thinking-Feeling: Do they prefer to make decisions based on objective logic (Thinking, T) or to make decisions based on their values, and on how people will be affected (Feeling, F)?

• Judging-Perceiving: Do they prefer to live in a structured, organized, planned way (Judging, J), or in a more spontaneous, emergent way (Perceiving, P)?

These four personality preferences combine dynamically to give an overall personality type. For example, if a manager has preferences for Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging, their overall type will be ESTJ. Each type has unique strengths and weaknesses, and no type is inherently better or worse than another. The key is for managers to recognize their type and how it influences their behavior and interactions with others.

Here are four ways in which managers can let personality differences get in the way of performance—and what they can do about this:

Communication style

We all tend to communicate with others in a way that also works for us. For example, people with preferences for Sensing and Thinking tend to want details and specific facts; those with Sensing and Feeling, specifics and details but about people; those with Intuition and Thinking, the big picture and underlying concepts; those with Intuition and Feeling, the big picture and how the situation connects to their values and to people. The first step is for managers to realize that their reports may need a different style of communication to what they would prefer themselves; communication that misses the mark can be worse than nothing at all. The second step is to avoid stereotyping. Just because someone has Intuition and Feeling preferences, this doesn’t mean that they won’t appreciate clear communication and having the relevant facts.

Using personality type as an excuse or as a limiting factor

Our personality type preferences are just that—preferences. We can all choose to act against type when we need to. It may be more difficult, it may take more energy, but we can carry out tasks that do not come easily to us. This means that managers should not use type as a limiting factor, or as a stereotype. For example, a manager may assume that those with an Introversion preference cannot excel in client-facing roles. It also means that people should not use type as an excuse when a task is clearly relevant to their job—“I did not complete the project in time because I have a Perceiving preference,” for example – and that managers should not accept this an excuse unless other factors are also involved.

Forcing everyone to work in the same way

Our personality type influences our work style. For example, people with a Judging preference generally like to start projects early, work through any sub-tasks in a structured way, and finish the project in plenty of time, allowing for any contingencies. In contrast, people with a Perceiving preference often need the impetus of a looming deadline to truly motivate them. They will finish the project in time, but perhaps just before the deadline. Judging managers may have a tendency to worry whether a Perceiving subordinate will complete the task on time, setting up artificial deadlines, micromanaging them, and thereby demotivating them—even if the individual has always delivered on time in the past. Understanding type can help a manager realise that the way in which they themselves like to work is not the only way, and that others may perform best when they are allowed to work in a way that suits them.

Undervaluing other styles

Even when managers allow subordinates to work in their own way, they may still harbor biases, favoring work styles that align with their own MBTI type. For example, an Extraverted manager may enjoy the quick responses of other Extraverts and undervalue the reflective approach of Introverts. This will result in them missing out on the thoughtful insights that those with an Introvert preference can provide and demotivate Introverts on their team.

Any tendency to undervalue other styles can be an especially important issue when the team needs to solve a problem. Ideally, the team will use Sensing to look at the facts and past experience, then Intuition to look at the possibilities and the future, then Thinking to consider the logical solution, and finally Feeling to consider values and how people will be affected. However, if a manager has (for example) Sensing and Thinking preferences, there is a danger that this process will be short-circuited, given future possibilities and people factors short shrift. Managers who understand this will force themselves, and the team, to spend equal amounts of time and energy on issues related to Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, and Feeling.

By being aware of these pitfalls, managers can avoid letting personality differences negatively impact team performance and ensure they leverage each team member’s strengths without bias.