The quiet one.  The leader.  The life of the party.

You have all kinds of individuals in your office!  And each of these individuals acts, thinks, and interacts with others based on a set of inherent personality traits, broadly classified by psychologists as personality types A, B, or C.  These personality types encompass people’s social nature, basic temperament, and even the job tasks they gravitate toward.  Understanding the A, B, and C personality types can help managers and HR professionals adapt different strategies relating to recruitment, management style, motivation, and job assignments.

So let’s take a look at the three personality types, how to best manage them, and some examples of roles well suited for each personality’s natural attributes.

TYPE A

The Personality: Hurried, competitive, and often tense—Type A are movers and shakers.  This personality can often come across as aggressive, even hostile, in its drive to get everything done right, right now.  Type A’s usually prefer to work independently and to get right down to business.

How to Manage It: Because of their take-charge, goal-oriented nature, Type A personalities are innately suited for leadership roles.  They prefer to self-manage and self-motivate—after all, their ducks are always perfectly aligned—so woe be to the micromanager of a Type A.  Their competitive nature, both within themselves and with others, is often enough to keep themselves on task.  Performance incentives also work well for Type A’s, so they can work toward specific goals.

Key Roles: Salespeople, managers, business owners

TYPE B

The Personality: Talkative, energetic, but often distracted, Type B loves the limelight and the excitement that goes with it.  It is important for this personality to be liked by others, and for people to pay attention to what they have to say—because Type B’s can be very persuasive speakers.  Type B loves to be social, but sometimes loses focus and misses finer details.

How to Manage It: Type B’s like to have fun, and their greatest reward in the office is often a social one.  As such, this personality thrives in team settings and wherever they are free to interact with others (coworkers, customers, vendors) throughout the day.  A charismatic Type B is also the natural choice to plan office parties or administer employee surveys.  From a management standpoint, it may help to spend more time working closely with Type B employees, not only to make sure they stay on target, but to help foster a sense of belonging and collaboration.

Key Roles: Party planners, marketing specialists, public speakers

TYPE C

The Personality: Analytical, detail-oriented, and serious, Type C’s are careful about everything they do, sometimes to a fault.  This personality likes concrete things like facts and numbers, which can be verified and relied upon during decision-making.  Type C’s are typically consistent and dependable, but can also be sensitive.

How to Manage It: Type C’s are the go-to people for details and accuracy.  They do well in black-and-white or data-driven activities, where style and presentation are less important.  Motivate this personality by giving them complex, detail-oriented challenges that they can complete on their own.  (Group and leadership tasks do not typically appeal to this personality.)  Stay mindful of Type C’s time management skills, as they can get bogged down by the details—but also be careful if you criticize them.  They can be sensitive and may become resentful when angered or criticized.

Key Roles: Copy editors, accountants, computer programmers

And there you have it!  Just as not all people are created from the same mold, no one management style is ideally suited for all personality types.  Learning to understand and work with your team’s inherent personality traits will help you best apply their natural talents toward your business goals.

Now that you know how to best utilize and manage your staff’s diverse personalities, tune in to the next YES! Your Human Resources Solution blog for tips on getting this melting pot to work together as a team!