Ingenuity and fresh ideas are essential for growth and progress within a company, and bringing the creative spirit that’s necessary for innovation to life is a team effort. Everyone needs to play a part in contributing to an organization’s advancement and goals to feel invested in bringing them to fruition. Though not everyone has the same talents, each person has individual strengths that enable them to make a difference in their own unique, important way.
You need people who can come up with forward-thinking plans as a first step, but it doesn’t stop there. You also need individuals who can translate those ideas and goals into tangible practices that can be implemented within your company. Understanding your employees’ individual personality traits and behavioral characteristics is a key to unlocking creativity and innovation within your organization.
Creating a vision and paving the way
People who are goal oriented, driven, and comfortable trying new or unproven methods to achieve results are often the ones who come up with ambitious new ideas. They enjoy taking risks and reaping the big rewards that can come with them. And they do not become discouraged by the trial-and-error aspect of formulating and implementing new plans. Rather, they see each setback as one step closer to success.
Let these take-charge, resilient individuals in on the ground floor when developing big-picture plans and high-level strategies. They are willing to press forward in the face of adversity to achieve visionary goals.
Management Tip: Since they don’t feel constrained by perceived limitations, be sure they submit their ideas to a “reality check” to make certain those ideas are attainable and realistic to put into practice.
Encouraging team support and establishing boundaries
Asking cautious employees who prefer working within clear-cut parameters to think up a brand new revenue stream or to completely overhaul existing systems could feel intimidating to them. People with these personality traits are not comfortable taking on risky ventures. They also have high standards for the quality of their work, so they want to use proven methodologies rather than chancing a mistake with untested techniques.
These employees will be inspired by collaborative efforts that ultimately help others, such as enhancing the services your business provides to clients or creating departmental initiatives that benefit the team as a whole. Rather than inventing a new set of protocols, ask them for ways to improve existing processes to enhance the accuracy and quality of the group’s collective results.
Management Tip: Encourage these employees to create stretch goals when crafting new processes and plans to help them foster a growth mindset.
Considering the feelings and weighing the facts
Employees who are socially driven enjoy working with people and often communicate in an outgoing, expressive way. They thrive when interacting with their colleagues and having the chance to bounce ideas off each other. They are external processors, meaning they often “think out loud” and talk through problems and issues with others.
These individuals may work best on group projects that center around the interpersonal aspects of business, such as setting the tone for your company’s corporate culture or developing team-building objectives. Their ability to read others’ emotions can help them find the best way to appeal to an audience, so they may be effective at assignments involving establishing your brand and building employee loyalty within your organization.
Conversely, people who are analytical thinkers often possess strong focus for tasks that require solitary concentration. They are internal processors who solve problems by investigating facts and evidence. They prefer working individually or in small groups and having the chance to expand their knowledge base. They want to become subject matter experts on specific topics. They are often reserved communicators, but they like being resources for information for their peers and leadership.
These employees may excel at projects that include extensive research, objective data analysis, and bringing a depth of knowledge to the endeavor. Because they keep conversations targeted toward the business at hand, they can effectively keep project meetings and conversations on topic.
Management tip: Ensure everyone has the opportunity to contribute their ideas. Outgoing or assertive personalities often speak up to give their suggestions. Low-key or succinct communicators might be more reserved about offering up their recommendations or ideas. They also prefer having the chance to think things over. Give those employees time to review business needs in advance so they can formulate their ideas before bringing them to the table. Also, consider meeting with people one-on-one initially.
Setting the pace
People work at a variety of tempos, and understanding the pace that each employee prefers can guide management when assigning projects and responsibilities. Fast-paced multitaskers are well suited for projects that have quick turnaround times and that have a lot of moving parts to juggle. These individuals are inspired by variety and are not overwhelmed by tight deadlines. Methodically paced individuals are patient and willing to take the time to ensure positive results. They have strong follow-up skills, so they often do well handling long-range projects that require a lengthy time commitment.
Management Tip: Because speedsters are motivated by diverse responsibilities, they can tend to start many new tasks but finish few. Ask for status updates on their assignments, and ensure they are not overwhelmed with too many activities. Persistent, orderly employees want to see one thing to completion before starting something new. Make certain they are prioritizing the most important work first, and help them pivot their focus when a new, more significant objective arises. Review project timelines regularly.
Innovation is about the entire process, from conceptualization to realization, and it takes many different personality qualities to bring that to life within your business. But how do you know which employees have which personality traits? A behavior assessment, like The Omnia Assessment, can help. Contact us today to discover how!
