We hear a lot about diversity in the Press. What a great country Australia is for embracing all our different cultures and promoting “a fair go”! But diversity at work means a different thing. How good are you at recognising diversity amongst your staff? Do you know what their strengths and abilities are? Can you get the best out of them, thus enabling the business to grow and prosper?
A lot of the work I do for businesses is to provide clarity when their management team has become dysfunctional. Each team player is at odds with the next, the team leader has no idea how to progress, and the business is stagnant.
Taking a bit of time to focus on the journey, rather than the destination, will give you the tools needed to draw out the best in each member of staff, with the end result of producing a cohesive and productive team. Stop telling them what to do, and expect them to follow blindly. Start accessing their talents, engaging their strongest qualities to achieve your goals together.
Managers complain to me that they are frustrated with their staff. At staff meetings they give clear indications of the targets expected, but meet with hostility and resistance. I suggest that, by investing their time with each individual, they might learn more about them. For instance, did they know that Phil hates being stuck at his desk all day, poring over figures and budgets, but has real people skills, and is better gathering ideas from amongst the team?
And Lucy is not only a great sales person on the telephone, but has a real ability to write. By allowing time in her job to write those business plans, she feels fulfilled, and the business flourishes. Hopefully, at interview, you have identified the best individual for the job. But have you gone deeper than that, and really tried to engage the staff member? If you find out what they love doing the most at work, you will be able to harness their talents to the advantage of the company.
And don’t forget the office clown. We all need humour and levity in our daily life, so nurturing this element of fun in someone is just as important as him being able to complete budget forecasts accurately. You will find that by offering him more of a challenge from his routine you will grow the individual, and the business.
In the 1960s the Myers-Briggs Indicator was a popular way of ascertaining the type of an individual, and his or her suitability for specific jobs. Psychologists today believe this interpretation is too simplistic, but nevertheless the principle holds good:
“Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of type can make your perceptions clearer, your judgements sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire.” Isabel Briggs Myers.
Acknowledge the type, and you will create prosperity for your business.
Are you employing “Happy Campers” or “Grumpy Grouchs”? - To learn more about this author, visit Julianne Kuhlmann's Website.
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