The Strengths That Each Personality Brings to Your Team

What strengths do others bring to your team?

Each person on your team brings a unique set of strengths to the table. Some strengths are a learned skill-set. Others are natural in-born strengths common to their personality type.

I conduct corporate workshops using a personality assessment platform to educate and equip teams to be effective communicators. The first half of the session focuses on understanding the natural in-born strengths of each of the 4 personality types.

It’s critical that you have the appropriate mix of strengths on your team to be the most effective at getting business results in the most efficient means possible. The natural tendency of some leaders is to hire people like themselves. This makes sense because we understand people that are like us better than people that aren’t. The danger is in creating a team that’s limited in their ability to be a high performing team as normative standards become the unspoken goal. People that are different than you challenge, sharpen and grow your team as a whole.

What are the 4 personality types and their strengths?

1. Leader-types – These are the people on your team that naturally see the big picture. They’re optimistic and visionary. They possess a high amount of self-confidence and love to lead the way to the future.

Why you want them on your team – The leaders are ready to step in and take charge. They’re quick decision-makers and results oriented. As such, they’re very efficient with time and resources. They see the vision and galvanize others to take action and move forward.

2. People-types – These are the people on your team that are great communicators and motivators. They have a natural emotional radar and sensitivity to the feelings of others. They naturally possess the soft-people skills that are so necessary when working with… people.

Why you want them on your team – By definition you may mislabel people-types as being soft. On the contrary they bring an emotional intelligence to the table that creates team unity and cohesiveness. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves and make a unique contribution to the team. The people-types are the ones that ensure everyone on the team has that opportunity.

3. Free-Spirit Types – These are the people on your team that think outside the box. They are creative, love challenges, are fun loving and expressive.  Never a dull moment when the free-spirit is in the room.

Why you want them on your team – The free-spirits are the ones that will jump at a challenge and tackle it in a new creative way. They’re innovative and up to date on the latest trends. They will ensure your team doesn’t stagnate, succumb to a group-think death or die of boredom in meetings.

4. Task-types – These people keep your team on task. Their strength is in their organizational skills. They’re dependable, reliable and thorough. They ensure that every “t” is crossed and every “i” dotted.

Why you want them on your team – The task-types remember the details that all the other types forgot. They ensure there are no loose ends or errors that     will surface in the future. They’re excellent at processes and creating order out of chaos.

One of the greatest leaders of all time, Abraham Lincoln, understood the need for personality diversity on his leadership team. In her book Team of Rivals, author Doris Kearns Goodwin describes the “interplay between personality and politics” in how Lincoln chose to staff his cabinet with his political rivals.

Choose to build your team with a diversity of personalities. Each brings a natural strength to the table that is invaluable to building a high performance team.