Types of employees and how to manage them Part 1 of 2

In this article, I’ll discuss how to approach leading diverse types of employees. Because I thought of fourteen employees this will be a 1 of 2 series. Consider this a handy reference guide, a bit of a “tongue-in-cheek” article. There are many nuances among the different types of employees you might experience. You need to be able to treat them in different ways because no two are ever the same. I am sure I missed some. What are your thoughts? What did I miss? Comments are appreciated ...

Great leaders see value in each team member’s differences and recognize that each person is unique and has unique needs. They work to bring out the best in each person, and each person feels valued, respected, and fairly treated.

1. The Narcissists

The narcissist employees have an 'all about me' mindset. How they perceive entitlement to what they want is keeping them stuck and why they need to challenge what they believe they are owed.

How to Lead the Narcissist:

• Emphasis is on teamwork, and while team members contribute in diverse ways, each person must understand the value their colleagues offer.
• It starts with the team understanding their individual and collective strengths and recognizing and valuing the strengths their colleagues bring to their position.
• Set boundaries of expected behavior so they don’t run off doing whatever they like.

2. ?The Unretired

These people who have been in the workforce for a long time can become cynical. Organizations can face unintended consequences when retirement-eligible employees remain in place either because they have not saved enough through their workplace savings plan to retire, or because their total rewards packages contain outsized incentives to stay put.

How to Lead the Unretired:

• Listen to The Unretired and pay attention to their experiences. You might learn something, particularly if they are much more experienced than you.

3. The Passive-Aggressive

Working with passive-aggressive co-workers can feel like walking a tightrope. On the one hand, you want to confront the issue head-on, but you also don’t want to alienate the people you work with. Most importantly, don’t fall into the same behavior as a retaliation tactic. By taking the high road, you’ll be more likely to foster a team atmosphere that supports transparency and constructive feedback.

How to Lead the Passive-Aggressive:

• First and foremost, keep calm, and don’t lose your composure. I know they can be challenging.
• Deal with passive-aggressive behavior straight away, so that it doesn't escalate. Make notes on situations as they occur, so that you have specific examples of what your team member has done, so they know exactly what you're talking about.
• Make sure you encourage open, two-way communication and provide training so that they can air their views and become comfortable addressing issues in a non-passive-aggressive way.

4. The High Achievers

Isn't working with high achievers great, or is it not? Perfectionism is a trait commonly found in health professionals such as #clinicalresearch. A relationship has been established between perfectionism, stress, and burnout among psychologists and doctors. They want to be challenged with new and exciting tasks. Companies value self-starter employees who can work independently with minimal direction from supervisors. They might even want your job one day.

How to Lead the High Achievers:

• Encourage their collaboration.
• To Prevent Burnout, Stop Micromanaging and Give More Autonomy.
• While they are with you, see if you can help them develop new skills that will stand with them in the years to come.

5. The Introverts

Being introverted has to do with how you gather power. You might be introverted if you’re energized by solo time and feel drained after prolonged social interactions. This isn’t necessarily the same as shyness.

How to Lead The Introverts:

• Give them a heads-up that you'd like to discuss a particular topic and schedule time to do so. Provide quiet spaces for them to recharge. This will allow introverts for some quiet time to be more productive. Send meeting agendas in advance and ask for written responses to questions you may cover. (Source: Forbes - How To Lead Introverts In An Extroverted World Aug 11, 2023)

6. The Doers

Doers are efficient, detail-oriented, and highly skilled. They get things done and don’t let anything stand in their way. They show high levels of intrinsic motivation and take pride in a job well done. They have a record of success a mile long and, although they might not always be in the spotlight, are highly sought after in their fields.

Sound like you? Great! You can stop reading now and get back to work. If not, it’s understandable. We aren’t all natural doers — just like we aren’t all natural leaders. The good news is, that just as we can hone our leadership skills, we can hone our “doers” skills.

The Doers just do whatever they like. They jump into tasks with energy, but ONLY when it interests them and ONLY them.

How to Lead The Doer:

• One way to set clear expectations is by setting objectives and key results. This is behavior modification is a psychotherapeutic intervention primarily used to eliminate or reduce maladaptive behaviors. This reinforces consequences if they choose to ignore your priorities. Reward good behavior if you want to help people improve or change. Criticizing or punishing bad behavior is counterproductive.

7. The Uncaring

There's a new term for clocking in and doing the bare minimum at work: "quiet quitting."

"People see 'quiet' and 'quitting' and they think it's about quitting, but what quiet quitting means is someone who has decided, 'I want to prioritize my well-being overall and things outside of work'," Elise Freedman, senior client partner at consulting firm Korn Ferry, told CBS MoneyWatch.

Quiet quitting is when employees continue to put in the minimum amount of effort to keep their jobs but don't go the extra mile for their employer. This might mean not speaking up in meetings, not volunteering for tasks, and refusing to work overtime. It might also result in greater absenteeism.

How to Lead The Uncaring:

• Speak privately with The Uncaring to see whether they have an ambition issue, or whether they just aren’t a “work person”. If it’s an ambition problem, it might be worth finding a career coach to see how they could be better engaged with work.

I didn't want to overwhelm anyone, so this will be a two-part series. See you soon ... Be good and be safe. Happy Holidays!

#clinicalresearch #clinicaltrials #clinicaloperations #biotech #pharma