Are You One of These Four Employees Who Make or Break a Meeting?

In his book "Meetings Suck," Cameron Herold highlights the various personality types that frequently emerge in meeting rooms. Do you usually express your opinions or quietly listen to others present? Have you ever been surprised to see others always reacting very quickly to the information they receive, while it takes you a moment to process it?

Understanding these personalities can significantly improve the effectiveness of your meetings and foster a collaborative environment. You can also better manage these individuals' dynamics more effectively, making meetings less of a chore and more of a productive experience.

Read more: Psychometric vs. Personality Assessments - Are They the Same?

Table of Contents:?

• The Dominant
• The Expressive
• The Analytical
• The Amiable
• How to Manage the Four Strong Personalities in Meetings

1. The Dominant

The Dominant's personalities are fierce and assertive. They often display an undeniable confidence that drives them into leadership roles.

The Dominant possesses remarkable decisiveness, which can propel discussions forward and energise action. However, this strength can sometimes veer into aggression, leaving others feeling overshadowed or uncomfortable.

Read more:?5 Prime Examples of High Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the Workplace

Pros

• Leadership: Step naturally into leadership roles, steering discussions and motivating the team towards shared goals.
• Efficiency: Their relentless focus on outcomes leads to quick decision-making, enabling the team to tackle challenges head-on.
• Confidence: They inspire trust and assurance in their colleagues, guiding the meeting towards actionable and realistic goals.

Cons

• Overpowering: Their strong presence can overshadow quieter personalities, creating an atmosphere where some may hesitate to share their thoughts.
• Intimidation: Other participants may feel intimidated, leading to a lack of participation or voicing dissenting opinions.
• Impatience: Their focus on results can sometimes come at the expense of relationship-building and discussion depth.

Back to the top

2. The Expressive

The Expressive's personalities are the heartbeat of any gathering, exuding enthusiasm and the warmth that often turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Their vibrant communication styles inspire connection and foster collaboration, making even the most mundane meetings feel alive. However, their passion can sometimes lead to chaos.

Pros

• Engagement: Their enthusiasm uplifts discussions, inspires team members, and fosters collaborative brainstorming.
• Creativity: With an innate ability to think outside the box, they introduce innovative ideas that can reshape the team’s approach to problems.
• Social Bonding: Their warmth and extroverted nature foster deep connections, enhancing camaraderie and trust among team members.

Cons

• Disorganisation: Their tendency to wander off-topic can derail meetings, making it challenging to maintain focus and adhere to time limits.
• Emotional Decisions: They may allow emotions to sway their judgements, leading to unfounded conclusions or decisions.
• Expression Over Substance: Their flair for dramatic storytelling can sometimes overshadow critical content, leading to vital details being missed.

Read more:?The Inevitable Truth: Why Motivating Employees is a Must!

Back to the top

3. The Analytical

The Analytical's personalities pride themselves on their meticulous nature, approaching discussions with a careful eye and a hunger for data-driven insights. They are the thinkers who actively seek out deep conversations, ensuring a thorough exploration of each topic. Yet, their intense focus on detail can sometimes work against them.

Pros

• Thoroughness: Their dedication to detail enables informed decision-making, reducing risks and steering the team towards success.
• Problem Solving: They excel at breaking down complex issues and identifying solutions step-by-step.
• Insightful Questions: Their knack for asking critical questions helps uncover hidden problems, ensuring a rich and meaningful dialogue.

Cons

• Overthinking: Their meticulous nature may lead to analysis paralysis, causing meetings to stall and critical decisions to be delayed.
• Emotionally Detached: They can come across as cold or uninterested, potentially alienating team members who value emotional connections.
• Resistance to Change: Their data-centric mindset can make them wary of embracing innovative ideas that challenge conventional methods.

4. The Amiable

The Amiable's personalities are typically nurturing, supportive, and cooperative. They naturally gravitate towards fostering meaningful relationships and achieving harmony, prioritising unity over rivalry. Their nurturing spirit is a gift, yet it can also complicate decision-making.?

Pros

• Team Cohesion: Their innate ability to nurture collaboration strengthens team bonds, fostering an environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute.
• Listening Skills: They excel at genuinely listening to others, creating a safe space for everyone to voice their thoughts and ideas.
• Conflict Resolution: They often act as peacekeepers, smoothing over tensions and facilitating constructive dialogue.

Cons

• Indecisiveness: Their desire to accommodate everyone can lead to challenges in reaching firm decisions, leaving the team feeling uncertain.
• Conflict Avoidance: They may shy away from necessary but uncomfortable discussions, allowing issues to fester and remain unresolved.
• Over-Accommodation: Their tendency to prioritise harmony might compromise the effectiveness of decision-making, focusing too much on consensus.

Read more: The Dark Side of High EQ in the Workplace & How to Mitigate It

Recognising these personality types in your meetings is only the beginning; effectively managing them requires thoughtful strategies:

• Start by setting ground rules to establish clear expectations for participation, time management, and mutual respect, creating an open environment where every personality can thrive.
• Encourage inclusivity by inviting quieter team members to share their views, while ensuring that more dominant personalities allow space for others to contribute.
• Leverage individual strengths by assigning roles accordingly—for instance, let the Dominant lead discussions, allow the Analytical to provide data-driven insights, and encourage the Expressive to brainstorm creative ideas.
• Balance emotions and logic by acknowledging the feelings expressed by more emotional personalities, like the Expressives and the Amiables, while grounding discussions in data presented by the Analytical team members.
• Foster a safe environment where team members feel comfortable expressing differing opinions, particularly in discussions dominated by the Assertive.
• Finally, after each meeting, take time to reflect on what worked and what did not, soliciting feedback from all personality types to continually refine your approach.

By understanding and managing the dynamics of these four personalities, you can make meetings more productive, inclusive, and enjoyable for everyone involved. Remember, embracing each personality type can lead to well-rounded discussions and more cohesive teams. After all, meetings don't have to suck—they can be an opportunity for collaboration and collective growth!