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With the onset of the coronavirus and businesses adopting remote working models to keep themselves up and running while ensuring their employees’ safety, managers and supervisors are faced with a new set of challenges.

Much like the unforeseen circumstances brought about by the vicious pandemic, managers are putting out fires as employees adjust to working from home to maintain productivity levels.

As such, at this point, managers must employ effective and results-driven management strategies to keep morale high without hampering business operations. One sure-fire way to do that is through understanding employee personality types.

If managers can figure out what drives people and what makes them tick, they can quickly bring out the best in their employees.

Here are three personality types and how managers can use them to help the employees reach their full potential.

The Analytical 

Analytical employees value logical thinking and systems above everything. They’re cautious, sensible and most comfortable when they have a clear-cut set of rules and organized instructions to help them maneuver through projects. They’re thoughtful planners who seek the bigger picture context in each scenario.

An employee with an analytical personality needs a fair work environment devoid of any biases. They need intellectual projects that challenge them and help them thrive.

Here’s how you can manage analytical employees:

• Set up one-on-one meetings to communicate expectationsand set clear boundaries.
• Encourage them to set their own objectives.

The Controller

The controller is a “full-steam-ahead” kind of employee. They’re extremely driven to get the job done and solve problems as they come up. Their determination also makes them hard to manage, but at the same time, they’re easy to motivate. These employees are risk-takers that tend to take on complex projects and work well under pressure.

To effectively manage the controller,

• Empower them with opportunities that lead to the satisfaction of success.
• Assign challenges, tasks or projects to them that map to their skillset and values.
• Communicate that you trust them with important work.

The Enthusiast

The enthusiast is the creative engine of the team. They’re passionate about hard work and achievement. They’re also enthusiastic about working in a friendly setting where collaboration and collective learning are encouraged.

You can manage this type of employee by giving them the leeway to come up with and execute solutions based on their creative approaches. You can also…

• Give them room to work but have tools ready to keep them on track.
• Provide resources and support to help them with tasks.
• To keep them engaged, you can also loop them in on cross-team projects that need a spark of inspiration for a stalled initiative.

While all employees fall within these categories, it’s important to make sure you don’t box up your employees in a singular category. Employees with a mix of two or three personality types may require you to tweak management strategies accordingly.

The bottom line is that understanding what motivates different personality types will help you create an environment where everyone can flourish.

If you need more help with managing employees during the testing times of the coronavirus, let a Hall of Fame speaker help you out!

Steve Gilliland is a motivational keynote speaker who uses in-person and state-of-the-art virtual experiences to help organizations connect with their employees to overcome the challenges of remote work.

You can book Steve Gilliland to present a virtual presentation that will unite managers and employees. Check out his presentations and bestselling books today!