Boss Personality Types - Improve Employer-Employee Relationships Using the PURE System

Unifier boss personality types find disciplining their team excrutiating or avoid it altogether. While ruler boss personality types have no problem with this, they find emotional crises discomforting, to say the least. Persuader boss personality types love any excuse for a team-building exercise and hate stock-taking while examiner boss personality types hate running meetings, but love preparing for staff evaluations - all that lovely paperwork and boxes to fill in.

PERSUADER BOSS PERSONALITY TYPES

As persuader boss personality types you love working as a team (as long as you get most of the limelight) you like to be thought of as a fun boss are extremely sociable with your team members. You love any excuse to innovate (and may drive your team crazy, especially the examiners with the changes you make to keep yourself interested) but will delegate the implementation of your new ideas to your team - you're not great on follow-through. Your attention to detail isn't great either - again you can look to others (especially examiners) to help you with that.

In dealing with other persuaders be careful playing with them too much on monkey island - if you get them too overexcited you may p.o. all your other team members. They don't see this as valuable team-building, they'll see it as a great big noisy waste of time. Remember what you like, persuader boss personality types, and praise your fellow persuaders loudly and in public to get the best out of them. If you need to discipline them, do it in private with a light touch or you'll have a sulky kid on your hands.

You're not a bad fit with unifiers, since you're a people-person too, but be careful not to tease them too much. Also be careful to take their emotional problems seriously - they'll see you as flippant and uncaring if you don't pay them enough attention. Praise the unifier's caring attitude, the way they constantly think of others and are always striving to take everyone's feelings into consideration. Praise their people skills, their kindness and thoughtfulness and what an asset they are to the team. If you need to discipline a unifier, tread carefully. If you go in there too hard you'll have a weeping, emotional mess on your hands. Be firm, but kind - don't give them a reason to act like a martyr - you'll never hear the end of it and they'll badmouth you behind your back.

You also share common traits with rulers, in that you too are pretty impatient and like things done quickly (although for you it's more an attention-span deficit, whereas they are totally goal-oriented). Persuader boss personality types can get a lot done with a ruler team member if you keep it short and snappy and let them know exactly what's expected of them by when. They love to be delegated to - it makes them feel important. Praise their results and you'll get a lot out of them. Do it in public unless they're unusually shy. If you need to discipline them keep it super-business-like. Don't get sarcastic with them, but you can be straight-talking. Lay it on the line, do it quickly, let them vent if they need to then move on. They will not usually bear a grudge and if they do get mad it's probably because they're kicking themselves - it's seldom about you.

Examiners are the persuader boss personality types' weakest fit and you have to watch that you're patient with their fussy and seemingly laborious ways. They probably won't think you're funny and you need to get over that right now. Use them to do all the finicky analytical stuff that you hate - make it absolutely clear what the deadline is and compliment them on their attention to detail - praise the way they did something as opposed to the end result. If you need to discipline an examiner you need to be very precise - they will want to know what was unacceptable and why. Give them as much detail as you can - dates, times, incidents - and if you can give them a head's up that you're going to be talking to them about it they're less likely to sit opposite you like a deer in headlights - examiners aren't big on surprises. It's never a good idea to call an examiner to a meeting without having given them an agenda - their processing time is much longer than your other team members and you'll miss out on their valuable input if you don't prepare them in advance.

IF YOUR BOSS IS A PERSUADER

Laugh at persuader boss personality types' jokes, compliment them on their personal style (they're such peacocks, usually) and don't take it personally if they don't seem to be paying attention. It's never about you, it's always about them. Give them the limelight as much as possible.

UNIFIER BOSS PERSONALITY TYPES

Unifier boss personality types like to make sure everyone's happy. You might not always know the best way to achieve this and may feel frustrated, especially with examiners and rulers, who don't seem to respond to your enquiring after their families, general health etc. Discipline is your weak spot - you're afraid of hurting people's feelings and of confrontation, so this is your least favorite part of the job.

You usually get along with other unifiers in your team really well. They respond well to your supportive management style and know that you're on their side. You appreciate their loyalty and team spirit. You know exactly how to make them feel valuable and in a disciplinary situation you are kind - perhaps too kind! Make sure that your unifier team member knows what they've done wrong - don't sugar-coat the pill to the extent that they walk away thinking that you've just had "a nice chat about work". Praise their great teamwork, attentiveness to the needs of otherness and helpfulness - all the things that you like to be complimented on.

Rulers are the unifier boss personality types' nemesis. You find their impatience, fiery tempers and intolerant attitudes difficult to deal with. Just remember that these are the "do-ers" and will help you get results. Be very clear with them about what's expected by when and leave out all of the "fluffy bunny" stuff - they don't particularly want you to ask after their personal lives and will feel it is an intrusion. Stick to the facts and your ruler team members will be happy. If you need to discipline them be very direct - going all around the houses to avoid the potential confrontation will just confuse and irritate them. Explain very clearly what was amiss and then move on - don't apologize or back peddle if they get angry. Listen to their concerns, restate yours and move on. They won't hate you forever! In fact, after about 2 minutes they'll have probably forgotten all about it. Praise them for their speed, their great results and their hard work. But don't gush or they may not think you're being sincere.

Like rulers, examiners do not share your need for an emotional connection. C'mon, unifier boss personality types, you need to dig deep and be able to very clearly (no waffle) explain what they need to do - preferably write it down in a step-by-step process. Examiners love a list! Asking them how they feel will just confuse them - they don't think in those terms - asking them what they think will get a better response. When disciplining an examiner, again, you don't need to sugar the pill. Explain in detail and expect to have to provide clarification. Examiners are unlikely to diverge from a set procedure, so supplying them with a good one in the first place can avoid problems later on. Don't feel like you are insulting their intelligence - examiners are a lot happier when they know exactly what's expected from them. Praise the examiner's attention to detail and knowledge - leave out the personal stuff.

Your persuader team members are fun and sociable and you find it easy to work with them. Understand that they need to be monitored to make sure they're getting enough work done, and you unifier boss personality types should be able to accomplish this with just the right lightness of touch. Don't let them weasel their way out of a telling-off - they will use your good nature against you if you let them. Be firm, but fair and remind them of how they've let you down - a bit of guilt in a persuader goes a long way. You can do this in your gentle approach and get the job done without a fight. Praise their great teamwork in front of the rest of the team - they'll love you for it! Recognition is huge for persuaders and you're very good at it.

IF YOUR BOSS IS A UNIFIER

Treat your unifier boss personality types like human beings - ask after their kids, health and life in general. They like to be thought of as approachable, so approach them! Remember their birthday, make them a coffee and sympathise with the difficulties of leadership. Unifier bosses are really a cheap date if you know how to handle them.

RULER BOSS PERSONALITY TYPES

Rulers - you are the archetypal boss personality types - you have to be careful not to be domineering, not to watch over people's shoulders too much if you've delegated a task and not to get impatient if someone needs something explained more than once. Since you're totally results-driven you need to understand that delegation of task-types to the relevant personality types in your team is essential to get the job done. Remember - you're not good at everything, rulers, even though you think you are.

With other rulers you can generally get the job done unless you have a particularly ambitious ruler with whom you're locking horns. Be sure to keep this ruler in his or her place and make it clear what's acceptable and what isn't. Praise your ruler team members when they get great results, especially when they exceed expectation. In a disciplinary situation keep it short, sharp and clear. Just the top line is all that is necessary, as you know from your own experience. Delegate to your other rulers to keep them motivated and always stretching and learning - they'll thank you for it.

Examiners, like you, are task-driven. However, remember that they aren't as quick as you are at processing information or getting the job done. On the plus-side they are much better at attention to detail and may actually get a better result because of that. Try not to get too impatient with them - let them email you their thoughts 2 hours after the meeting to make sure you've captured their great input. Examiners need to mull over a puzzle before they can come up with a solution - again they may often come up with something better than you if you'd just give them the chance. Be detailed and specific in your praise and discipline - they need to know exactly what was good, bad and indifferent and why. Give them a game-plan for next time.

Unifier team members are the most mystifying and frustrating to you. They get upset easily, crumble under your harsh gaze and seem to care more about everyone having a nice time than getting the job done. You would do well to take a few leaves out of their book in their attention to the emotional well-being of the team. Ask after their family or pet - even just once in a while will stop you seeming like such a heartless ogre. When disciplining a unifier tread very lightly - don't beat them over the head with a sledgehammer. Accentuate what a good job they do in other areas as well as pointing out where they could have done better. And thank them for the meeting - this can take a lot of the sting out of it. Unifiers like to be valued for their caring qualities so try and pick up on these and praise them for their innumerable acts of kindness in the workplace.

IF YOUR BOSS IS A RULER

With ruler boss personality types - get out of their way if they're in a bad mood and don't take it personally if they bark at you. Get the job done on time and to budget and they will love you for it - you might not get much praise, but you'll certainly be hugely valued and appreciated.

EXAMINER BOSS PERSONALITY TYPES

You examiner boss personality types can be a little bit anal and pedantic and this sometimes doesn't go down well with members of your team. You tend to like things "just so" and would do well to loosen up a little in your approach. Your attention to detail is second-to-none, but don't forget you have great assets on your team with strengths that will compliment yours - persuaders are super-creative, rulers are extremely quick and unifiers can see dissent from the troops coming a mile off. Use them to get the job done and oversee projects to make sure they get done right.

Face it, examiner boss personality types, you just don't get persuaders. You can see that they got the job done, but you can't see their "workings out" and that bugs you. Get over it. They do so much stuff in their head so fast that you will never see the way they got there. Just accept it and appreciate that they are a heck of a lot more creative than you and that you need them. If they seem to be daydreaming they may be getting ready to leap into frenzied action - keep an eye on their general productivity and if they're not disturbing too many other people and reaching their targets then don't try to rein them in too much - that's the way to crush a persuader's spirit and ensure that he or she spends all their time working out ingenious ways to irritate you. Don't spend a lot of time explaining the minutiae of how they've fallen short - keep it fairly quick or you'll lose their attention. Praise them in front of their team members - you may hate the idea but they will love you for it.

You appreciate unifiers because they tend to get on with things with little or no fuss, just as you like it, and are generally pleasant to be around. Use them to find out how morale is in your team - as great networkers they will know exactly who's getting on with whom and if anyone is upset about anything. Although dealing with emotional issues is not your favorite thing, it behooves you to keep your team functioning at peak performance. Praise unifiers for their sensitivity to the group dynamic and for helping you to keep a tight and happy ship. When disciplining them, your calm demeanor will help assuage their fears and if you address their concerns with sympathy you can avoid emotional outbursts.

Rulers are on the same wavelength as examiner boss personality types regarding being task-focused and you will be amazed at how quickly they will get things done. Watch that they've hit every mark since sometimes they can overlook elements that seem "unimportant" to them - make sure you get the job done right. Keep disciplinary matters very short and to the point - endless detail will simply irritate your ruler team member and could lead them to think you are being vague or deliberately trying to confuse them. Your idea of clarification is not the same as theirs! Again, praise rulers for their speed and work ethic and delegate jobs to them that you know they will get done to your satisfaction faster than you can.

It's a pleasure working alongside other examiners - as long as you are both singing the same tune. Conflict, or at least disagreements, can occur if your process comes into question from other examiners. Listen to their concerns and give detailed feedback - and be prepared to take their ideas on board - remember that their ideas may be better than yours. Praise examiner team members for their attention to detail and how they've approached tasks. Watch that they complete things on time and if they fall short give as many specifics as you would like to be given in that situation. Support your examiners by making sure any persuaders aren't creating too much distraction and give them ample opportunity to prepare for meetings.

IF YOUR BOSS IS AN EXAMINER

Be prepared for examiner boss personality types' long staff appraisal sessions and meetings and appreciate the time they've taken to give you careful feedback. Back up any arguments you may have with facts and figures and you can win over these meticulous creatures.

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