Organizations are comprised of individuals all working together to achieve a common goal. While the three levels of influence are all at play on a daily basis, understanding a company at the individual level can lead to greater success. Each person has their own unique set of personality traits. Understanding how a person’s personality can influence an organization is extremely important when establishing teams and assigning tasks. Being able to utilize each individual’s strengths will help to promote a more efficient work environment and a happier company culture.
Let’s take a look back at Brad and his marketing team. In this case, this one individual, Brad, has a large impact on the overall culture and success of the team. Although he is one person, his inability to provide helpful, constructive feedback is a huge setback for their team. His extreme personality type should have been taken into consideration before promoting him to a position where he is responsible for such a large team. Understanding your employees’ personalities will help leaders to determine where to best place individuals to thrive not only as an individual, but also on a team.
It is important to foster individuality and ensure each employee has an opportunity to showcase their strengths. At the same time, organizational unity is equally as important. By providing clear guidelines and expectations, companies are able to create boundaries to help align employees towards company goals. Conformity in an extreme sense may be detrimental; however, when paired with a focus of supporting individuality, it creates a formula for success!
