How to pick your A-team based on personality types

Whether you are a new startup looking for top talent to help make your business a success or a new business owner that’s just inherited employees that you want to transform into effective super teams, the hiring decisions you make will shape how your organisation operates from here on out.

Get it right the first time and you can save yourself from countless headaches caused by personality clashes and a lack of structured leadership or vital skill sets. Get it wrong and you’ll have the unenviable task of trying to put things right which will cost time and money and cause significant disruption to your day-to-day operations. Do your homework now and take a look at my easy to follow guide to choosing the right people to be part of your team.

Personality profiling

One of the best ways to avoid personality clashes is to carry out personality profiling before you offer anyone a position within your business.

Personality profiling is an effective management tool for accessing the skills, values and personal attributes of a potential new hire. It is essential for forecasting how well a new member of staff will gel with the rest of the team, so it’s worth the small investment upfront for peace of mind down the line.

Leaders and doers

Too many leaders can leave you with a host of good ideas but nobody to actually focus on the execution side of the job.

Likewise, if you have too many doers in your team, your business will lack effective leadership, so exactly how many leaders and doers do you need to keep those business wheels turning?

A general rule of thumb is that your teams should be made up of one ‘leader’ or supervisor for every five members of staff, but this does vary widely from industry to industry.

I recommend that you take a closer look at how your new teams gel during the first few weeks before deciding on a definitive structure for your team. This will give you an idea of the natural leadership qualities your team already possesses and how many leaders it takes to keep things moving towards your greater goal.

If you have more than one leader in any one group, you may want to move them to a different area of your business to make the best use of their skillset.

Personality clashes

Sadly, personality clashes are bound to happen when you force a collection of people with different outlooks together.

Many trailblazers and natural leaders often have strong personalities. At times, this can come across as abrasive, which is worth keeping in mind when composing your dream teams.

When a team works in synergy productivity levels rise, so be sure to consider how your various personalities will work together in addition to how their skills may be complimentary.