Your Team’s Differences are an Asset
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It was the fall of 2004. I was sitting across my dining room table from my new boyfriend, my now husband, the very handsome Brad Schmidt.
He was there with his puka shell necklace and his perfect, white, sparkly teeth and I was so excited. We were on one of our very first dates and I had decided we needed something interactive.
Sitting before were two pieces of plaster and a big pile of some random pieces of glass. We were going to make a mosaic.
After all was said and done, our two mosaics looked very different. Mine was perfectly structured, had a very clean color pattern and everything was symmetrical. Brad's on the other hand, was a little bit different. His was more like some random globs of glue and a piece or two of glass.
Now, they both were beautiful in their own right. It really showed me how differently people think and how true this is in the workplace.
I know that right now you are thinking of someone in your mind and thinking "oh yes, they work completely differently than I do." That's ok, we need different minds.
The problems occur when that breeds frustration, assumptions, miscommunication...but, they don’t have to. Here are 3 ways to combat those issues:
We get rid of our pride. The way we work isn't better, it's just different.
We identify those differences. There are all kinds of programs right now that will help with that. A few to consider: DISC assessment, Myers Briggs, the Enneagram.
Plan accordingly.
It helps us to move forward knowing which people need to be in what seats based on what they bring to the table.
Identify the differences on your team and you will work much better together.
If you'd like more information on the Enneagram and on how your team is different, head over to the Business Lab Podcast with Laine Schmidt and check out Episode 26 with Jen VanHekken.