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Leadership is about understanding yourself first and then exploring the difference of others and how you can best work together to achieve a shared goal.
Tips for Managing Thinkers and Feelers
As a manager, you can’t rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to motivate your team. With a mix of personalities – from rational thinkers to passionate feelers – you need to tailor your strategy to individuals’ needs.
Use these tips to get the best from both personality types.
Motivating Thinkers
For analytical and autonomous team members:
- Lead by example to showcase competency and strong work ethic. They’ll respect you more if you practice what you preach.
- Set big stretch goals to stimulate their ambition. Give them the resources and training to reach new heights.
- Use logic-based arguments rooted in data/stats to persuade them on ideas or changes.
- Allow independent work and autonomy in how they approach goals. Avoid micromanaging.
- Give direct but constructive feedback on areas to improve. They appreciate straightforwardness.
- Recognize achievements publicly to validate their hard work. Some positive reinforcement keeps them engaged.
Motivating Feelers
For relational and compassion-driven team members:
- Make personal connections and show interest in their lives outside work. This builds trust.
- Communicate goals passionately by linking to causes they care about. Inspire their enthusiasm.
- Ask for their collaboration and ideas to make them feel heard and involved.
- Provide mentorship and coaching that helps them develop professionally.
- Recognize their work publicly with sincere praise. Celebrate wins as a team.
- Promote teamwork that allows them to motivate others with positivity.
- Maintain open discussions to address concerns. Clearly explain next steps.
- Thank them privately for their commitment and dedication to the team’s success.
Balancing Logic and Emotion
Get to know individuals on your sales team. Blend rational incentives and data-driven arguments with emotional recognition, collaboration, and coaching. Tap into people’s unique motivators while establishing common goals. With versatility and empathy, you can get the best from every personality type.
How do you tailor your approach to motivate different personalities? Share your insights in the comments!
