The 'platinum rule' to managing staff

Managing different personalities in the workplace is crucial to create a healthy and positive environment. But, all of HR’s good work can be for nothing if the organisation’s leaders fail to find ways to encourage employees to thrive. Everyone wants to get the best out of their people, but there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution to managing staff, according to conference speaker and author Phil Schibeci.

It’s both HR and a boss’s responsibility to adapt their behavior in order to foster strong relationships and create tailored feedback links, said Phil Schibeci, which can be achieved with tools such ‘Extended DISC’.

Behavioural style

“It’s a behavioural style that is very simple and very easy to implement,” Schibeci said of Extended DISC, which categorises people’s personalities into four main behavioural styles:

DOMINANT

Task-driven, focused, sense of urgency, likes facts

INFLUENCE

Sociable, people-oriented, friendly, motivates others

STEADINESS

Reliable, thorough, supportive, good listener, team player

COMPLIANCE

Precise, details-oriented, likes rules, good at following instructions

If those in HR and leadership roles can identify an employee’s most appropriate characteristic, “we’re then able to adapt how to manage or communicate with that person,” Schibeci said.

“For example, a dominant person doesn’t like waffle, they don’t want to have a good chat over a coffee about a particular issue you want to discuss. They just want to focus on what needs doing,” he said. 

“The influencer, on the other hand, is the chatty type. They like to socialise and discuss things over a latte.”

Clearly, it would be valuable to know which behavioral type you’re working with when dealing with HR issues, to help you to individually tailor your communication, feedback and incentives to get the best outcomes with each employee. 

“Some people respond well to a fixed deadline, while others respond well to getting confirmation that they’re doing a good job – that positive feedback motivates them,” Schibeci said. 

“The key is unlocking what I call the ‘platinum rule’, which simply means, ‘Do unto others as they actually want to be done unto’.”

ABOUT PHIL SCHIBECI | web profile

During the last 21 years Phil has empowered organisations and individuals, both personally and professionally, to achieve peak performance in communication, public speaking and leadership. Phil inspires audiences to take control of their life and business, by reconnecting with their passion. Click here to read more about Phil’s presentations, topics, workshops and testimonials. Or contact me directly.