How Psychology can make you a Better Boss?

Identify the Types of Employees

The Believer

Every employer's dream — the believer — is dedicated, committed and loves his job. Such employees are utterly motivated and give their heart and soul to their work. Their innate element of loyalty to the company and the team binds him to the organisation. Believers have a way of getting jobs done effortlessly, inspiring their colleagues and giving their best to every task at hand.

Management strategy:Management should not take them for granted, and instead, nurture and encourage them.

The soldier

Dedicated and committed, the soldier is the most bankable type of employee. Give him a task and consider it done. Soldiers show unstinting loyalty to their companies and often stick around at their jobs for years. While their stability is a benefit, they can be hard to manage during times of change. Soldiers make great team players but may lack leadership skills. Organisations love soldiers not only due to their devotion to the job but also because of the stability they bring to an organisation.

Management strategy:Their managers must encourage them to take the

initiative rather than simply waiting for orders.

The idea champion

Constantly buzzing with new ideas and thoughts, idea

champions love taking the initiative and kick-starting projects. They love to think big, differently and proactively push innovative ideas to the fore. At the same time, they find it difficult to stay with a project while it is being executed, often jumping to other newer, more exciting ideas instead. While they are excellent at visualising and seeing the bigger picture, they tend to miss out on the finer details.Management strategy:

Such employees may seem very confident. But have have to be very carefully guided since they may miss out the finer details while completing the work.

The Invisible Cog

He never misses a day of work and always tends to arrive and leave at the same time each day. He completes his work competently and spends almost no time socializing with colleagues after hours. In some ways, he’s an ideal worker. It’s hard to complain about him because he’s a functioning cog in the wheel and doesn’t draw attention to himself in a negative way.

Management strategy:Every business needs people who get the job done consistently. They

aren’t particularly creative or innovative, but they function well behind the scenes. But Invisible Cogs may have hidden talents, and as a manager it’s your task to help your solid team players grow. Offer this type of worker a development opportunity that’s more people-focused. Perhaps you can pay to have him trained in a new project and then promote him to one of the team leaders who trains others. You may discover that your Invisible Cog has great reservoirs of talent.

The Climber

Focused on making it big and impatient to rise through the ranks in corporate world, the climber can be identified in an office owing his/ her apparent thirst to be recognised. One can find them networking with people who matter and their particular interest to work on the more 'visible' projects. Climbers also tend to hop jobs frequently in their quest to swiftly climb up the organisational hierarchy. Their glory-seeking ways may cause resentment among other colleagues.

Management strategy:A leader who can harness their drive will be able to get the

best out of them.

The Brainy UnderperformerYou hired her because she was top of her class and had a resume that

made her stand out from the competition. She’s clever and picks up new concepts quickly. But in meetings, she rarely speaks, and others on the team treat her as if she’s invisible. Something is holding her back. She’s timid or perhaps has low self-esteem.

Management strategy:

Don’t give up on this employee. In her own way, she’s calling out for targeted coaching. Ask her to honestly evaluate her own performance. You may uncover a simple lack of confidence. She may have excelled in business school, but in the hardscrabble world of competitive personalities, she’s falling behind. Consider sending her to a coach who can help her develop presentation skills – thus boosting her communication techniques and confidence level. Then ask her to run a team meeting.

The Doormat

Easily bullied and pushed around, the doormat asks for sympathy but always gets the raw deal. Very often, they are new to a team and hence branded as naive.

Management strategy:Doormats need to learn to stop avoiding confrontation and

speak up when injustice is meted out to them.

Mr. Temper Tantrum

This talented employee does almost everything right. He’s creative and smart, hard-working, and reliable. But he has a sarcastic edge and is often short-tempered with his co-workers. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t respond well to constructive criticism. When you offer him feedback, he just clenches his jaw and nods, as if you’ve just given him a pink slip.

Management strategy:Point out to him that he could very easily be promoted to a management

position based on his skill set and accomplishments. However, managers need to become “people” people. They must learn how to take constructive feedback, get along with others, and intuit others’ feelings and emotional needs. Ask him to define resilience – a critical competency for your fast-moving business. Help him see that producing at the top is great – but only if he’s flexible enough to manage critical relationships.

The Splicer and DicerShe has a carefully calibrated sense of what does fall within

her job description and what doesn’t, and she is unwilling to touch anything that doesn’t. The problem is, between layoffs and new technology, everyone needs to embrace new tasks –even this talented employee.

Management strategy:

Call a staff meeting and spell out what the new expectations are. Tell your employees that they will be evaluated partly on their ability to help out in these new areas. If possible, invest in training for your workers so they can take on new challenges with confidence. If the Splicer and Dicer still resists, schedule a one-on-one meeting to find out what will help her feel more comfortable taking on these new tasks.

The Troublemaker

Troublemakers don't like their job and ensure that everyone around them is well aware of this resentment. This makes them quite difficult to handle. Their ire for the job is obvious in such signs as reporting late to work, taking time off at the drop of a hat, lagging behind on deadlines, not taking initiative and frequently speaking ill about the company and team.

Management strategy:The presence of a troublemaker on a team can be toxic. People dealing

with such colleagues should try and find the root cause behind their dissatisfaction and resentment and address it. Communicate to them that their behavior is not acceptable. Sometimes, a change of profile or team can be helpful.

The Ravenous SuperstarShe is super talented. She comes in early, works late, seems to

get more done in less time, and her ideas are smart and mostly on target. The problem is, even though she treats you, her boss, with the proper amount of deference, she is hungrier for more assignments, recognition, boss time, and training than her peers –and they resent it.

Management strategy:Find an employee whom she can mentor: someone who’s

talented and ambitious, but deserving of more attention. Put your superstar in a role where she’s not only doing her work, but she’s responsible for developing a true peer. This will help foster co-operative rather than competitive skills. Since this type of employee tends to “go it alone,” be sure she’s working closely with her protégé and not just assigning her difficult tasks and letting her flounder.

The Materialist

This is the employee who works just for the salary. They have lost their

interest in the job and lack the motivation to work. Yet, they stay put in a company because they have reached a comfortable place in the organisationand need the money to trickle in every month. He does the least amount of work possible and leaves office exactly when official working hours end.

Management strategy:Challenging as it may be, team leaders and companies should look for

ways to motivate them. A good way is to link performance to monetary

benefits.

Mr Perfectionist

This talented employee is so detail-oriented he puts you to shame. Every report he hands in is perfect, and every task he does, he does well. However, his need to dot every “i” has, on occasion, held up projects, and other employees find him difficult to work with because he’s never satisfied with their contributions. In a team-oriented culture, he’s just not a team player, and complaints about him abound.

Management strategy:

Perfectionists burn out quickly. They often enjoy less job satisfaction than their peers. Talk to this employee about aspects of his job that he finds frustrating. You might learn, for example, that a particular process is inefficient – and he can suggest a better way to get the job done. Or you might discover that he’s better suited for a different department. Above all, praise his high level of competence, but try to get him to identify aspects of his work style that delay his performance.

Think Different and Make the Difference