Let’s face it, sometimes team members don’t work out. They might lack the intelligence, experience, or skill set required to do the job. But what if you have someone with the right intelligence, experience, work ethic, and great attitude but they aren’t working out? A common mistake occurs when a person is hired for a role that doesn’t align with their instinctive strengths or may not effectively utilize those strengths. How can you fix this problem?

  1. Look for a hack. One of our clients had an employee that would not take notes and complete follow-up actions after customer meetings. Other than this, he did a great job and was well-liked. After measuring his conative strengths, we discovered the employee is resistant to rigid processes and systems. Our recommendation was to get a dictation system. After a meeting, the employee would simply dial a number and dictate his notes. The notes would then be sent via email to another employee to record in their customer relationship system.
  2. Examine your expectations. Let’s say you have an employee that requires significant information and data before taking action, but you have them in a role where they are frequently expected to take action with little information. Can this be changed? Can you give them more information or time before asking them to act? If so, examine your expectations and make accommodations. 
  3. Leadership and management strategies won’t change this. Trying to motivate, oversee, or impose consequences won’t change someone’s instinctive strengths. These tactics may yield short-term results, but long-term changes will be elusive. This is like the old adage about fitting a square peg into a round hole.  
  4. Shift tasks around. Maybe you are giving an employee tasks that don’t align with their strengths. Perhaps there are other employees better suited for those tasks. Consider shifting tasks between team members if possible.

Having misaligned instinctive strengths does not make someone a lost cause. Try these tips for productively utilizing each employee’s conative strengths.

Ready to assess your team and start running your business more effectively? Contact us today.