Combining Employee Skills and Personality Traits

This video shares an over­sim­pli­fied, yet effective, way to evaluate team members, and how to best work with them. If we group job skills into “skilled” and “unskilled,” then divide attitude into “positive” and “negative,” we can loosely identify four types and under­stand how we may help each other.

S = Skilled, knows the job and can reliably complete tasks on-time and correctly
U = Unskilled, does not complete jobs on-time or correctly (includes new or untrained team members)
P = Positive influence, focuses on fun and getting the job done, rec­og­nizes peers, shares in successes, keeps drama at home
N = Negative, openly complains about the job, pro­ce­dures, pay, or company, and position in general — chal­lenges leadership.

S/P — Influ­encer
Ask for their help and advice to improve the team. Make this person part of the planning process in their depart­ment, and you’ll have an evangelist.

U/N — Com­plainer
Eliminate this behavior by giving written expec­ta­tions with con­se­quences. Share with them how and when to voice their concerns and com­plaints. Train them.

U/P — Character
Train job skills and develop team rela­tion­ships. This is the type of employee who can help an orga­ni­za­tion grow.

S/N — Toxic
Unchecked, they can destroy the morale of an entire depart­ment. Since they’re skilled at the job they may influence many. Don’t condone this behavior by ignoring it. Give expec­ta­tions – set boundaries.

By proac­tively under­stand­ing your employees, com­mu­ni­cat­ing with them, and providing guide­lines, you’ll build a stronger orga­ni­za­tion where everyone works together more effec­tively in a positive work envi­ron­ment. If you’re in man­age­ment, what key per­son­al­i­ties and skills have you iden­ti­fied within your team, and how do you relate with them?