Discussion Question - Group 1

[Michael Birmingham]

Below is this week’s discussion question proposed by Group 1:

Upon reflecting on the wide variety of different personality types and
styles that can be found within the workplace, what are some methods
to help bridge the gap between two different personality types in
order for both types to reach their ultimate potential? As an example,
if you were a manager, how would you foster an environment in which
you could get the most out of both introvert and extrovert
personalities?

[Chris Layton]

I would like to answer Michael Birmingham question:

As stated, people have different personalities. Their personalities
may impact the kind of work they like to do and how successful they
are at certain tasks. In order to help people achieve their ultimate
potential teams should be composed of people from different
personalities. By have strategically composed teams, tasks can be
delegated to people who excel at the particular kind of work involved
in the tasks. The more people with different personalities in the
team, the larger to range of tasks that can be preformed exceptionally
well by the group. An example of how to utilize introverts and
extroverts may be to have the extroverts working in customer services
and the introverts doing individual projects. This is just a simply
idea, but the goal is to utilize strengths.

[Leisy]

As Michael and Chris have mentioned, we could find all the different
personality types interacting at any given workplace. It's always a
challenge, not only as a manager but also as a coworker, to keep a
positive and neutral work environment that encourages all types of
individuals to express their ideas and do their share in order to
attain a common goal. As hard as it seems, it's done every day and
many leaders are born from such interactions. Motivation techniques,
workgroup, parking lot sessions, brainstorming, and an assortment of
other methods oriented to enhance teamwork could help a manager in
their effort to keep a cohesive and productive working environment. As
a manager and coworker myself, what have worked for me in the past is
to look beyond the individual characteristics, and try to understand
the reasons behind them. Accepting the differences; and later
integrating the individual as a fundamental piece in the work setting
based on their assets and their contribution to the mission; makes a
manager more human and encourages and motivates the employee. We might
all be different; but inside the organization our behavior is
determined by a common denominator that actively and continuously
levels any discrepancies.

[Edson Murguía Velasco]

I would like to answer Michael´s question:

Despite of the fact that, there are different personalities types in the workplace. It is challenging to discover methods in order to get the most out of introvert and extrovert personalities. But, I think that people who are working collaborative in projects, have more chances to success in the work environment. This is because collaborative work implies that everyone can learn something from others. So that those people will develop new skills. The primary difference between working in team and working collaborative is: When you work in a team you have an assignment to do, but when you work collaborative it means that if some body do not finish, probably the hole project will not work. Of course there some sources like brainstorms, workgroup, etc for improving the environment in the workplace, but at the end we are working for goal, not only for us, but for the company.