Understanding Your Team's Personality Types (No Workshop Required)

linnearader
Aug 12
5 min read

Last week I had the opportunity to work with several teams across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Two of the sessions were Real Colors workshops. And every time I mention Real Colors, I get the same question: what in the heck is that?

Real Colors is a personality workshop. If you've heard of Myers Briggs, DiSC, or any of the other tools out there, it's similar. It's a way to explore how people think, how they act, how they communicate, and what things mean to them.

This isn't an ad to book a workshop, I promise. Just hear me out, because understanding your team's personality types might be the single most underrated leadership skill out there.

Real Colors, understanding and working with your team's personalities

Why knowing your people actually matters

Why is it so important to know the people around us? Why is it so important to know ourselves?

We all communicate differently. We all act differently. Those differences can be huge and amazing for how we work as a team. Or they can be frustrating, irritating situations that make us wonder what's wrong with everyone else.

Think of the employee who is constantly asking you questions. You're busy, and it seems like every time you turn around, there they are with another one. Are they bored? Do they not have enough to do? Are they trying to drive you crazy?

Maybe. But probably not.

More likely, it's something built into who they are. To do their best work, they need to understand every angle of the situation. They need to analyze it and land on the best possible solution for you. Give that person room to ask their questions, and you might just get the best version of the work you've ever seen. That's not a flaw. That's a highly analytical person doing exactly what they're wired to do.

"Give that person room to ask their questions, and you might just get the best version of the work you've ever seen."

Then there's the coworker who takes the basic outline of a project and disappears. You might not see them again until it's done. They grab the overall idea, they troubleshoot whatever comes up, and they figure it out on their own. You might even forget they're working on something until they show up with the finished product.

But try to walk them through the nitty gritty details, and watch them get fidgety, glance around the room, and clearly stop listening. You might get just as frustrated with them as you do with the questioner. They aren't asking a thousand questions, but they also aren't absorbing the plan you spent hours putting together.

That's a personality trait too. That person wants the freedom to get the job done their way, without a step by step plan getting in their way.

The differences that drive you crazy are usually the point

I could go on for days with examples like these. A lot of the time, the things that drive you absolutely crazy about someone, or the things you admire most about them, are just part of who they are.

That's exactly why this matters.

What if you didn't have to write a step by step guide for every single project? What if you could count on someone else to dive deep and weigh the pros and cons? What if you had someone on your team whose whole job, in a sense, was figuring out how to get things done better?

You already have these people. They might be at work. They might be at home. They might be your kids, your spouse, your friends. When you know who you're working with, everything gets easier.

"Celebrating differences and appreciating similarities is exactly what understanding personality is all about."

Celebrating differences and appreciating similarities is exactly what understanding personality is all about. That's what tools like Real Colors, DiSC, and Myers Briggs are built around. They help you figure out who's on your team. Think of it like a cheat code, and honestly, I think using the cheat code to make your life easier is a smart move.

But if a workshop isn't in the cards right now, the meaning doesn't change. You might not have a shared language for it yet, but the truth underneath is the same. People are all different, every single one of us, and we're also all the same in more ways than we usually give credit for.

4 Ways to Start Understanding Your Team's Personality Types Without a Workshop

You don't need a certification or a training budget to start figuring your people out. Here are four places to start:

1. When something annoys you, get curious instead of frustrated. The next time a coworker or family member does something that drives you up the wall, pause and ask yourself why. Did you feel ignored? Were they asking too many questions? Did they seem to miss the point entirely? Dig into what actually caused the friction, then have a real conversation about it instead of just quietly stewing. Nine times out of ten, it's not personal. It's just a different wiring than yours.

2. Ask what they enjoy, and then ask why. Find out what tasks your team members like and which ones they dread, at home or at work. The real insight shows up when you ask why. That's where you get to the underlying feelings and behaviors that actually tell you something useful about how someone operates.

3. Watch how people respond under pressure, not just when things are calm. Anyone can seem easygoing on a slow Tuesday. Pay attention to how your people react when a deadline moves up or a plan falls apart. Do they want more information, or do they want space to just handle it? That reaction tells you more about their wiring than almost anything else.

4. Stop assuming your way is the only right way. This is the hardest one. It's easy to think the person who wants every detail is overthinking, or the person who wants to just run with it is being careless. Neither is true. They're just solving problems differently than you would. The moment you let go of “my way is the right way,” you start actually seeing your people.

Learning your people is the work

Find ways to learn about your people, one way or another. Don't make assumptions based on what you don't actually know. Ask questions. Keep an open mind. Figure out what makes your people tick so you can help each of you do your best work.

Whether it's members of your family or members of your team, learning how they think and how they work will help you build relationships that last, and get a lot more done along the way.

So here's a place to start this week. Think of one person who frustrates you, and ask yourself what you actually know about how they're wired, versus what you've been assuming. Then go ask them a question you've never asked before. You might be surprised what you learn, about them and about yourself.

As always, carry social kindness with you everywhere you go. The world needs you and your positive mindset!