RULE 28

Adapt your style to each team member

Adapting your style does not mean you have to be a chameleon. It means you have to be sensitive to your team’s individuality and work with it. You may have outgoing members who like to be praised in public and then you might have quieter, more introspective members who would shrivel up and die if praised in public and prefer to be told they are doing a good job privately. There, you’ve changed your style without changing your skin, spots or personality.

I have one team member, a very good one, who does her job superbly but who absolutely hates appraisals and would do anything to get out of them. She loathes having to talk about herself in any way – and this borders almost on a real phobia. I have to change my style with her considerably when carrying out a six-monthly appraisal because if she gets wind of the fact that I’m even thinking about doing one she’ll hyperventilate and have a panic attack. And then I have another team member who greets me each morning with a very cheery, ‘How am I doing, Boss?’ Now he really likes talking about himself and would happily be given a daily appraisal – if I were to let it happen. Both team members do their job extremely well – they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t – but they do need handling in a completely different way. I want them both to continue doing good work, and I have to handle them differently to get the best from them.

Similarly, some people like to be left alone, to create opportunities and make things happen, and they will come and tell you if they need help (the bright self-motivators) and others will need you to direct their actions more and give them specific projects to do. Don’t overmanage the former – they’ll resist and they’ll get irritated (and quite possibly leave). Equally, don’t undermanage the latter or they will feel stressed by a lack of structure to their job and won’t work hard. Think about the individual. Think about what they need and what motivates them, and adapt your management style accordingly.