Speaker 1: 0:06

Hey there and welcome back to another episode of Leveraging Operations and Leadership, the podcast where we bridge the gap between strong leadership and operational excellence. I'm your host, tanya D Harrison, and today's episode is an Ask Me Anything edition. And today's episode is an Ask Me Anything edition. Every couple of episodes, I am trying to carve out time to answer real questions from leaders just like you. Leaders who are doing it day-to-day in the trenches, managing teams, juggling strategies and doing their best to grow themselves and their team without burnout. I did one of these episodes a little while ago and it did extremely well and I got really good feedback, so I have made it a norm. At least once a month we're going to have one of these episodes. Month we're going to have one of these episodes.

Speaker 1: 1:09

I have two questions today. They are powerful questions that came in and, just trust me, these are some big ones and hopefully, if this is a question that you had, you are able to take something with you that you can apply immediately. And if one of these questions is not a question that you've had, feel free to send in your own. You can use the send by text option in the Apple podcast player, right up at the top, or you can email me at info at signal partners signal with a C partnerscom. Partners signal with a C partnerscom. You can email me your question that way. So, either way, reach out, let me know what you got and eventually we'll answer it on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 2:02

So our first question how do I manage different people with different personalities? This is one of the most common challenges for both new and experienced leaders. This is something that all leaders face, and the truth is, managing people well, it starts with understanding them. We have to take the time to understand the people that we are leading, the people that we are working with. Here are a few strategies that I recommend. The first thing is know your team, each individual person on the team. Take time to learn what motivates them, how they prefer to communicate, what their work style is, what their goals are, how they like feedback. Is it public, private? Are they analytical, big picture thinkers? You get the message.

Speaker 1: 3:00

This is why I am such a fan of one-on-ones. It allows you to get to know your individual team members on a deeper level, and I know, when you have a lot going on, a one-on-one seems like just something else you are adding to the list. I know this because that's how I felt, and then I realized the power of one-on-ones when I tell you I was able to not just build a high performing team, I was able to build teams that actually like coming to work, that like what they did, that you know were engaged, that like what they did, that you know were engaged. That's a whole nother level that you reach when you are developing teams, and that is the power of one-on-ones. So the first thing I want you to do is get to know your people. I recommend doing one-on-ones because they are truly effective and maybe you know I talk about this in other episodes, but maybe I need to do one episode specifically to one-on-ones.

Speaker 1: 4:14

The second thing is adjust, but don't abandon your leadership style or your standards. You don't have to become a different person to lead different personalities. However, adaptability is a leadership superpower. It really is. That might mean giving one person more structure and giving another person more autonomy, or one person may need more reassurance than the other, while still holding both to the same standards, because we want to make sure that we are moving in fairness, right, but you still have to be able to adapt. I have had people that were extremely sensitive. So the way I gave them feedback was different than somebody else Always respectful but I adapted it to that specific person, still gave the feedback, but I adapted it. Even if you have to write somebody up, still write them up, but you adapt it.

Speaker 1: 5:32

So number two is adjust, but don't abandon your leadership style or standards. The third thing is to communicate with clarity and consistency. The more clearly you communicate expectations and the why behind the decisions, the less room there is for confusion or misinterpretation. And this is regardless of the personality type Making sure that you clearly communicate with every person on the team. The fourth thing is that you can use is tools to support you. There are a lot of different personality frameworks out there. I work with Myers-Briggs and BTI that's the one that I'm certified in but there is this and strength finders and all of these other things that may kind of help you with understanding more about the different people and the different personalities on your team. But let me just tell you you don't need a tool if you are really developing relationships with your team. One of those tools is exactly that. It's an additional layered resource, but it doesn't replace the one-on-ones, the communication or anything else that we've talked about.

Speaker 1: 6:52

Let me say this about this question it's not about treating everyone the same. It's about leading everyone fairly and intentionally All right. So I hope that helps with question number one. The second one is a doozy, and this is a tough one what do I do when my team doesn't respect me? First, let me acknowledge that if you're in this situation, it probably feels heavy and personal and frustrating, and you're not alone. I have had my own experiences with this as well, and it happened to me early in the game, so it could have went a lot differently, but I thank God that it didn't.

Speaker 1: 7:47

But growing up, I was always taught to respect people and it's something that I feel strongly about, which is why it is one of my core values. However, let's be real. The world has shown me that everyone will not respect me, and it's not because of something I've done or didn't do, but simply because of my gender, my color or even my age. I've experienced each of these, and my first experience of disrespect as a leader was when I was promoted to a management position. I was on the younger end, I was early 20s, and I was managing people that were twice my age and they let me know it. They reminded me of it.

Speaker 1: 8:38

There were two women that really took issue to the fact that they had to report to me. They would question everything I told them and they felt strongly enough about how they felt about me to have a conversation in the middle of the floor where others could hear them. So they really didn't care and they were talking about the fact that they knew more than I did and they were doing this job when I was in Pampers. This was a conversation and they just really had no respect for me, no value for me, you know, or anything that I said. When I shared my feelings with my manager, she basically told me to handle it, but didn't tell me how, and let me just say this as a sidebar Just remember people can't give you what they don't have. If you ask somebody for a dollar and they don't have a dollar, they can't give you a dollar. Same thing with leaders People can't give you what they don't have. She did not have the tools in her leadership toolbox in order to help me through this. She was still learning as well.

Speaker 1: 9:54

I remember feeling so alone and unsupported, but I remember feeling very frustrated because I worked extremely hard and, while I may not have had all of the answers, I would always find the answer. I believe that everyone should just automatically be respected. That's how I was brought up. That's not how everyone was brought up. Here's what I want to tell you and what I learned from this.

Speaker 1: 10:20

And as I walked through this, I did some reflection. Like what did I do? Was there something that I did that may have broken the trust or the credibility? I went back and I evaluated that I respected them because that was just a matter of how I was raised. I even I even this was back in the day I even would ask people what was the best way to to address them. Do you want me to call you Ms Sheila, mr Harrison, like what? What do you want me to call you? Cause? I felt so awkward calling people by their first name, like Sheila, and, and, and I get it. It was in the workplace, but I was just still raised that way. So the first thing I did is I did some reflection, like what's up? What did I do to cause this? And that's what I would encourage you to do, the very first thing. The second thing is to address it directly. Tiptoeing around it does not help. That was I how I started. I would hear the murmuring and you know, and get the questions and I knew that they were challenging me every step of the way and I kind of tiptoed around it and I was hoping that it would resolve itself, especially after I went to my manager and she didn't have any help for me.

Speaker 1: 11:47

I decided that I was going to have an open conversation with the team and then with the individual members about what's working and what was not working. I had a general conversation with my team talking about respect, how important it was to me, and then I pull the ladies aside individually and I had a direct conversation with them aside individually and I had a direct conversation with them and I let them know that I had heard what they said, you know, and some other comments that they had made as well, and I told them that I found it disrespectful and I asked them was there ever a time that I disrespected them? And they could not come up with any and I made it clear that, just as I respect you, I expect respect in return. There is no negotiation on this, regardless of how old I am, and that was extremely helpful. I definitely would address it directly, don't tiptoe around it. If you could find somebody that can kind of help you through the wording, because I ended up going to the director of human resources, which she was a really cool lady, and I told her what I wanted to do and she helped me through some of the language and the words that I should use in order to have this conversation.

Speaker 1: 13:06

The other thing you want to do is you want to model what you want to see. One of the biggest things that I had under my belt is the fact that I was respectful to everyone. If you want your team to be respectful, you have to be respectful. If you want your team to be accountable, you have to be accountable. If you want transparency, you have to practice transparency. So you basically set the tone for your team and that's what I did. I was respectful. That's why I was able to ask them has there ever been a time that I've disrespected you?

Speaker 1: 13:39

And then the other thing is is is check the environment. Sometimes there is a lack of respect that is rooted in in deeper issues. It could be like the culture of the organization. It could be the prior manager, like before you. It has nothing to do with you, but you're walking into a space where people already feel a certain way. You want to kind of evaluate that, and it may take more conversations, it may take some coaching, it may take support from HR in different ways and it even may take shifting team composition I've had to remove people from the team and things like that. You know, really just kind of taking a look at it and thinking about that.

Speaker 1: 14:25

But the key is to focus on influence over control. That's what the core of leadership is. It's about being able to influence other people in a positive way. You can't force respect, but you can lead in a way that makes it easier for people to give it, and you can also set your boundaries about what you're going to accept and what you're not going to accept, and that needs to be clear. Those are the things that I would recommend and I would say I understand that it is a big, heavy issue to deal with and many of us deal with them for different reasons.

Speaker 1: 15:06

So there you have it Two big questions, two leadership challenges that are more common than we often like to admit. And if you've been navigating either of these, know that you're not alone and you can lead your way through it. If you want to dive deeper into how to lead a team of diverse personalities or rebuild trust and respect, I'd love to support you through the Leadership Shift Coaching Program. It is designed to help leaders strengthen their confidence, sharpen their leadership skills and navigate the demands of leading a team more effectively. You could click the link in the show notes in order to learn more. And, hey, if this episode helped you, take 30 seconds to follow the show and leave a quick review. It helps more leaders like you find us. And until next time, lead well, live fully and remember your team's performance reflects your leadership, not just your effort.