I thought we could look more closely a the various ways managers can apply personality tests to their every day.

Personality tests should not be restricted to recruitment. So while recruitment is one of the more obvious ways, it’s not the only way.

managers personality testsWays Line Managers Can Apply Personality Tests

There are probably a lot more than just five ways that line managers can increase productivity and get better results by applying personality tests but let’s start with the big stuff for now.

The biggest challenge all line managers face is their ability to manage their people. Humans are complex and when you put two or more of them together, it gets really complex.

Have you ever encountered someone who you just didn’t get? Where they leave you scratching your head muttering “I don’t even begin to understand you.”? Well that’s most likely a personality issue.

oneRecruitment

Most of PeopleMaps clients started out by using personality reports for their recruitment process. There are some special things you should know about this however.

There is an entire library of around 40 topics dedicated specifically to recruitment. You get to design the report you want for your specific job role. This is unique to PeopleMaps. So instead of a one size fits nobody, you get exactly the report you want.

Each topic deals with a specific aspect. For instance you may have a job role where detail is really important. There is a topic that will tell you how naturally detailed an individual is. Some of us can be detailed for a short while but only a small percentage of us are naturally detailed and can sustain it for any length of time.

The report will also help you during an interview. It’s very easy for interviews to lose direction and talk about general stuff. The truth is talking to a candidate about their journey or about football doesn’t achieve very much. It rarely even puts them at ease. The reports will guide your conversations into the important areas which will probably suit you and the candidate. Let them talk about something they know about – themselves.

The reports will help you both be specific. Asking questions like “So tell me about yourself” is crushing to most candidates. You are not going to see them at their best.

twoDelegation

The very nature of being a manager means that we have people to delegate to. Whether these people are under our direct employ or whether they are outsourced workers is a bit academic. The key thing is that to be a successful manager you need to delegate successfully.

A personality report will describe for you in detail your delegation style. Most people do not understand their own style as we just act instinctively  However how we delegate is influenced by our personality. Use the delegation topic in the Recruitment Library to discover your own delegation style.

If you have staff then you will want to read their delegation topic from the Manager Library as it will tell you exactly how to delegate to them most effectively. As a manager you can adapt your own delegation style to get the best from your staff.

threeCommunication

Effective communication is important in most job roles today however it is critical in management roles. As a manager you will want to be communicating effectively.

Again you will find the communication topic in the recruitment library will explain your own natural communication style.

You may look to the Manager Library to see how each of your staff need to be communicated with.

fourTeam dynamics

Have you familiarized yourself with the PeopleMaps Map yet?

Its extremely powerful. One of the first applications of the Map you should consider is to look at your team dynamic. As a manager you should have the map in front of you and have all your team marked on the map.

This will give you a picture of your team dynamic. If you have large areas of the map with no one on it then you know you have a gap in your team.

Great teams have a good spread of representation, they are not all one sided. See what yours looks like today. You will find the map in all three of the libraries.

fiveLeadership

Increasingly we are seeing that good management is not enough. Companies want to see leaders emerging. Interestingly, your staff probably look to you for leadership too.

If you want to step up into a leadership role you should understand your natural leadership style. This is not something you want to copy from someone else. It is so tied to your personality type that you need to find your own personal version of leadership.

This is why leaders comes in all shapes and sizes. There is no prescriptive formula for a great leader. It depends too much on your personality.

You will find topics about leadership in the Recruitment Library and the Managers Library.

 

Further Reading

You may also enjoy reading about how to get a free Personality Test for job hunting.

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