MISS MANAGEMENT
CAROL LEVEY | LEVEY ENTERPRISES
How to manage a team that has multiple personalities
I am a Maintenance Supervisor with a team of four. I mostly enjoy my assignment which I’ve had for about a year, but I find
that I am managing personalities more than anything else. Do you have any suggestions for handling the demands of a
prima (that’s what I said), an introvert that doesn’t talk to anyone, and a passive aggressive for my lead tech?
I
t is true that you are managing
people as well as maintenance. It’s
also true that personalities can
both compliment and complicate
our ability to build and lead an onsite
service team. The first thing that comes
to mind is a return to the basics. You
are managing performance that crosses
personality boundaries.
Often personality tendencies are
dramatized or acted out when individuals
believe that it will help them gain control.
So the first concern with building and
leading a team is that performance is what
matters. Performance standards must be
established, communicated and rewarded.
While personality can be incorporated to
enhance performance often some standards
are being ignored or avoided. If this is
allowed, then team morale will suffer.
Here’s an example - a prima gets
recognition and often gets away with
bending the rules like punctuality,
documentation detail in their files,
disrespecting a team member one minute
then expecting help the next. Trust me,
everyone else on the team notices and
responds according to their respective
personalities. The introvert goes inside
themselves making communication
and recognizing this individual more
difficult. The passive aggressive is angry
but would rather wait to set a trap for the
prima or their leader. Obviously, all these
personalities acting out do not develop a
team mentality. You need to counsel with
the team as well as the individuals. Be sure
to keep your supervisor in the loop. In your
meetings take leadership re sponsibility for
not dealing with these issues sooner.
Indicate that going forward you are
also taking responsibility to get the team
back on track with turns, response to all
maintenance requests and common area
routines; spell out expectations in writing
within a 30-day plan of action. Sit down
with individuals weekly to determine
progress. During these meeting, be
transparent and direct about your thoughts
and intentions. Document and coordinate
your actions with your community manager.
By the end of the 30 days you should
be able to determine what comes next for
each team member. As the leader going
forward, communicate sooner and keep
everyone on a performance-based plan.
Personalities will calm down with all
the emphasis on performance, pride
for team accomplishments and positive
resident feedback.
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