The Challenges of a Diverse Management Team

My passion lies in environmental sustainability. I’ve been a vocal advocate for environmentally friendly cleaning products, particularly focusing on eliminating petrochemicals in favour of probiotic and vegetable-based alternatives.

While it’s exciting to champion a cause you deeply believe in, the reality of running a successful business goes beyond passion. It requires structure, a strong team, and, most importantly, a team that collaborates effectively. Anyone who has managed a team knows this is no easy feat. Passion for a mission alone doesn’t guarantee business success.

The Challenge of Diverse Personalities

One of the greatest challenges—and strengths—of leading a senior management team is working with diverse personality types. Recently, I reflected on some of the challenges I’ve faced in this area, inspired by Thomas Erikson’s book, Surrounded by Idiots. I realised that these insights might resonate with others in our industry who are navigating similar dynamics.

At the core of Erikson’s framework is the idea that people fall into four distinct personality types, represented by colours. Understanding these types can help foster better communication, collaboration, and leadership within a team.

The Four Personality Types

Here’s a brief summary of the personality types from Surrounded by Idiots:

1. Red (Dominant)
• Key Traits: Bold, decisive, competitive, and results-driven.
• Strengths: Strong leadership, action-oriented, and direct.
• Challenges: Can be impatient, aggressive, or insensitive to others’ feelings.
2. Yellow (Inspiring)
• Key Traits: Enthusiastic, optimistic, sociable, and creative.
• Strengths: Great communicators and motivators, bringing positivity to the team.
• Challenges: May struggle with focus, follow-through, or being overly idealistic.
3. Green (Stable)
• Key Traits: Calm, patient, loyal, and team-oriented.
• Strengths: Dependable, empathetic, and excellent at maintaining harmony.
• Challenges: May resist change, avoid conflict, or have difficulty making quick decisions.
4. Blue (Analytical)
• Key Traits: Detail-oriented, logical, precise, and methodical.
• Strengths: Excellent problem-solvers, highly organised, and focused on quality.
• Challenges: Can be overly critical, risk-averse, or rigid in their thinking.

The Dynamics in My Senior Team

In my senior management team, we have four key members:

• Myself (CEO)
• Managing Director (MD)
• Finance Director (FD)
• Operations Director (OD)

Although we have other important contributors, I’ll focus on these four for simplicity. Each of us brings unique traits and challenges to the table, as illustrated below:

1. Decision-Making Speeds

• Myself (Yellow Red): I thrive on quick, creative action.
• FD (Blue Blue): Precision and attention to detail often slow decisions down—but for good reason.
• OD (Green Blue): Values harmony and may hesitate to act quickly if it risks disrupting the team.

2. Approach to Risk

• MD (Red Blue): Bold and assertive, comfortable with calculated risks but requires solid data for justification.
• FD: Cautious and data-driven, balancing the MD’s risk tolerance with financial scrutiny.

3. Conflict Resolution

• MD: Direct and assertive, which can sometimes feel overwhelming to the OD.
• OD: Avoids conflict, which may leave deeper issues unresolved.
• Myself: I often try to smooth things over, sometimes at the expense of addressing root causes.

4. Vision vs. Execution

• Myself: A big-picture thinker, driven by innovation and vision.
• MD: Shares my drive but tempers it with the need for structure and planning.
• FD: Focused on financial practicality, which can slow momentum but ensures we remain grounded.

Opportunities, Not Obstacles

These differences, while sometimes challenging, are not obstacles—they’re opportunities. The diversity of perspectives in our team fosters more robust decision-making, greater resilience, and a balanced approach to leadership.

Your Thoughts?

I’d love to hear how others have navigated similar dynamics in their leadership teams. How do you balance diverse personality types to bring out the best in your team? Let’s share insights and learn from each other’s experiences! You can email me at gary@janitorialexpress.co.uk 

#Leadership #TeamDynamics #PersonalityTypes #SurroundedByIdiots #BusinessLeadership