"Leopards do not change their spots." How can managers change their style to avoid personality conflicts?

Question

"Leopards do not change their spots." How can managers change their style to avoid personality conflicts?

Answer 1

1. managers R tigers...alwaes hungree & will eet yu up without warning

& will never chaenj theer stripes.

Answer 2

There are entire industries dedicated to this subject but I'll give it a shot.

The good ones do change their style to match individual situations and people....the bad ones don't. As an example, a good manager will recognize that you cannot treat a mature, highly skilled worker the same way you treat a young, inexperienced one. In the case of the highly skilled worker it shouldn't be necessary to explain the mechanics of a job or a task but you'll get better buy-in if you explain the logic or importance of the work. For the less skilled or mature it is more important to focus on the actual task at hand. Also, you'll probably need much more guidance or oversight with the less skilled while if you tried that same approach with highly skilled workers you would probably just cause them to be less productive.

The same goes for personalities and style. It should be the responsibility of the manager to recognize that everyone does not respond the same way to a situation...some need more praise, some need to be challenged, others might want to be left alone to sort things out, some are emotional, some are not, etc. Good managers will adopt an approach that works best in each case. It's not always easy to do but you need to recognize the differences and consciously make adjustments. It's a skill like any other. It takes time and practice.

Also, you need to make sure that you are not just trying to manipulate people when you do these things. In most cases it's pretty easy or people to recognize when you're being sincere and when you're just trying to manipulate them.

If you're looking for information on some of the tools to do this there are numerous books on the subject.  You can go to Amazon and look for personality profiles or interpersonal skills management in the Business Section and take your pick.