Over the years I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing people, some were the best in their field others were the future generation of that trade. All had the same mission, improve on the craft. As demanding and at times difficult as it was the time was not wasted or taken for granted. I knew the place I was in was where I’d learn and grow. Along the was there were many coworkers who didn’t see it the same, most wanted to “just put in their time” however my goal was to be my best.
You meet many different personalities, some kind, some not so kind, and others were just hard to get along with they were never happy. At the time it didn’t occur to me I was learning how to cope with diversity which I would use later in my career. Most days I’d come home from work tired and drained, down deep I knew it was for my own benefit. As time goes on people come in and out of your life. You develop friendship and work side by side completing each project to the best of your ability.
As an apprentice you imagine what it would be like to become a journeyman and be the one in charge. Make all the major decisions while assigning work to your apprentice. However one guy whom I became good friends with had no such desire, he was very good at his work but seemed to lack confidence in himself. We’d discuss this opportunity at lunch, but never seemed to want to make the jump. Then one day I was ready for the challenge I completed all my school, got my license and became an apprentice. I spend years listening, learning, asking questions while never being over confident.
My first assignment was to complete the project I had been working on as an apprentice, never did I expect to have my friend be my apprentice, it was an awkward moment. We sat down and discussed the situation, but my buddy was quite comfortable with the situation and we began working together, we did so for many years without one issue.
Each job got a little bit bigger as years went by and I developed more experience and became the one in charge, with not only the responsibility of the job but the responsibility of assigning work to multiple crews with many different personalities. which was a full time job in it’s self. During my apprentice years I learned different methods of getting the job done. But when it comes to delegating a particular task there can be many challenges, not everyone sees it your way, an if you take it personal you can fail.
Understanding personality types is a key element to success. Some people like to be the boss and do not work well as a team, these people must be put in a position to lead, but not in charge of others, complete work which one person can do.
Other people can work as a team and provide input as well as feedback, all is forward motion, and adds to the overall project success. Still there is another type who needs to only work on the task at hand, if too many tasks are introduced, they will fail. Getting the top performance from people is to recognize individuals strengths and identify weaknesses while keeping the project on a clear path.
Identifying personalty type is a challenge but one which is essential for growth in business. If your looking to keep moving forward, look at each individual and what they do best, assign to them what they can do within the time frame you’ve developed. Always be honest, tell the truth, never lie. At some point you’ll get backed into a corner and loose the respect of others.
In the end some people can only go so far and are unable to go to the next level. Keep them where they are comfortable while working and encouraging them to achieving more!
~Stay Strong~
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