Balancing Humbleness and Assertiveness
When interviewing new candidates, many employers find themselves looking for traits of assertiveness, yet wanting the candidate to appear humble. It’s a bit confusing, as not everyone has a strong balance of the two. Do you learn towards one or the other in the office? Do you have to pick one or the other type of employees? Nope. Here’s how to promote both humility and assertiveness in the office:
Find niches
Sure, employees often lean more towards outgoing or shy. Consequently, you might be tempted to give each duties that only pertain to one or the other type of characteristic. What may work better, is to focus on each employee’s niche. Maybe you have an outgoing employee for is actually much better at strategic planning than generally leading a meeting. Or maybe you have a quieter employee who is great at monitoring team discussions because they’re listening rather than evoking their own ideas. Find out how unique each of your employees are by finding their niches.
Give credit where it’s due
Whether an employee doesn’t speak up enough or an employee talks over others too much, it’s important to create an equal playing field. Establish good communication and feedback. Give credit where it’s due whether or not it’s a formal feedback meeting. Point out one success from every team, or if your office is smaller, every individual.
Have team building activities
Usually, people tend towards stereotypical views of each other because they don’t know each other well. Sure, in a workspace they may know each other’s work style quickly. However, they don’t know how flexible each is. Create a team building exercise that mixes project planning with simply getting to know each other. Maybe it’s a mock deserted island survival stimulation, where you can find out how each employee would approach staying “alive”. Maybe it’s a simple game of charades, where you find out what sort of hobbies your employees enjoy. EIther way, a little camaraderie goes a long way.
05
Jan
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