Free «Personality and Communication Styles at the Work Place» Essay Sample

There are four main personality types in the workplace, namely the influencer, analyzer, stable supporter and the controller. (Davis & Luecke, 2008). My own personality type is the analyzer. This is because i enjoy working with high achievers and sharing values. When am working in a group, I am a team player and highly supportive of others.

Eunson (2012) identifies four main types of individual communication styles in the workplace. They include, open communicators, reserved communicators, indirect communicators and direct communicators. With regard to these classes, i am a direct communicator. This is because i am a risk taker, exceptionally aggressive and confident in my communication skills. Besides, i am more inclined to people who are always alert and confident in their communication competence.

Interactions with three people of different personality and communication styles are and how it causes stress or difficulties at work.

In my place of work, i have interacted with three people of different communication and personality styles from mine. Martin is a reserved communicator who is not free in sharing information with others but prefers to do things alone. This affects his ability to work in a team and sometimes causes conflicts with other group members. Susan who is an indirect communicator tends to work on assumptions. More often, she neglects her responsibilities in the group and assumes that others will do it on her behalf. This causes stress to others especially when people are assigned different roles in a team. Mary is an open communicator who is quite receptive to people’s ideas and prefers informal conversations. However, sometimes she becomes too hospitable and forgets the core business of the team, thus affecting the group’s performance.

In terms of personality types, Mary is an influencer who likes to be at the centre of attraction and enjoy credit on behalf of others. At times, this causes difficulties for others because her character overshadows other people’s team effort. Though Susan is a controller and remarkably skilled at problem solving, she likes to command others and impose herself on the team. This causes stress to other people who are not talkative and aggressive like her, thus affecting team performance (Davis & Luecke, 2008). Finally, Martin is a stable supporter who is not a risk taker. When it comes to decision making, he takes a lot of time to decide and this negatively impacts on a group’s performance.

Strategies of enhancing relationships in the workplace

Reliable channels of communication

In the organization, communication should be a two way process in order to avoid any illusion. While communicating, comprehensible language should be used to avoid any misinterpretation or misunderstanding. Eunson (2012) contends that organizations should adopt a face-to-face meeting to communication, since it is more reliable and has the potential of generating relevant feedback. When the channels of communication are clear to all employees, there is a lack or minimal distortion of the messages.

Team synergy

In dealing with personality problems, the organization should adopt a “We” and not “I” approach in team performance. As much as individual contributions are valuable, personalities like Susan and Mary should not overshadow other people’s efforts. When people in a team, they need to recognize and appreciate personality differences of each one them. This will result to strengthening of the team and improve work performance (Davis & Luecke, 2008).

Active participation

In spite of the different communication and personality types at the workplace, people should learn to appreciate others differences. All people should be allowed to participate actively in the organization’s activities to achieve an improved work performance.  According to Davis & Luecke (2008), active participation will make employees develop a sense of belonging in the organization, thus leading to better coordination, effective team work and improved productivity.

Conflict resolution strategies at the workplace

In relation to the three personalities discussed above, the following strategies can be utilized to minimize workplace conflicts. Promoting teamwork is an effective conflict resolution strategy since it enhances motivation and inspiration. Employees should be constantly reminded that the success of any project or organization depends on the amount of team work.

Another strategy is never to ignore or postpone a conflict. According to Eunson (2012)    when a conflict is ignored it can escalate, lead to increased resentment or isolation. However, if it is resolved on time, it will create a harmonious working environment and increase the team’s ability to perform.

Another productive strategy to conflict resolution is to be accommodative. In order to preserve healthy working relationships, it is advisable to accommodate other people’s differences and compromise where necessary. People must be prepared to acknowledge that there is strength and diversity in differences, since every contribution is essential for organizational development.