There are so many factors that affect work, and one of such factors has to be personality. However, many people, including managers ignore or pay little attention when it comes to personalities. Personality types can have a great impact on an organization – positive or negative.
When it comes to personalities, the most popular theory is said to be the four temperaments which is believed to have been propounded by Hippocrates. He identified the four main temperaments to be Sanguine, Melancholic, Choleric and Phlegmatic. In broader terms, most of us are familiar with two personality types – introvert and extrovert. The Sanguine and Choleric are considered as extroverted personalities whereas the Melancholic and Phlegmatic are considered as introverted personalities.
This theory is important at the workplace because it helps to know how to relate with each other at work. For project managers like you, knowing how different personalities are likely to behave in a team will save you a lot of stress as you won’t be taken by any surprises when you see someone working in a particular way.
How do these four people behave when working on a project?
- The Sanguine
If you have a Sanguine working on a project, you are assured of one thing – fun! The Sanguine hates boredom, and must turn up the volume before he can work effectively. If they cannot get the project to be lively, it becomes difficult to work on it. You can be assured that you will have fun no matter how difficult the project will be. The Sanguine can sometimes make you forget that you have been working for 10 hours because they brighten up the place.
Sanguines also hate routines. As a result, they are more likely to change their schedules. If yesterday the project started with a presentation, today they might want to start with something else. They want each day of working on the project to feel like a new day.
Unfortunately, the Sanguine hates deadlines and easily forgets schedules. Projects work with deadlines and the Sanguine struggles with meeting such deadlines, or may even forget the deadline. If you are working with a Sanguine, make sure you constantly remind them of all timelines and even boxes that have not yet been ticked.
2. The Choleric
The Choleric’s nickname is workaholic. Unlike the Sanguine, the main focus of the Choleric is completing the project. Cholerics are rarely happy because they are always waiting to complete tasks before rejoicing. Cholerics are particular about targets, and they will keep hammering the deadline in your ears. The Choleric is serious, and will not tolerate any fun at the workplace. To them, work is work and there should be nothing in between. Cholerics make good leaders and they rarely disappoint when it comes to meeting deadlines. You can trust a Choleric to meet your unrealistic project deadlines because those people will find all ways possible to meet their deadlines, even if it means forfeiting their sleep.
On the flip side, working with Cholerics seem to be a stressful task as the project drags and gets more difficult. You will lack the motivation to carry on and feel burdened. Work and happiness does not work for Cholerics.
3. The Melancholic
It is said that many geniuses are Melancholics. They are smart and creative people. They love to find solutions to problems and working on a project with them is sure to get you racking your brains. They are nicknamed thinkers. They also have a perfectionist attitude that can cause them to start something all over again just because something little was not done well. They rarely talk but they cover up for this in their actions. Melancholics love routines, and they are schedule oriented. They will tend to draw a timetable and project timeline for almost everything and they follow it to the core. They are more likely to set a deadline before the main project deadline just to allow room for anything that was not done perfectly.
Unfortunately, working with the Melancholic is boring. They can do the same things throughout the duration of the project. They are predictable in actions, but when it comes to thinking, they are always trying to get something new. Their perfectionism also makes them come out as too demanding and they may stress you out with making you do one thing ten times just because it is not up to their standard.
4. The Phlegmatic
The Phlegmatic is the companion of the Melancholic. They are very introverted people and are the ones likely to work on a project without talking to anyone outside work. Phlegmatics thrive on being alone and they rarely talk. They sometimes looked unconcerned and it makes them come out as bad leaders on a project. They are very soft in nature and it is so easy to love them because they hate stress and as a result do not stress people. Phlegmatics are very careful people, and you can trust them to avoid many mistakes on a project.
Phlegmatics are tagged as slow and procrastinators. They are likely to miss deadlines because tomorrow is always the best day for them. Phlegmatics also struggle when it comes to believing in themselves. They always have doubts and when you give them a new task, you most certainly will get some resentment from them. As a result, they rarely try new things and are not able to make or enjoy the adventure aspect of a project.
Which personality are you?
