We’ve all at one stage or another, worked with someone with whom we do not see eye to eye. It can not only hinder your performance, but put a dampener on going to work everyday.

Whether you’re a business owner or part of a team, instead of waiting to see if any interpersonal tensions arise along the way, it may be worth trying a more proactive approach to kicking off your next project.

Interacting in a new or existing team from a place of compassion and empathy in the face of strict time and budget constraints can seem like a daunting task. However, psychologists say taking time from the outset to identify and share your personality type can be extremely beneficial to the success of your project.

Doing so can encourage all team members to reflect on their own behavioural traits and consider how they can contribute to the work most effectively. It can also open up the communication channels to allow the team leader to allocate work tasks appropriately.

One of the most interesting and easy to understand frameworks for diagnosing personality types is the Herrmann Brain theory. This theory essentially divides people into four types, let’s call them red, green, blue and yellow, and is best explained to your team as if they are required to plan and host a party.

GREEN (Organisers)
The Greens are highly tactical and very organised. They’re in charge of creating the to-do lists, and with their exceptional attention to detail, ensuring there will be just enough napkins and hand soap for everyone.

YELLOW (Visionaries)
The Yellows are the high level thinkers and visionaries of the team. They’re in charge of imagining the theme of the party via several brainstorming sessions in front a captive audience.

RED (Peoples people)
Reds are the people people. They’re in charge of planning the most appropriate table seating combinations and during the party, ensuring conversation is flowing and everyone’s drinks are topped up at all times.

BLUE (Analytical)
Finally, the blue’s are the analytical ones. They’re in charge of the budget and the overall objectives for the party, and they wish to achieve these on the critical path.

Is it any wonder then, that when a Red (peoples people) arrives at work on Monday morning wanting to share with Blue (analytical) all the things they did on the weekend and with whom, Blue’s eyes glaze over? Or when a Green (organisers) asks a Yellow (visionaries) to assist with creating a gantt chart to track team progress, they find them in the board room whiteboarding a certain part of the plan not yet bedded down? This theory really highlights the key traits that have the potential to complement or clash within your team.

There are also lots of great App’s to assist you to identify your personality traits. Good.co provides a detailed analysis of your archetypes via fun quizzes, even allowing you to rate your co-workers to obtain a work compatibility score.

Identifying the personality types within your team can be one of the most effective and rewarding ways to avoid interpersonal tension and speed up the traditional stages of team formation known as forming, storming, norming and performing.

Some teams even display their “type” on their business cards and reap the benefits of better communication and cohesion in all aspects of their working life.

Have you ever led a particularly cohesive or high performing team?

How do you identify particular personality types from the list above? Share with us in the below comments!