Many of us work with full-time, part-time, seasonal, and sometimes elected persons. I have had to give them feedback and I found that one method is more effective than the other when it comes to a diverse staff and different personalities and that method is the Hoagie Sandwich Method.
I have had many conversations regarding personalities and interpersonal dynamics between employees. Working with different personalities can be challenging. You cannot change a person, but you can try to understand them, which will increase the effectiveness of the team. While transitioning to a new normal, below are tips that can be used to help navigate working with other personalities.
1. Your Team: The workplace has many different personalities; it is common for people to be drawn to people with the same opinion. The goal is to make the ‘Touchdown’, not necessarily how you get there. For example, some may want to do it quickly, with a ‘Hail Mary Pass’ every time. While others want to take a slow and steady approach of ‘keeping it on the ground’ strategy. As we know, there are different ways to complete different goals and although we may choose different paths to complete the goal, we end up with the same results. It is about achieving the goal and being part of a Team.
2. A Hoagie Feedback method: It is not uncommon from time to time, that a coworker may see a mistake of another employee. Most people do not care to hear negative comments or be told that they made a mistake, even if it is from someone you trust, admire, or even like. This is even more so when you work with someone who has a different personality. When this does occur, try using the Hoagie Feedback method.
a. First, give a positive comment. (“I like how you dealt with that customer today”)
b. Second, provide the constructive feedback (“I see that you forgot to submit the paperwork associated with that customer”)
c. Lastly, end the conversation by saying (“I have forgotten that in the past as well, but I use a ‘sticky note’ as a reminder, so I don’t forget”).
3. Choose your disagreements wisely: There is a time and place for all workplace conversations. There is a price for every negative conversation had. For example, projects and programs can get delayed. At times, we must create processes and procedures as we go. This will create disagreement and frustration. The key is to know when to bring forward the idea and when to let it go. The most successful organizations know that success is measured when accomplishing a common goal.
4. Respect others’ knowledge and experience: Most people want to be heard and acknowledged. We may not always agree, but when a person knows they are respected and their point of view is understood, it will grow the effectiveness of the organization.
When an employee can honestly say ‘I do not know it all and cannot do it all and they know that they can rely on a teammate. Then we can truly advance the organization and become more efficient & effective.
