Leadership Types
The People Person

One of the many leadership types is the People Person.

Is being a People Person a good thing, or bad? Depends!

When most individuals think of the term People Person, they think of someone that is able to get along with everyone. Someone that is very good with people of course.

If a supervisor or manager's main objective is to please their employees, they most likely will not be as successful as they could be.

Why?

Because there has to be balance! A manager must balance the needs of the employee, the owner, and the customer. If you have any of these out of balance you risk not achieving your overall goal of sustaining and moving forward your organization.

So what does that look like?

If the manager only does things to please their employees, such as raises, time off, perks, high wages, flexible schedules, loose dress policy, no discipline, afraid to address issues, etc., the customer and owner will suffer.

If the customer suffers too much, they will choose another source for whatever it is they came to you for.

If the owner suffers too much, they will not continue to invest in the business, and at some point close it down.

So again, you must have balance.

Don't get me wrong, it is nice to be considered a People Person. But don't go to extremes.

When you are directing someone, you can use positive words to get your point across. Such as, "When you get a few minutes ... ", or "I'm hoping that you can ... ". or "Let's try this approach ... ".

A People Person will also get to know more personal information about their employees, which in most cases is a good thing. Just don't cross the line, between knowing, and becoming personally involved.

The more personally involved you get with an employee, the harder it will become to discipline/correct their behavior, or performance.

I worked for a Division Vice President one time that had short notes on the staff she dealt with around the country. So when she called them she could start the conversation with, "How is your son, John doing", or any version of that. After their conversation she would update her notes for the next time she spoke with them.

The point is she was able to have a personal touch without crossing the line. I would call having someone that reports to you individually come to your home for a Super Bowl Party, crossing the line.

If you had everyone over, it is less of a problem. However, my experience has been when you involve alcohol at any event, it can turn problematic, for the manager/employee relationship.

Understand as a manager you will not be able to please everyone, which is generally what a People Person type wants to do. You can have compassion, and still be able to lead everyone to success in a positive way.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to have clear and established expectations for everyone. Don't leave them guessing as to what is expected. Or what will happen if they don't.

Overall, I would say that if you are the People Person type it is not a bad thing. Just use caution!

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