Main takeaways: - Identifying different personalities in your teams and tailoring your communication - Finding strengths of each personality and incorporating them in teamwork - Building your own emotional intelligence

1. How to Work w Different Personas as
a PM by Spotify Product Leader
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6. Navigating Different
Personalities as a PM
Chidem Sahiner
Product Manager, Spotify

7. Diversity
Demographic Experiential Cognitive
● Age
● Gender
● Race
● Ethnicity
● Sexual
Orientation
etc.
● Education
● Skills
● Expertise
● Hobbies
● Abilities
etc.
● Personality Type
● Communication Style
● Approaching Problems
etc.

8. Personality
Characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique.

9. DISC Model
● Dominance
● Influence
● Steadiness
● Conscientiousness
Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator
● Extraversion/Introversion
● Sensing/Intuition
● Thinking/Feeling
● Judging/Perceiving
Combinations of these scales
produce a four-letter acronym that
reflects the dominant score on each
factor.
Based on Jungian personality
theory.
5 Factor Model
● Openness to
Experience
● Conscientiousness
● Extraversion
● Agreeableness
● Neuroticism

10. Personas

11. Annie is very reserved and
generally quiet. She does not
contribute to discussions and
likes to work alone.
● More personal
communication
● Give them space to
prepare their answers
● Respect their preferred
way of communication
(messages vs calls)
Persona 1

12. Andy is very extroverted, he’s
the one who dominates
discussions. He has the desire
to take charge and tends to
impose his point of view.
● Create space to others
● Be assertive and firm
● Incorporate their strengths
Persona 2

13. Mark is sensitive and
impulsive. He struggles with
taking criticism. Deflects
blame onto others.
● Address issues privately
● Describe behaviour not the
person
● Communicate assertively
● Set expectations
Persona 3

14. Jenny is pessimistic and
complains a lot. She is
unenthusiastic about new
projects and focuses on the
negatives.
● Be more transparent on
strategy
● Acknowledge concerns
● Ask about things that go
well
● Cultivate a positive
mindset
Persona 4

15. You can’t change people’s personalities, but you can shift the way you
engage with them.
Understanding personality traits will help you understand people around you better, allow you
not to take things personally and manage your own emotions in difficult situations.

16. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
The ability to recognize, understand and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the
emotions of others.

17. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Self awareness Self Management Relationship Management
Recognizing own
emotions and how
they affect own
thoughts and
behavior
Controlling impulsive
feelings and
behaviors, managing
own emotions in
healthy ways
Understanding the
emotions, needs, and
concerns of other
people
Developing and maintaining
good relationships,
communicate clearly,
influence others and manage
conflict
Social Awareness

18. Strategies to Improve EQ
Self Awareness Social Awareness
Self Management Relationship Management
Taking time & breathing
Recharging
Learning from mistakes
Careful observation
Active listening
Empathizing
Building trust
Adapting to situations
Expressing appreciation
Gathering feedback
Accepting feelings
Journaling

19. Thank you!
Further Reads:
Emotional Intelligence, David Goleman
Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are, Daniel Nettle
chidemsahiner

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