education leadership

1. How do you get
the best out of
your team?
Dr Peter Ferrar
peter@iel.co.nz

2. How do you get
the best out of
your team?
Group responses

3. My thoughts
First, you’ve got to know them. It’s very difficult
to lead people you don’t know.
But how do you get to know
people in a huge organisation?
Break it into little bits (=teams)

4. To know your team, it’s useful to be aware
of:
• Who they are - background and experiences
• How they fit in the team - personality type
• What they bring - strengths
• What to watch out for - weaknesses
• Triggers - how to best reward them

5. How do you get to know their background
and experiences?
thoughts?

6. Personality Typing

7. Personality testing
4 possible outcomes:
Phlegmatic
Choleric
Sanguine
Melancholic
(
Then there’s your secondary
characteristics:
Eg phlegmatic-melancholic
Choleric-sanguine

8. Sanguines
Otherwise known as the populars (party
animals)
Catch phrase: Let’s have fun (it’s party time)
Strengths:
• Sociable, charismatic, outgoing, confident,
lively, optimistic, spontaneous
• Great front person
• Preventer of dull moments
• Makes friends easily
• Apologises quickly
• Creative and fun
• Volunteers for jobs
• Talkative
• Storyteller
Weaknesses:
• Talk too much
• Impulsive, forgetful, shameless,
disorganised distractible, self
absorbed, exaggerates
• Don’t remember names
• Don’t have much follow
through on things
• Exaggerates
• Chronically late
• Many fans but few friends
• manipulates through charm

9. Phlegmatics
Otherwise known as the peacefuls
Catch phrase: It’s okay
Strengths:
• Easy-going, Low key,
• Inoffensive, patient, calm,
accepting
• Observant, curious
• Good mediator
• Good listener
• Content with themselves
• A steady and faithful friend
Weaknesses:
• Sometimes shy
• Unenthusiastic
• Fearful of change
• Stubborn
• Procrastinates
• Can seem lazy
• Indecisive
• Emotionally closed
• Avoids conflict
• Has a hard time with
self discipline
• Discouraging
• Too compromising
• Permissive

10. Cholerics
Otherwise know as the powerfuls
Catch phrase: Let’s do something
(party later)
Strengths:
• Ambitious, passionate, focussed,
efficient, practical, driven, problem
solver
• Born leaders, take control easily
• Good at delegating
• Goal- orientated
• Strong willed
• Can run anything
• Thrive on opposition
• Independent
• Makes split second decisions
• Are usually right (sorry everyone)
Weaknesses:
• Aggressive, domineering, inflexible,
impatient, rude, tactless, argumentative,
intolerant
• Too busy for people
• Don’t see their own faults
• Compulsive worker
• Needs to control
• Can come off looking really bossy
• Not so good with the people skills
• Unable to relax

11. Melancholics
Otherwise known as the perfects
Catch phrase: Let’s get organised (and stop
messing about)
Strengths:
• Perfectionist, thoughtful, considerate,
cautious, uber organised, detailed,
independent, analytical
• Genius – prone
• Great planners
• Neat and orderly, fastidious
• Can be counted on to finish a job
• Detail-oriented
• Economical
• Compassionate
• Can be extremely creative
Weaknesses:
• Obsessive, pessimistic, Easily depressed
• Gets lost in the details
• Assumes worst in people and situations
(often perceived as glass half empty)
• Low self image
• Have unrealistic expectations
• Can bring a cloud into a room
• Tunnel visioned
• Difficult to please
• Deeply affected by tragedy
• Discontented with themselves and others

13. DISC profiling (different names, same concept)
Dominant = choleric
Influence = sanguine
Steady = phlegmatic
Conscientious = melancholic

14. Blends – the real detail e.g.

15. Strengths
I like Clifton Strengthsfinder.
Gallup's research shows the most
effective way to develop and
empower people is to help them
discover and use their
strengths. Strengths-based
development is about helping
people recognize and develop their
talents and strengths - and
appreciate others' strengths too.

16. Strengthsfinder Four domains, 34
strengths.

17. Me

18. Weaknesses
Your weaknesses will always be weak – focus on your strengths/passions.
Your strengths are the things which, when developed, will allow you to be truly
outstanding, a world beater.
Let someone else do the stuff you are weak at, it might be their strength zone.
The ideal team has somebody in each area working in their own personal strength
zone which covers all the bases.
With your team – be aware of people’s weaknesses and try to position them away
from them; and also position yourself away from your own.

19. Rewards/Triggers
Rewards for excellent behaviour are essential for good culture.
But you’ve got to know your people. The purpose for the reward
is to trigger a response of feeling valued.
Giving the wrong reward can lead to people feeling devalued
and hence be counterproductive.
People have different things that work for them to motivate
them and things which don’t work for them and hence
demotivate them.
It’s really useful to work this out for the members of your team –
sometimes just asking them will help to work it out.

20. Some love being publicly acknowledged; some
hate it
Some like being privately acknowledged; some
will wonder why it wasn’t done publicly
Some like a card, for some an email is sufficient
Some like a present; others will wonder if they are
worth a present why they don’t get some
increased pay.
Some don’t care about the remuneration as long
as the job is fulfilling.
For some it’s all about the money; for others it’s
all about the role
Some would rather have extra paid release time to
prepare or reduced workload; others just want the
money.

21. Wise words form Stephen Covey to finish