People Leaders are those with high scores on Interpersonal Sensitivity (HPI) and Altruistic (MVPI); they tend to be skilled at building and maintaining nurturing relationships with others and focus their approach on building and maintaining relationships. They take a warm approach centered on attending to morale and helping staff develop to their full potential. Others likely describe People Leaders as friendly and approachable, however, these leaders may have difficulty dealing with conflict or delivering negative feedback effectively. Their empathic and agreeable style may cause difficulties for holding staff accountable to performance standards.
When coaching someone who scores high on the People Leader scale, you will want to raise awareness around the person’s tendency to avoid conflict, make unpopular decisions and provide constructive feedback to staff. Instead of shying away from disagreements, urge the individual to face conflict head on and provide constructive feedback. Have them Start to evaluate those situations where they may avoid conflict and determine where they need to provide more constructive feedback. If this is with those they manage, help them determine the best strategy. This might include identifying an individual that they should approach with developmental feedback. What needs to be said to this person in order to improve their performance? Work with the People Leader to identify how they can deliver this feedback in a positive, yet straightforward manner. Have them practice delivering the feedback to you; this will make them more comfortable when they actually approach the individual.
The People Leader may also struggle to act independent of the team, given their need for consensus and their desire to appease all parties. In this sense, it will be important to encourage the People Leader to identify situations where it is critical to make a decision without full consensus and take independent action. Help them understand they don’t have to feel as if they need to make everyone happy as it will be important to take a leadership stance when the situation calls for a quick decision. Have the individual reflect on a time when they took too long to gain buy-in from the team and productivity suffered. How could acting independently have helped move the situation along and produced different results? The next time the People Leader needs to make a quick decision, have them consider whether they need input from the team before making the call.
A clear strength of the People Leader is their focus on customer service and care for the welfare of their staff. As such, encourage the People Leader to Continue to provide opportunities for learning, growth, and development for their employees. Remember that not all direct reports will respond favorably to coaching or development; help these individuals find meaningful ways to learn and further develop their skills. Encourage the People Leader to seek out development activities for staff that allow them to grow, but also hold them accountable for their performance.
