Motivating:
Highly empathetic managers, Cooperators will put themselves in their
employees' shoes and understand their trials and tribulations, providing
feedback and encouragement that is well suited for the occasion. Their high
concern for people usually ensures that the team is working together
cohesively and feels good about what they are doing and why they are doing
it.
At times their deliberate, exhaustive approach to making decisions may
frustrate their less patient team members, who may see this type of approach as too
laid-back.
Cooperators develop a loyal team that they will gently nudge toward
their goals. Because of their easygoing nature, they will be less successful
at getting their staff "pumped", putting pressure on to achieve targets, or
overcoming resistance from their people.
Delegating:
Cooperators are structured, methodical individuals who, when
delegating, will be careful to ensure that timelines are reasonable and
the details are clear, assuming that everyone has the same prioritising
approach to tasks as they do.
If the task is a major one, they will get the buy-in of the party
involved. The downside to this approach is that they may be overly concerned
with inconveniencing people who are already busy. Additionally, they enjoy
the details and may be reluctant to hand off projects that they feel
passionate about. Their desire to get involved in the process and methods
used to complete a project may make their more independent staff members
feel over-managed.
Decision making:
Being somewhat risk-averse, Cooperators will consult past precedent
and will get all the details before making big decisions. They will seek
input from their team, wanting to ensure that all people concerns are met
before moving forward.
But their style may be inappropriate where quick, spur-of-the-moment
decisions need to be made with minimal information. Also, in an effort to
please all parties, the final solution may not always be the one with the
best bottom-line impact. Cooperators can be reluctant to make unpopular
decisions.
Dealing with conflict:
With their compromising approach and desire for harmony, head-to-head
confrontations with their staff or peers will be rare. Where there is
conflict among their staff members, they are a concerned counsellor, quietly
and patiently working with all parties until a compromise solution can be
achieved.
They may be reluctant to challenge the ideas or methods chosen by others
and could have difficulties keeping stronger personalities in check. They
may delay disciplining non-performers until it is long overdue.
Developmental recommendations:
To compensate for their generally non-assertive nature and reluctance to
make 'tough" decisions, they would be well-served by courses in...
- assertiveness training
- delegation
- goal setting
- leading change
- conflict resolution
- performance management
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