Have you ever talked to someone who is very detailed and focused on the work, asks a lot of questions and gives a lot of information? Or someone who seems to be well meaning but at the same time is highly critical and negative? This would be the A or Analyzer style in our T.E.A.M. model. A’s are careful workers and deliberative thinkers who want to make sure they check everything carefully before they move forward. They are nearly the direct opposite of the E style.
When you supervise someone with a high A score you need to be prepared to give them detailed instructions and listen for details in their conversations. A’s think things through and when they’re ready to talk to you they want you to hear the whole analysis. They’ll also have a number of questions for you and one answer will lead to more questions. Patience is needed! If you give an A the time to sort through things, they’ll develop a high quality plan and product. If you rush them or tune them out, they’ll lose respect for you and be frustrated in their work. That doesn’t mean you have to allow them to study an issue for ever, but in your conversations with them you have to listen carefully.
Some A’s will repeat themselves, highlighting the same issues over and over. That’s a clue – they don’t think you are listening. The solution? – repeat back in detail what you’ve heard to convince them that you got the message. Even if you don’t agree with them, it’s important to show that you fully listened. A’s are the quality control on your team and listen to their concerns. They may need you to set some boundaries to keep this from stopping production.
Many A’s don’t like to talk about non-work topics. For them, a quick hello in the morning is enough and after that, stick to the work. If you have a social workplace, some people may be offended by the A’s who are highly task oriented. Be aware of this and help interpret the A’s task orientation to their co-workers.
A’s sometimes get too deep into the weeds and teaming them up with an E or T can help them keep moving… but only if they get along well. Otherwise it can be a source of friction. A’s take pride in doing their job well and expect you to recognize the high quality of their work. When you give them praise, be sure to provide details to show how you know their work is of high quality. Anything less and they won’t think you’re sincere.
To pull this all back to the 7 keys, in our original blog we focused on 7 key feelings that lead to positive motivation and performance; feeling: respected, appreciated, belonging, treated fairly, safe, powerful and less stressed. The strategies we mentioned above all contribute to this. Two key ones are listening and giving detailed instructions and feedback. When you talk in generalities or gloss over the details A’s feel uncertain, stressed and even disrespected. When you give vague feedback they don’t feel appreciated. So reversing these by listening fully and speaking in details will go a long way. Also watch to see how much they keep the conversations focused on the work – and follow their lead. Many A’s feel their time is being wasted and they are being disrespected if they have to listen to a lot of non-work stories.
One final point with A’s – they can be very critical without intending to be mean or hurtful – they are focused on getting things done correctly and helping others do that as well. They don’t take criticism personally – they often welcome it to help them improve. They assume everyone else is that way as well. So if you or others on your team are feeling overly criticized by an A, try to see what their intention is and if it’s just to make things better, give them some gentle feedback that many people feel attacked by a lot of criticism and ask them to tone it down.
For more information about the T.E.A.M. model, visit our webpage. If you’re an A or have experience working with A’s – let me know what you think of these strategies.