Clashing at work

Have you ever clashed with a teammate?

Let’s take an example: 

Anup is a very detail-oriented team member who always double-checks data and prefers following a clear and organised plan step by step. Meanwhile, his other teammate, Myra, likes to focus on the big picture without following plans step by step. She loves coming up with wild ideas and figuring out if they work along the way. Both of them are well reputed in their department, yet they clash constantly when they work together. 

Why does this happen? 

Psychologists often use the Five-Factor Model of Personality by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae. They identify five traits that an individual may score low or high on: 

Openness: Tendency to be curious, imaginative, and willing to try new things.

Conscientiousness: Tendency to be organised, goal oriented, and pay attention to detail and planning. 

Extraversion: Being social, assertive, and having high energy levels.

Agreeableness: Being cooperative , empathetic, and taking part in prosocial behaviours.

Neuroticism: Sensitive to stress, and negative emotions, often emotionally unstable. 

In this case, Anup may score high on conscientiousness but may score low on openness. Whereas Myra may score high on openness but may score low on conscientiousness.

Therefore, both of them stand on completely different ends of the spectrum. While opposites may sometimes complement each other, too much difference can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction from not achieving the goal as planned. Anup might seem too rigid to Myra while Myra might seem too chaotic to Anup. 

However, when you are working together, you need to go past these differences to put forward the best possible outcome. So how can Anup and Myra work together without clashing as much?

• You can’t solve a problem unless you recognise its root. So first step is by understanding the cause and recognising the differences between your personalities.  

• Dissatisfaction can be resolved by dividing work. For example, Myra can come up with her wild ideas while Anup can refine and structure them. Setting timelines and communicating expectations clearly can reduce clashes.

• Compromising and understanding where the other person is coming from and regulating our emotions could lead to better results and less stress in the long run. 

So while you may have clashed with your team members, it may not always have been due to bad intentions or incompetence but rather due to clashing personality traits. However using the strength of such diverse personality traits strategically, can lead to more creative and outstanding results.