"C" type personalities are the "Dilbert" type people among us that concentrate on perfection and the tasks rather than people and are typically introverted. They place more attention on perfection of the tasks than on people they interact with or on timelines provided.

These are the people that you can go to for any task requiring accuracy and a lot of detail.

These are the Spocks of this world, the Albert Einsteins, the Alan Greenspans. They are vey logical, analytical, high quality people who always strive for perfection.

Any team that needs any analysis completed or needs someone to check the quality of work needs to have a C type personality. They prefer to work alone, avoid conflict and need the time freedom to find the "best" solution. Although established processes are recognized, they prefer to have the freedom to work outside processes where they believe the processes are not leading to the most accurate or efficient solution.

C's, like any of the personality traits, have strengths and weaknesses. I have summarized these traits in the following table;

Tendencies

• Compliant


• Competent


• Analytical thinkers


• Try to improve everything


• Adhere to standards


• Diplomatic


• Uses indirect approaches to conflict


• Uses systematic approach to situations

 Required Work Environment

• Clearly defined expectations


• Quality


• Reserved atmosphere


• Demonstrate expertise


• Recognition for skills and accomplishments


• Opportunity to get to details

  Needs People Who

• Delegate


• Make quick decisions


• Treat policies as guidelines


• Initiate and facilitate discussions


• Encourage teamwork

 To Be More Effective

• Sufficient time


• Information


• Low risk environment


• Details and procedure

 Major Strengths

• Analytical


• Perfectionist


• Quality


• Very organized


• Attention to detail


• Cautious


• Logical and task focused

 Major Limitations

• Judgmental


• Narrow focus


• Fear of criticism of work causes too much focus on detail


• May withdraw under stress and focus on small details


• Not flexible


• Over analysis

 Dealing with C Types

• Be patient


• Be organized and respectful of their time


• Provide supporting details


• Be clear in your answers


• Stay calm and logical when they question


• Minimize risk


• Use open ended questions

If you are a C type personality, your biggest challenge is to work productively in a team environment where everyone has specific but interacting deliverables and a defined schedule. Work with your team mates to ensure that schedules, deliverables and quality expectations are clear, reasonable and achievable. Be willing to back away from the "perfect" solution to deliver a solution that is acceptable to you and your client.

If you are managing an C, be aware of these things and provide a low stress work environment complete with well defined expectations. Try to give them a role that takes advantage of their detailed expertise and recognize them for this contribution. Give the C adequate time to make decisions and pull them into conversations around team building.

If you follow these basic guidelines your interaction with C type personalities will be much more fun and substantially more productive!