Rockwood Company

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Managing Your Employees’ Four Tendencies

Michelle Wandres

By Sarah Scott

Picture this: you are a senior manager at a large company. You ask one of your employees to complete a project for the company’s biggest client by a certain date. The employee is aware of the project’s importance, so you expect them to execute and complete the project successfully and on time. When that employee shows up empty-handed the day of the deadline, they render you frustrated and confused. Why didn’t this employee notify you sooner of the challenges they faced in completing this project? What prevented them from meeting the deadline you provided?

As a manager, unlocking your employees’ “tendencies” (or their natural reaction to outer and inner expectations) can help inform your management techniques. The Four Tendencies framework, developed by author Gretchen Rubin, describes how various individuals might respond to expectations and how their managers can motivate them accordingly.

The Four Tendencies

THE UPHOLDER

Characteristics: The Upholder has no problem committing to and carrying out the expectations they set for themselves and those that others set for them. For example, an Upholder successfully sticks with their New Year’s resolutions each year (inner expectation) and finishes their work projects by or before their deadlines (outer expectation).

These employees might be rigid and have difficulty performing without direction.

Provide clear direction to Upholders whenever possible.

THE OBLIGER

Characteristics: The Obliger fulfills others’ expectations but runs into trouble fulfilling expectations they set for themselves. An Obliger will fail to achieve their New Year’s resolutions (inner expectation), but are reliable, stellar employees who complete tasks on time (outer expectation).

These employees often say ‘yes’ to everything you ask and can suffer from burnout.

  • Be aware of an Obliger’s other commitments.

  • Encourage them to take time to relax and rejuvenate.

  • Request the fewest, most important tasks from them

THE QUESTIONER

Characteristics: The Questioner will only respond to expectations that makes sense to them and will ask many questions along the way. A Questioner will not accept what they perceive as an inadequate response from their manager (e.g., “this is the way it’s always been done”) if they do not understand the specific route. A Questioner may refuse to send you the budget report you asked for by close of business Friday (outer expectation) when they know you won’t review it until Tuesday morning because they see your deadline as arbitrary. However, they will likely stick with their New Year’s resolution to lose weight to improve their health because they see it as a justifiable inner expectation.

These employees will ask many questions and may slow down meetings and projects.

  • Consider having a 1:1 conversation with a Questioner to answer their questions or have them send their questions to you in an email.

  • Know that they are not questioning your authority or knowledge - do not take their questioning personally.

THE REBEL

Characteristics: The Rebel rejects all expectations, outer and inner. A Rebel finds it difficult to follow through with others’ expectations and often will not fulfill an expectation simply because an individual asked them to do it, choosing to rebel against outer expectations. A Rebel also rejects or resists their inner expectations, preferring to act from a place of freedom. Don’t even ask these individuals to tell you their New Year’s resolutions (inner expectation); they don’t believe in them.

These employees will carry out a task either because they “feel like it” or they know that the risks of not acting outweigh the benefits.

  • It is important to frame tasks to a Rebel in a way that’s suggestive, not directive.

  • Consider offering the consequences for acting or not acting (e.g., “We won’t require you to come to the staff meeting, but generally we give the less exciting project tasks to those not there to state their preferences.”)

Curious to find out your tendency? Take the official Four Tendencies quiz here!

References

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