Employee Types
Understanding Employee Types: The Ultimate Guide for Leaders
As a leader, you need clear strategies for different personalities. With our Hub, you'll learn everything about various employee types and effective leadership strategies.
Learn to lead different employee types
As a manager, you need clear strategies for different personalities. With our hub, you'll learn everything about different employee types and appropriate leadership strategies.
Responding to criticism with justifications and blame-shifting. Notably, there are strong self-protection mechanisms in place, often alongside considerable expertise. The challenge for leaders is to deliver feedback without triggering defensive reactions and to engage in constructive conversations despite resistance.
They gladly take control and assert themselves confidently. Key feature: natural leadership qualities with a strong focus on results and performance. The challenge for leaders: maintaining authority without power struggles and constructively channeling dominant behavior instead of suppressing it.
Drawing energy from social interactions and often thinking out loud. Key traits: Strong communication skills and high team orientation. Challenge for leaders: Distributing speaking time fairly and ensuring that introverted colleagues have the opportunity to contribute.
Perceive moods and criticism with exceptional intensity. Unique feature: Extraordinary empathy and attention to detail combined with a strong focus on quality. Challenge for leaders: Convey feedback with sensitivity and avoid sensory overload in fast-paced work environments.
They work best in a quiet environment and think before they speak. Key feature: In-depth analyses and thoughtful solutions. Challenge for leaders: To make their valuable contributions visible and actively involve them in meetings without overwhelming them.
Avoid direct confrontations and agree superficially. Key characteristics: strong need for harmony and diplomatic skills. Challenge for leaders: to uncover genuine opinions and encourage the expression of uncomfortable truths.
They seek direct engagement and openly question decisions. Our hallmark: honest communication and the courage to express opinions. The challenge for leaders: to distinguish constructive criticism from destructive behavior and to facilitate discussions effectively.
Establish the highest quality standards and work with a strong focus on detail. Our distinctive feature: exceptional thoroughness and high work quality. The challenge for leaders: achieving a balance between quality expectations and meeting deadlines without diminishing motivation.
They communicate infrequently and tend to keep their thoughts to themselves. Their distinctiveness lies in their thoughtful decision-making and focused work style. The challenge for leaders is to obtain important information and feedback from them without coming across as intrusive.
Reserved in social situations and uncertain during presentations. Key strength: meticulous preparation and a reliable work ethic. Challenge for leaders: to build confidence and create safe spaces for contributions.
Train in dealing with different personality types.
Leadership training with AI role-playing games
Our AI role-playing games are based on typical scenarios encountered in leadership, featuring a variety of character types. Enhance your communication skills as a leader and practice interacting with different employees.

Lena Schmidt
Support insecure employees.
Competence without confidence? Lena delivers brilliant work but asks for confirmation on routine tasks three times a day. Colleagues are annoyed, the team is held back, and Lena is already considering resigning because she feels "inadequate." Can you show this talented doubter that she is much better than she believes?
Training Goals
- Recognizing One's Own CompetenceLena recognizes and names at least 2 of her own professional strengths without immediate relativization
- Committing to IndependenceLena commits to at least 2 specific routine tasks without asking for clarification
- Articulating FearsLena speaks openly about her fear of making mistakes and its origin
Robert King
Digitalization Blockade in the Team
Experience or Blockage? Robert has 18 years of expertise with proven methods—but has been blocking digital transformation for the past 6 weeks. "That has always worked" is his favorite phrase. Three colleagues are already following his lead, causing the transition to stall. Can you help this seasoned traditionalist see that new tools can enhance his expertise rather than threaten it?
Training Goal
Encourage Robert to acknowledge the necessity of the digital transition and to agree on a concrete onboarding plan. Goal: To master at least the basic functions and fully migrate his data within 2 weeks.

Sophie Müller
Burnout Prevention for High Performers
Perfection or burnout? Sophie has been working until 10 PM for the past eight weeks, sending emails at 11:47 PM and spending six hours in the office on Saturday. "I have everything under control" was her standard phrase—until she forgot a critical budget item of €50,000 in an important meeting yesterday and then broke down emotionally. A colleague was so concerned that she spoke to you this morning. Can you save the overachiever from burnout?
Training Goals
- Name overload symptomsSophie names at least 2 specific overload symptoms herself
- Problem recognitionSophie recognizes that her current way of working is not sustainable
- Concrete measure agreedAt least 1 concrete relief measure with a timeframe
FAQs
How can you identify your employee's personality type?
Observe behavior in various situations over several weeks. Pay attention to communication style, reactions to stress, feedback, and work methods. Engage in open discussions about preferences and motivators. Avoid hasty judgments based on individual situations.
Should you lead all employees the same way or individually?
Individualized leadership is significantly more effective. While core values such as respect and fairness apply to everyone, you must tailor your communication style, motivational approaches, and feedback methods to each personality type. A dominant individual requires a different approach than a conflict-averse employee.
What do you do when an employee exhibits multiple personality traits?
This is completely normal. People are complex individuals with various facets. Identify the dominant traits and adjust your leadership style accordingly. Observe which characteristics emerge more prominently in different situations.
Can you change an employee's character type?
Fundamental personality traits are largely stable and should not be changed. Instead, the focus should be on leveraging strengths and moderating problematic behaviors. Help employees make the most of their natural talents.