Before hiring someone I usually try to identify the personality of a colleague. Asking questions with CAR (Case , Action, Result) or STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method helps a lot to identify the personality of the person if answered sincerely, or digged deeper by the interviewer. In contradiction to the common thought, I value the action part of the answer more than others. Achieving the results is not always dependent on the person. With this, I try to classify the applicants into 3 different categories: Ants, Bees, Butterflies.
Let me try to open this metaphoric classification:
Ants
- They are educated, resilient, hardworking, and patient workers.
- They think and keep it simple, do what should be done as it is told to be done.
- They are often not in the spotlight but handle tasks behind the scenes. They do not try to show off.
- They work very well alone but better as part of a larger system, contributing to team collaboration, even though they may not be individually recognized or rewarded.
- They perform their tasks in an organized, systematic, and disciplined manner.
Bees
- They are also very productive and hardworking individuals. They are usually either very well educated or have a very unique talent they have by birth or acquired along the way that they use to hunt.
- They consistently work efficiently and contribute to achieving the organization’s goals.
- They do not follow and should not be expected to always follow the procedures. They are creative. They can improvise and achieve goals by drawing their own path and their own way of communication.
- They are usually encouraged by a good leader and serve well when their talent and results are recognized and rewarded.
Butterflies
- They are social individuals who often stand out with their communication competencies and interactions externally and within the team.
- They may not be consistent in their work but can serve as sources of motivation and inspiration. They are the ones that attract attention to the team, to the department, to the company.
- They tend to focus on visible and eye-catching tasks, and they might lack appetite for routine, tough tasks.
This metaphoric classification method helps me understand and balance the different talents and working styles within a team. It can provide managers with a guide to better direct and motivate employees of different types. On the other hand, every person is unique. Many years ago, I was offered to recruit from someone from another team. I described my classification to the manager who was eager for the transfer he said that person was a flying ant. I needed an ant for the role. While he kept well for some time when we found the chance for him to fly, he did and switched to a totally different role where he could use his wings.
There is no method, no model that is 100% correct all the time. But having and using them always is useful. Keep on learning new models, frameworks, and about people so that we make ourselves, people around us, and the world better every day.