 Okay, I am going to go ahead and get started. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for taking the time today to listen to me talk to you all about how managing people is both an art and a science. My name is Janice Comacho. I am a project manager at Atten Design Group. I've been with the company just shy of a year and a half, but I've been practicing project management in some form for the past nine years. Before we dive in, I do want to talk a little bit about Atten. Atten Design Group is a full-service digital agency. We've been helping partners overcome ineffective technology and design for 20 years through award-winning user engagement strategy, responsive and accessible website design, and open-source development, primarily with Drupal, but we also work in WordPress, React, and Gatsby. We were founded to serve mission-driven organizations and have launched successful campaigns with partners such as Human Rights Watch, Stanford University, and the Guttmacher Institute. Basically, we're in the business of doing work that matters with companies who do good. Now let's dive in to why we are all here today. As a project manager, I'm often tasked with managing client schedules, timelines, meetings, tasks, and recaps. However, the most complex and difficult deliverable I'm responsible for every day is managing people. And from there, I'm managing their schedules, timelines, meetings, tasks, and recaps. You get the idea. And I bet I know what you're thinking. That sounds tough. And you know what? You're not wrong. But as the type A daughter of military parents, obsessively compulsive human that I am, I relish in it. I thrive in situations that are complex and I thoroughly enjoy finding solutions that can be applied again and again. Managing people is no exception. My role is not one that is always easy. However, having navigated a wide range of situations, I feel as though I've figured out a way to manage people that combines the art of the individual and meeting them where they're most comfortable with some science behind why they're comfortable there. In the professional world, it is pretty much a guarantee that you're going to have to work with people too. My hope is that you will take the information you learn here and be able to execute it in your own situations with the intent to come out successful on the other side, even if those situations are tough. Now, I'm no expert in people. I'm not a psychologist and I don't have any sort of degree in behavioral science, quite the opposite actually. My background is in marketing, management and project management. And I've made it a point to keep it very focused. With that, in starting this journey, the journey to better manage my peers, I knew I was going to need some insights that would aid in backing up the way I've been able to work with others. How could I teach others how to do what I've been so successful in doing? So I began my quest and I started where anyone who lives and breathes the internet goes, yahoo. Jokes aside, I wanted to know what others thought of the subject. What does it mean to be a successful people manager? How do I go about it? What makes people tick? Where can I find the holy grail of information that gives me all of the answers? Definitely yahoo. So I began my search, trying to find out what factors go into managing individuals and how we can learn to be able to do so in the most effective manner. As it turns out, on the most powerful search engine in the world, I found two very different ends of the spectrum. I found job descriptions for HR roles, maybe a career switch, or pages upon pages upon pages of research papers going into the psychological aspect of managing a team. And while both of these are good in their own regard, that wasn't it. I needed something in the middle. So I did what any good late 20-something millennial does. I made it up. No, I actually took this as an opportunity to look inward to my own experience, not only as a person who's been managed at various lengths, but as someone who's had to manage people and projects alike for the entire duration of my career. What have my own experience has been like? How have I been managed? Who was my worst manager? What made them that way? And then I found it, my aha moment, staring at me in the face right there in my own experience. Managing people is both an art and a science. Merging the HR descriptions with the research. Great people management combines both the art of understanding, empathy, communication, acknowledgement, with the science that researchers and authors like Catherine Briggs, Isabel Briggs Myers, and Tom Rath gave us. It is neither one nor the other, but rather a combination. And sometimes it's not an equal balance, which as a Libra is very difficult for me to wrap my head around. However, both are necessary in some regard when managing individuals who do the work to keep our clients happy. But why is this so important? What can you do to manage individuals and teams successfully? Why should you want to take steps to ensure the longevity of the teams you build and subsequently the projects they produce? Because as long as you work with people, you will need to learn how to know, you will need to know how to work with people. So first things first, let's talk about how art fits into this. According to dictionary.com, art is defined as the quality, production, expression, or realm according to aesthetic principles of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. I wouldn't say that this is necessarily one-to-one with an artistic approach to managerial interaction. So how do we relate this to people? There are those that I mentioned earlier, empathy, understanding, acknowledgement, communication, but then there are those that we don't necessarily think of when approaching the subject. Patient, support, compassion, problem solving, adaptability. And when looking at these, we're not simply looking to understand the words and what they mean. We need to look at how as a manager, you adapt them based on how those you are managing will receive them. Second, let's look a little further into the science aspect of this all. Again, according to dictionary.com, science is defined as a particular branch of knowledge. So this is a little bit more in line with what we're going for, but what do we need to know about people to be successful in managing them? There are numerous widely respected and popular personality and emotional intelligence tests, which aid in identifying who an individual is, their strengths and weakness, preferred communication styles, how they view the world and perceptions of that person. Who a person is has a direct impact on performance. Therefore, by basing professional relationships around accurate understanding of the test results, we are empowered to manage said relationships in the best way possible. Let's dive a bit deeper into two of the personality tests outlined. The first is 16 personalities. Based on a series of 60 questions that takes no more than 12 minutes, their words, not mine, aimed at identifying what drives, inspires, and worries different personality types. The result is a five-letter acronym, the Big Five, which when combined, define the personality type of the user. Each letter describes a specific trait with the combinations forming types and type groups. There are 16 total personality possibilities, hence the name, with names such as the adventurer, advocate, architect, that offer insight into the user's strengths and weaknesses, romantic relationships, friendship, parenthood, and workplace habits. Information that is incredibly valuable to the overall makeup of the person you are working with. Next up is CliftonStrengths. This test takes a bit longer, coming in around 45 minutes, could be longer, could be shorter, that allows the user to review and answer 177 paired statements to determine natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Once completed, you will receive a list of five themes and personalized insights out of 34, which aim to provide insight into what you naturally do best, how to best develop your greatest talents and customize results that encourage the user to live their best life. Utilizing the information, you're able to help yourself, your team, and your organization maximize your talents and lead to optimal results, regardless of the situation. But how do these work together? How do we get to the part that combines the two and apply this to real life? I'd like to take you through a story, one that reflects how looking at the art of interaction with the science of who people are enabled me to maneuver a complex situation to come out successful on the other side. Names have been changed to protect the identity of all involved. So this is a story of a new team member I had joined my team. Let's call her Sarah. Similar in age, but in a different department, we had the same number of years of work experience and seemed to get along really well right out of the gate. I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to figure out how we could best be a team and work together. Being that she was new, I approached the situation slightly different in that I wanted her to get settled after being the new person before really reviewing her interactions with others. You know how it goes, you start a new job, everything is great, you're not exactly 100% yourself right off the bat. With that, I asked Sarah to do what she could in that moment, complete the Myers-Briggs personality test. I then took this information and kept it in my trusty desk drawer until I was ready to review. After a few months of working together, the honeymoon was over. And while we still got along well, you could sense the disconnect of what needed to get done for the projects and what was produced. It was a bit chaotic and no one was winning. The opportunity to review Sarah's personality test and couple it with what I had learned of her over the course of her time with the company was a natural next step in figuring out this working relationship. Here's what I knew. Sarah relished an outward acknowledgement. She was a great communicator via email, but struggled a bit in person. She had a tendency to become distant if we had her working on a project with a large team and struggled with the opinions of others if they were different from her own. From there, I reviewed the results and found out she was an INTJ type personality, according to her Myers-Briggs personality test. After some research, I learned that based on her personality type, she may prefer working independently or with a small team. And a typical tendency of this person was to have frictions with team members with different perspectives. Bingo, this was spot on to what I had seen. Armed with this information, I sent her an email starting with recognition of all the work she was doing and reiterated how much I enjoyed having her on the team, the acknowledgement that she enjoyed. From there, I stated that I had noticed working with her that her working on or with large teams appeared to be difficult for her and suggested she might be comfortable on a smaller team, one that she could lead and have more of an impact with. At the end of it, I asked her when she was ready to come sit with me to discuss how we could move forward. And it worked. It took her a couple of days, but by letting her know I would be available on her terms in a way that I knew she would respond well to, we were then able to have a conversation that was meaningful and straightforward, but based in understanding and solution. In taking the insights of my observations and the test, we were able to iron out some of the issues she was having, develop a plan of action, and get the project back on track. Although I no longer work with her during the remainder of my time with the company, we got along great. I continued to observe and react to her in a way that met her where she was most comfortable. And if there was a hurdle to cross, I was equipped with the knowledge of how to navigate it so that the entire team could come out ahead. Her situation and my experience with it remains a constant reminder of how I continue to recognize the delicate balance those around me need to be successful in their own role. No two people or situations are the same, but knowing the information about them allows me to be a better people manager than I ever thought possible. Now it's your turn. Time for you to take action. How can you take these items back to your team and find new ways to better work with them in a way that they will respond best? First, pay attention. Watch your team. Monitor how they engage with others and with you, but also their demeanor and response to the way that they're interacted with. Does someone raising their voice put them on the defensive? Do they shine when recognized in a room full of their peers? How often do they need to take a personal day for a mental break? Asking yourself questions like these forces you to look deeper and adapt your own engagement with them to ensure positive interactions even when it comes to tough subjects. Second, encourage your team to take a personality test. It doesn't have to be the ones I've highlighted here today, just ones that will give you some insight. Then use what you see from monitoring them in their element and combine it with what they tell you through these tests. What is their personality type? Are they independent and determined and therefore do not need a lot of guidance from you and will likely be annoyed if you give them too much direction? Use this information to meet them on their turf without having to ask them directly where their turf is. Third, remember this, people are complicated. One more time, we're complicated. No two people respond exactly the same to the individual aspects, let alone a combination of them based on their personality type, even if it says the two are the same. At the core, people need to be communicated with, recognized, understood, acknowledged, the list goes on and on. And it is our job as managers to recognize the necessity of adapting ourselves to who they are in order to be able to best support them in their element. Finally, don't assume this will give you all the answers. Be flexible, adapt, and if that doesn't work, be more flexible and adapt some more. With both the art and the science, while the approach can be different, the principle is all the same. If you can find a way to navigate them based on the individuals and teams you're working with, I'm confident that you will ensure the longevity of that team member, their work, and ultimately your clients for years to come. Thank you. I would like to take this opportunity. If anyone has any questions, we have Jordana helping us out. I know I have Kenna from my team. If there's anything that you all would like to ask, I'd love to take the next three minutes or so and answer any questions. Must have answered all of them. Oh, have you ever had anyone who is completely opposite of their personality test? Yes, I wouldn't say that this is an exact science as much as I would like to speak to it being the art and the science and that's the premise of this conversation. I definitely take the personality test and use it for what it is, but my biggest indicator is using that as a supplement for what I am observing from the team that I'm working with. That is going to be the best indication of who they are, how they work, how they respond to certain situations. And then with the personality test, I'm able to either confirm or confirm with adjustments how I should be working with somebody or how they prefer to be worked with. Which personality test is a go-to for you in terms of giving you the best information on your team members? There are so many tests. And if you'd like more information, I did put together a list of all of my favorites, complete with links that I can share with you. But in terms of my favorite, I really like Myers-Briggs, not only because it gives you the insight into who a person is from a workplace perspective, but also how to engage with them outside of work. I think there's something powerful to be said in how you can get along with your peers outside of the office. And by having that understanding, you can really develop a full circle working relationship that doesn't always necessarily have to be at work. Let's see what methods might I use if I can't ask them to take a personality test? Really just observe them in their element. I can't speak to this enough. I'm fortunate in my position as a project manager that I can really watch my team members work. And that's of my privilege, but I really can't speak enough to just listening to what they have to say, how they say it. Like I said, because the personality test is really a supplement to what I learn in observation, the biggest indicator of how best to work with them is what they're telling me, whether that be verbally or non-verbally. Okay, I have one more minute and you all have such great questions. And I'm terribly sorry, I can't answer all of them, but I know that there's someone coming after me. I'd love to continue this conversation. If you'd like to send me an email, my email address is jannisatin.io. And then I can also share with you the PDF that I put together for you all to be able to take action in your own workplace. And then as always, Atten brought free sketchbooks. So if you're interested and you wanna snag your own, please head over to the Atten booth to get yours. And thank you all again so much. I really appreciate it.