Who hasn’t thought at one time or another that a job is really nothing more than something that has to be done, an onerous task that isn’t supposed to be fun? After all, it does come with a paycheck. Isn’t that enough?

Not for high performers! Surveys today indicate that wages aren’t the primary motivator among good workers. Although successful employees agree that financial rewards are important, stability, recognition, and feedback are cited as the real motivating forces…and the reason is relatively simple. Employees who feel secure and appreciated enjoy their jobs, and are therefore happy to go to work each day. They turn in at night satisfied, eagerly anticipating tomorrow, because they’re following their heart’s desires.

What’s the secret, then, to hiring people whose hearts tell them to do exactly what a job description calls for? The truth is that it’s not a secret at all, but a matter of managers becoming familiar with people’s basic behavioral styles. Every individual possesses easily observable behavioral characteristics. A manager’s job, then, is to learn to recognize these styles, and know the assets and liabilities associated with each.

Unfortunately, very few managers or supervisors are trained to recognize behavioral styles and to communicate effectively with each. This puts a manager at an extreme disadvantage, and limits her to communicating in one style only— her own.

For example, most of us have made statements that we thought were extremely clear and precise, only to realize later that the person we talked to simply didn’t get it. The reason is not that the other person was dim-witted, or that we communicated poorly (although both are possibilities!). It’s more likely—and my professional experience bears this out—that people with differing behavioral styles simply communicate differently. A manager who can recognize different behavioral styles, and who learns to communicate with each, is bound to be more successful at resolving conflicts, eliminating miscommunication, and enhancing performance.

Each of the four basic behavioral styles or types (i.e., Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance) boasts unique strengths as well as inherent weaknesses. If a manager is cognizant of those assets and liabilities, s/he can place a person who has the natural ability to perform a certain task in the position best suited to his or her skills.

Identifying the natural skills that each employee possesses makes performance enhancement a much simpler task. Once a manager learns to recognize different behavioral types, s/he will learn which motivational factors are effective and which are not. The insight a manager gains by learning the power of behavior recognition will provide him or her with the understanding essential to improving hiring, training, and retention.

It’s also important that supervisory and employee teams evaluate the requirements of a particular job both verbally and formally to include behavioral styles. Many work environment and task analysis surveys are available. Utilizing these and other resources will help staff and management uncover what behavioral styles are needed for various positions within the company. These simple preventative measures will minimize stress and optimize performance.

Collaboration can also be used to create a template for placing employees in positions in which they will perform best. Validation can easily be accomplished by comparing the profiles of superior performers with those of non-performers. An individual who does not fit well into the template designed for his position can then be retrained and motivated with an appropriate incentive based on his motivational makeup.

Companies can arrange for managers to learn behavioral recognition training through competent behavioral specialists certified in analysis and training. The minor investment involved in training management and staff will pay for itself over and over again. Changing even the simplest processes will afford companies a huge advantage during the hiring, screening, and training processes.