How the PI Management Strategy Guide Unlocks the New Rule of People Management

Do unto others as you would unto yourself - outdated management advice.

Back in Kindergarten, you probably learned the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s a simple way to help children develop a sense of justice and kindness. But what happens when the way we want to be treated isn’t the way our friends, loved ones, and strangers want to be treated? 

We all have needs in life, and some of those needs are typically pretty common. Clothes help to shield us from harmful UV rays, so we can probably agree that everyone has the need for clothing. The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you want to be treated; if we were to give everyone worldwide a shirt that only fits one person, a whole lot of people would be wearing some ill-fitting outfits.

Thus the Platinum Rule was coined: treat others the way they want to be treated. This concept provides individuality and a bespoke approach to how we interact with others. It lets us learn more about our colleagues as we strive to “meet them where they are.” People feel more accepted and understood when we show that we understand them.

So how does the Platinum Rule apply to a work setting? Sure, it’s great to treat people the way they want to be treated regardless of the environment. But if we take it a step further into the management of others, we unlock a new, even more powerful way of supporting people. My new rule:

The Palladium Rule - Manage people the way they want to be managed.

I’ve named it after palladium. Palladium is estimated to be about 15 times rarer than platinum, making it significantly more expensive per ounce. The way we manage (or mismanage) our direct reports can have monumental impacts on our business results, so I think palladium is the perfect representation of how important this rule is. 

When we understand a person’s behavioral drives, we know the needs associated with those drives. Drives create needs, and behaviors are then a response to those needs. When we understand a person’s behaviors we know how best to interact with them, and in a work setting, how best to support and manage them. 

The PI Inspire module contains one of the best ways to manage this relationship and adhere to the rule: the PI Management Strategy Guide. The guide takes a person’s drives and predicts the behaviors they will have in the workplace, providing recommendations to managers around the best way to support their report. 

Here are some items that are described on the Predictive Index Managers Strategy Guide:

• The employee's natural strengths and areas for development.
• How the employee prefers to work and be managed.
• How the employee's behavioral preferences can be used to create a more motivating and productive work environment.
• Specific tips for communicating, delegating, giving feedback, and motivating the employee.

How to use the PI Management Strategy Guide to Unlock Employee Performance

The PI Management Strategy Guide is a valuable tool for managers who want to improve their leadership skills and create a more productive and engaged workforce. Here are some tips on how to use the guide:

• Get to know your employees' behavioral preferences. The first step is to understand your employees' behavioral preferences. This can be done by reviewing their PI Behavioral Assessment report. The report will provide you with a detailed overview of their preferences in four areas: dominance, extraversion, patience, and formality.
• Read the Management Strategy Guide for each employee. Once you have a good understanding of your employees' behavioral preferences, you can read the Management Strategy Guide for each employee. The guide will provide you with specific strategies for managing the employee based on their preferences.
• Use the strategies to improve your communication, delegation, feedback, and motivation. The strategies in the Management Strategy Guide can help you improve your communication, delegation, feedback, and motivation. By using these strategies, you can create a more motivating and productive work environment for your employees.
• Be flexible and adaptable. It is important to remember that people's behavioral preferences can change over time. As a result, you may need to adjust your management strategies as needed.

Here are some additional tips for using the PI Management Strategy Guide:

• Use the guide as a starting point. The guide is a great starting point for understanding your employees' behavioral preferences and developing strategies for managing them. However, it is important to use the guide as a starting point and to tailor the strategies to the individual employee.
• Get feedback from your employees. It is a good idea to get feedback from your employees on how you are managing them. This feedback can help you identify areas where you can improve your management skills.
• Be patient and persistent. It takes time to develop effective management skills. Don't be discouraged if you don't see results immediately. Just keep using the guide and practicing the strategies, and you will eventually see improvement.

My manager takes the guide a step further by not only asking if each item is correct, but then asking for a rating between 1 and 5 on how well he is supporting me with that behavior. Anywhere he is performing at a 3 or lower, we discuss how he can improve and brainstorm specific ways he can better support me. We check in once a quarter to make sure we are staying on track with the best way to manage me. 

The PI Management Strategy Guide is a valuable tool that can help you improve your leadership skills and create a more productive and engaged workforce. By following the tips above, you can get the most out of the guide and help your employees reach their full potential. If you're interested in learning more about all the powerful reports included in the PI Inspire toolkit, click here. 

When’s the last time you asked your report how they wanted to be managed? Download the Management Strategy Guide today and start applying the Palladium Rule.