One of the things every leadership course includes is some discussion of personality types. Usually everyone has to take or retake a personality test for the Myers-Briggs system. You usually go around the room at some point and talk about, or show by example, the effects of each piece of the type.
Then, at some point, they recommend building teams with a diversity of personality.
But who actually ends up doing that? Sure, any reasonably good builder of small teams and assigner of tasks considers personality when doing that job. Good managers even consider diversity of personality as one input. Who goes to their list of people and Myers-Briggs types and uses that list?*
This can certainly be taken too far, as in “stop-and-frisk” policies, if those are examples of broken windows policing, as some suggest.
When applied to a team you’re leading, broken windows policing looks like: making sure uniforms are still sharp and worn properly, office common spaces are kept tidy, individuals are shown respect in each interaction, promises are kept, report and presentation standards are being met, and people generally meet the requirements and standards of each of their duties.
Commanders of operational units maintain their flying qualification. Most units in the Air Force aren’t flying units, but all have some mission they’re responsible for.
Remain Qualified on your Mission System
Once a quarter I should spend a day making sure I’m up to speed on the mission my folks are doing, and if possible I should get some practice actually doing it. At the least I should sit alongside folks as they execute the mission.
When the feeling in my organization is just a little… off; when someone reacts to my words in a way that I didn’t expect; when someone doesn’t come through with that task they said they’d finish; when my organization isn’t cutting it by some metric; when I let someone down; when I get any negative feedback; when I need to give any negative feedback.
Be deliberate.
Do some research about how other folks have handled the situation. If this is a large issue, there may be a relevant book. Find multiple points of view if possible. Read about how well others’ attempts at similar issues have succeeded or failed.