The classification of temperament, made two and a half thousand years ago by Hippocrates, has become the alphabet of all modern psychologists. The ability to express facial expressions, gestures, and sometimes physique to predict a possible human reaction to a particular emerging situation is very important for any manager or staff member. Possession of such a skill allows you to correctly distribute responsibilities in the team, entrusting work to everyone according to his abilities.
The merit of Hippocrates is that he singled out the main types of human characters. There are four of them, in a pure, refined form, each of them is extremely rare, but some usually prevail, affecting the selective working capacity in relation to the occupation and determining the psychological microclimate.
The most pleasant "in all respects" sanguine members are considered members. At first glance, their advantages are so high that such people can simply be admired. Some leaders sometimes think that other types of people's characters are not needed at all, I want to assemble some sanguine people in a team. They are creative, always splashing with new ideas, getting along with everyone because of natural sociability, friendly, optimistic, witty, easily adapt to changes and very energetic. However, looking at the sanguine more closely, it is easy to detect its serious shortcomings. The ability to get involved in a new idea logically combines with the rapid loss of interest in it, and, consequently, the lack of desire to bring things to an end. Sanguine people are very good as generators of ideas and performers of the most creative areas of work.
Phlegmatic people seem to be their complete opposite - sort of lumps, they do everything slowly and gradually. They don’t like to talk at all, they rarely gesticulate and, having got used to some kind of lifestyle, they perceive any change in it as a hostile intervention. Such passivity, which at first glance seems like a nasty trait, is in fact a very valuable quality. The perseverance of the phlegmatic and his methodical work capacity can be very well used for hard work, when other types of people's characters are unlikely to work. He may be a rare idler, but capable of becoming a true hard worker, it all depends on the ability of the leader to correctly set the task.
Melancholy people do not seem to be a very good acquisition for the team. They combine slowness with imbalance and temper, and for all their irritability, they are usually very lazy. It is easy to offend a melancholic, completely unwilling to do so. Initiatives - zero, but to overdo it with his grumbling the whole team for him - a couple of trifles. But one should not rush to get rid of such an employee. Melancholic people are very talented and, when appreciated, are able to work miracles. These are not draft horses, but trotters, they just need to be able to manage.
Choleric people are extremely energetic and active, it is impossible to imagine them somewhere from the edge, and not in the thick of things. The ability to quickly navigate the environment and make decisions, though not always optimal, perseverance and the will to bring any business to the end are combined with aggressiveness and temper, and self-confidence with self-confidence. The mood changes very often. Choleric people do not know how to restrain themselves, but quickly move away after a flash of anger. As a rule, subordinates of such bosses love if they are smart, and they hate if not. And this, alas, happens, a fool choleric - this is the most terrible leader.
These are the main types of people's characters. Among them there are no good and bad, in nature everything is rational. It just happens that a person is out of place, and more often than not, he himself suffers from it first of all.
Modern psychiatry considers types of character accentuation according to the theory of the German professor Karl Leonhard, but the basis of this classification is the a priori pathological nature of any person. Despite the vagueness of the border separating sick people from healthy people, I really want to believe that most of the people around us are still normal.