Over the years I’ve come across several managers and companies that rely heavily on employees taking personality tests so they can learn about them and then how to manage them.  Not too long ago I worked with someone who, in my opinion, relied on them entirely too much. While it’s interesting trying to define people and put them into boxes, it’s also possible to work it too much and alienate your employees. I watched as several people were treated as colors only and not as people. It’s interesting to watch what happens after this.
Employees start talking bad about the manager and productivity slows down and then people lose their jobs and blame their manager whom they now really dislike when they used to like them.
That’s exactly what happened. In the span of about 3 months, 8 people were fired, laid off or quit because of poor management.
There’s a simple solution to this though. Always treat people  as people with care and respect. Never treat them as a number or color. Use personality tests to gain some insight, but always, always, always manage them as people.
