Controller
Controllers are self-disciplined and fast-paced— always driving themselves to get things right. Controllers are typically straightforward, responsible, and factual. They work hard to develop technical expertise, respect authority, and operate within established guidelines.
Highlights: Loyal Conscientious Detail-oriented Anticipates problems
Maximize your business potential by tapping into people’s natural strengths.
The Controller Reference Profile—like all Reference Profiles—has many unique strengths and characteristics. Understanding the differences in your people can help you build a company that achieves the results you’re after. The same way you’d build a world-class sports team, knowing how your people think and work helps you optimize for success.
The Controller on a team
Controllers are specialists. They’re known to be thorough in all training and policies. They thrive in and help contribute to a culture that values efficiency and detailed work. Teams are often designed by default rather than intention. A strategic, data-driven approach to building teams is what helps organizations win.
Business strategy and the Controller
Before you know whether someone is the right person for the job, you need total clarity and alignment on the results you’re after. What’s the goal or desired outcome? When we ask questions like this, we get a better understanding of the need to align people strategically for specific results.
When you put people in the right roles, you avoid turnover, toxicity, disengagement, and lost productivity. In the case of the Controller, while they can do a variety of things well, they naturally gravitate toward strategic activities that seek to produce results and increase efficiency.
Managing the Controller
Often managers try to manage everyone the same way—and that’s usually the way they like to be managed. But this approach can backfire. People like to be managed differently—and it may not always be in a way that comes naturally to you. Even beyond the individual needs, teams require different leadership styles. You wouldn’t manage a sales team the same way you’d manage a team of developers.
When working with Controllers, remember that they’re likely to be thorough, conservative, impatient, and self-disciplined. They’re typically less effective when project guidelines are ambiguous and the work environment is constantly changing. Controllers are strong at executing highly specialized, detailed work. When managing this profile, consider some of the following suggestions:
Give them specifics.
Provide opportunities to work at a fast pace.
Allow them to make autonomous decisions.
Stay on track and on time.
Provide them with a clear definition of responsibilities and authority.
Explain changes taking place and how they’ll be rolled out.
Explore talent optimization.
Companies that struggle to build high-performing teams are often missing critical people data. With our tools, expertise, experiance, and talent optimization, you can stop guessing at how to get the most from your people— and better align your people to deliver on the results you’re after.