The effectiveness of creative activity is linked to temperament. It is useful to consider that people with different temperaments exhibit these qualities differently:
1. ability to perceive and understand tasks;
2. predictive abilities;
3. ability to tolerate uncertainty;
4. capacity to generate ideas (the “power of the idea fountain”; its efficiency and degree of novelty);
5. skill in overcoming difficulties that arise on the path to resolution;
6. desire and ability to work in a creative team.
Conditions for Creativity in a Sanguine.
When assigning tasks to a sanguine, it is important to consider that they tend to interrupt the speaker to divert the conversation from an unpleasant topic. Therefore, first and foremost, it is necessary to ensure the continuity of their attention until the task is clearly stated.
The mobility of the sanguine’s psyche can be a drawback, leading to reduced concentration, which results in hasty and superficial decisions. Therefore, a large task requiring prolonged effort is morally difficult for them and is much more successfully resolved when presented as several separate achievements. These qualities make it beneficial to break down the entire problem into parts and periodically set new, preferably interesting tasks for the sanguine, each requiring focus and intensity for an acceptable period of time. It is necessary to systematically encourage their efforts. Otherwise, they may get bored and move on to something else. Additionally, to avoid premature switching, it is advisable to periodically emphasize the prospects that will arise for them after successfully completing this task, convincing them of a quick and grand victory. When considering the predictive capabilities of sanguines, it is important to note that they excel in both tactics and strategy, but they are better tacticians. The failure of a sanguine’s career is most often caused by an inability to predict the long-term consequences of their actions, overly optimistic hopes, lack of discernment in choosing means, and a tendency towards冒险. However, in the face of setbacks, a sanguine does not fall into despair but seeks a new field for applying their energy.
A sanguine handles uncertainty relatively easily, as they can switch to other tasks or areas of activity. They are distinguished by a variety of interests, so they get bored within the confines of a narrow problem. If the goal is hard to achieve, they reassess it. Then a new value is placed at the top of the hierarchy. This quality of a sanguine—the possibility of changing direction at any moment—allows them to endure uncertainty longer.
When generating ideas, a sanguine is not overly concerned with their accuracy and feasibility. They enjoy the process of using imagination more than their knowledge, and they value their role in the process more than its effectiveness. Therefore, they are free and spontaneous, and their proposals contain many superficial ideas. Even though this attitude may not yield personal results, it positively influences the well-being and productivity of other colleagues. When a sanguine is convinced that the goal is personally significant to them, very complex and energy-intensive tasks can be assigned to them, as a key characteristic of a sanguine is the ability to concentrate on the main goal. When the goal is clear, they become an energetic person, a strong personality, and an excellent leader.
The ability to work in a team is one of the sanguine’s strong points, so they often take on leadership roles. In this capacity, they have sufficient knowledge to grasp the problem and enough self-confidence to convey a sense of confidence to others. Working in a group, a sanguine prefers a cooperative strategy because, on the one hand, they have the energy resources and the need for intense work, and on the other hand, they have low emotional thresholds and an internal locus of control with a positive attitude towards themselves and others.
Importantly, they are not only ambitious and pragmatic but also able to demonstrate to higher management the significance of their own work and that of their subordinates.
Conditions for Creativity in a Choleric.
When listening to instructions, a choleric, like a sanguine, often interrupts the speaker, but not because they want to divert attention from an unpleasant continuation. They simply worry that they might forget the ideas that come to mind and rush to express them. Therefore, the strategy for presenting tasks to a choleric is different: you need to interrupt as many times as necessary and summarize everything again from the beginning at the end. When considering tasks for a choleric, keep in mind that as a very active person, monotonous activities requiring patience and persistence are contraindicated for them. Thus, the task should be planned for a long-term period. If necessary, the entire scope of work should be broken down into small parts, each presented as a separate task, with reports required for each and a comprehensive evaluation of the results.
A choleric is more of a tactician than a strategist. They are a dynamic person always oriented towards the future, with little interest in the past, and they struggle to shift their focus to what has been done. This weakens their ability to analyze the results they have obtained. When faced with uncertainty, a choleric seeks to quickly eliminate it. However, by spending little time reviewing the situation and fully trusting themselves, they do not change their strategy as uncertainty increases (with the number of tasks or parameters growing). As a result, their number of mistakes rapidly increases.
A choleric enjoys combining entirely different and dissimilar ideas and creating something new and original based on them. When they have an interesting idea, they are ready to share it with the world. They are an indefatigable advocate of their ideas and can inspire many others. It is important to remember that during the idea generation process, a choleric does not accept criticism.
In performing tasks, a choleric is more tolerant of stress generated by creativity than representatives of other temperaments and is not afraid of heavy loads, thus excelling when working with large amounts of information. Cholerics strive for tasks that exceed average difficulty and often successfully complete them. Since a choleric cannot wait for long, they often start a project and then abandon or sell it, losing time or money in the process. Similarly, they often invent but are unable to capitalize on their inventions. Given these traits, it is useful to place them in breakthrough roles. Behind them should follow a team that “solidifies” and formalizes the results.
Since a choleric’s subjective confidence in their results is significantly higher than that of phlegmatics and melancholics (due to a tendency to make quick decisions without thorough analysis), control and evaluation should be entrusted to another person. Such checks should be organized quite tactfully, as a choleric poorly tolerates disciplinary restrictions, regulations, and control. Control is best conducted through written materials, without direct contact with the executor, taking into account the choleric’s excitability and conflict-proneness. The communication of a choleric with a group has its own specifics; unlike representatives of other temperaments, competitive situations do not bother them and even stimulate them. They tend to judge too quickly, immediately dismissing ideas that are too perfect.
Conditions for the Creativity of a Phlegmatic.
In the process of receiving instructions, a phlegmatic tries to classify the information and fit it into their schema, perceiving only what fits, even if it means omitting part of the explanation. They take a long time to think about what they have heard and often give incomplete answers, which they later supplement after a long pause. Therefore, at the end of the conversation, it is desirable to ask them to formulate the task as they understand it. By listening to their own retelling, the phlegmatic fills in the gaps with clarifying questions. When preparing tasks for a phlegmatic, consider that they require significant tasks for a long-term period. They believe that nothing substantial can be achieved in a hurry. They need to be gradually engaged in the task, as they take a long time to get involved and poorly tolerate switching to other tasks. Therefore, when necessary, a new task can be imagined as a continuation or development of the old one. The predictive talents of a phlegmatic are linked to their interest in the past, allowing them to well account for various lines of development over long intervals of the future. Their goal is to minimize the unpredictable and reduce uncertainty. Therefore, they are much more strategists than tacticians. A scholarly phlegmatic outlines strategic directions for activity and often dedicates their entire life to a single topic. If the topic is promising, they achieve significant success.
The phlegmatic is capable of handling tasks of great complexity even when there is a high degree of uncertainty. Since they switch slowly and with difficulty and take a long time to get used to new tasks, more time should be allocated to the initial stages of work. The phlegmatic spends a lot of time gathering information and assessing their starting data. However, once they get started, they won’t need to change direction or go back to the beginning. For their work to be effective, it’s best if the new task follows the previous ones.
The main strategy for overcoming difficulties for the phlegmatic is methodicalness. This is a hardworking, diligent person who needs to see a task through to completion. Their perseverance and patience make them a professional in their field. They love a well-established order: everything should be in its place and happen on time. The ideal for the phlegmatic is a planned, predictable life; they do not like “surprises” or changes to the usual course of events. A key advantage of the phlegmatic is that as the number of hypotheses and tasks analyzed increases, the number of incorrect decisions they make does not increase significantly. On the other hand, they can conduct quite thorough checks of their results.
When discussing the phlegmatic’s position in a team, it’s important to remember that they are more likely to succeed in individual projects. In this role, they are a reliable team member because they dislike changing either their location or the nature of their work. However, in collaborative work, one must be cautious, as they might agree with a mistaken idea without much thought and not defend their own correct opinion simply because they are lazy about getting involved in discussions. But if they do engage, they will no longer listen to anyone else. While others are still discussing, they are already acting on their own.
Creative Conditions for the Melancholic.
When setting tasks for the melancholic, it’s important to remember that they are often so absorbed in themselves and their feelings that they hardly hear or perceive their interlocutor. Therefore, first and foremost, you need to ensure that the melancholic is engaged in the situation. Successfully engaging the melancholic in work allows you to take advantage of their heightened sensitivity to new trends. They have an enhanced intuitive perception and are the first to sense new trends in all fields, science, and technology, “catching the wind in their sails.” In this regard, the melancholic acts like a seismographic instrument measuring weak vibrations. However, even after sensing these vibrations, they often do not trust themselves and do not inspire confidence in others. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully listen to even their timid recommendations and not demand in-depth justification or independent implementation, leaving these responsibilities to others. At the same time, when preparing tasks for them, it’s important to remember that the key is not to scare them and to emphasize that the task is quite simple and they have a good chance of completing it.
Melancholics avoid predictions and planning because they fear disappointment. However, when a melancholic dares to see their future, they gain strength to achieve results. The predictive abilities of the melancholic significantly depend on the magnitude of the perceived threat, which arises from uncertainty. When this tension exceeds a certain threshold, the melancholic’s goal-directed behavior breaks down, and the desire to use spontaneous, random strategies begins to grow (if they don’t hide, they may flee).
The melancholic views any life task as very important and significant, believing that it will require incredible effort from them. They are already convinced that they will not have enough physical or mental energy to solve it. Then the question arises: “How to protect oneself from excessive loads?” If events develop favorably, the melancholic will essentially prevent situations that they cannot handle. Outside of extreme situations, they are skilled at organizing various approaches and methods for solving tasks and executing the planned program meticulously and economically. They far less frequently than sanguines and cholerics find themselves in time-crunch situations because they prepare for work most thoroughly, considering the possibilities of unfavorable circumstances and thinking through their behavior. In conflicts, melancholics prefer avoidance strategies. This is due to their heightened emotional sensitivity. Additionally, they prefer tasks with a higher probability of success. Overall, melancholics stand out for a great alignment between the level of their aspirations and the level of tasks they actually perform, meaning their aspirations are more realistic than those of sanguines and cholerics, who are characterized by unrealistic, often overly high, aspirations.
Granovska R.M., 2004