We all know that achieving a particular goal requires a lot of effort. It takes so much dedication and perseverance to go through obstacles to be at the top.
It is especially tough for a large project that requires a number of people to help out. The challenging thing about working in a team is the ability to get along with the rest of the team members.
Each person has different styles in getting the job done. Despite that, each person's skills and roles must contribute and support the team to reach the specified goals.
Hence, it is vital to have a group of members that complement each other in order to avoid conflict and miscommunication. Therefore, how do we determine the team members' skills and roles compatibility?
In 1979, an American Dr named Dr Ichak Adizes, a world-leading management expert and the founder of the Adizes Institute recognized that each person possesses four management roles in any group setting.
However, no one falls perfectly into each role. Everyone possesses a mixture of the four roles and has at least two strong roles that contribute to the group work. He called it the PAEI model, which is an acronym for the producer, administrator, entrepreneur, and integrator.
He mentioned that these roles help to create a healthy and high-performing company. Each person possesses these four roles, but we only have two primary and stronger ones influencing our working style.
Hence, Dr Ichak highly recommends that every organization should look into each member's PAEI score. The reason being is that it can fill up every position needed to get the organization going and support each other's strengths and weaknesses.
As a result, it will create an efficient and productive organization in fulfilling their duties and reaching their goals.
Employees are no longer just human resources. They are a team with a bunch of various personalities, and they must be treated as such.
For this reason, the leader of the team must seek to develop a high level of dedication among the team members based on the crossing point of desired outcomes and team member's individual goals and values.
Let us dive into the PAEI model to have a clear understanding of how it helps in creating successful team management.
First and foremost, any organization's ultimate goal is to produce the expected results. It is the most crucial role which enables the organization to satisfy the customer's needs and wants.
Here is where the producers come in, as they are responsible for getting the final outcome. Producers frequently work at a fast pace and are engrossed with the end result.
They are highly ambitious and enthusiastic to get the desired results. Therefore, the final product must meet the expected results, and the producer and their team work extremely hard to ensure that this occurs.
Secondly, in order for the organization to reach its goals, there need to be systems to provide a path of direction. Hence, the administering role helps out in this matter as they are concerned with how things are done.
They are highly analytical and structured people, as they are interested in instructions and regulations. Administrators are responsible for managing an organization by getting things organized, coordinated, scheduled, and systematized.
In general, everything has to be under control.
They coordinate all the activities of the organization to create a more efficient and productive work environment. Therefore, it is incredibly significant for an organization to be systematic to ensure everything goes smoothly to reach the end goal.
It is especially consequential during the organization expansion, as the systems have to upgrade too.
Apart from that, an organization requires people that help to motivate and take on new opportunities to allow the business to grow bigger and better.
Therefore, each person with the highest level of entrepreneur role can assist in brainstorming multiple innovative ideas and facilitate the organization to adapt to new changes.
This group of people are hard workers who are always thinking of new ways to improve the business. They consistently have a clear vision for the future, which allows them to develop the best strategies for a company.
Their acuities enable them to differentiate between opportunities and threats to the organization and to take calculated risks. Plus, they make decisions and solve problems through unstructured approaches, unlike the administrators.
Last but not least, every organization requires full cooperation from each employee. Their contribution will help to keep the business moving forward and reach magnificent achievements.
In order for this to happen, each employee has to have trust and good relationships with each other.
Therefore, the integrators have the ability to develop the bond within the team to create a harmonious working environment, which is beneficial for the company's growth.
They are the heart of the company, as they are trustworthy and empathetic people. They foster team harmony by bringing people together to trust and respect each other.
They are highly emotionally intelligent people, which is the key to boosting teamwork. Hence, it is why they have this responsibility to create a harmonious culture of the organization.
Now we know that the PAEI model showcases that each role is different but entirely vital for the growth of an organization.
Each organization needs producers to assist in gaining results, and it also demands a stable structure that the administrators are proficient at developing.
It also calls for the entrepreneurs to facilitate generating numerous creative ideas and venture into many opportunities to expand ahead.
All of these need every employee's teamwork where the integrators are able to contribute to developing the organization's best culture.
Hence, when a company has the right people holding these attributes, the company can obtain much success.
Here is a simple example based on the well-known animation movie Madagascar. Each character embodies the PAEI model, which was beautifully explained by Kate Devyatkina.
We all know that the group of four friends, Alex (the lion), Melmon (the giraffe), Marty (the Zebra), and Gloria (the Hippopotamus), are always on exciting adventures.
Each of them possesses the characteristics of the PAEI model, and it contributes to their fruitful journey.
Firstly, Alex is the star of the zoo. He constantly attracts the audience over to the zoo, and it is no doubt that he enjoys the admiration received from his contribution. In fact, every time Marty suggests an adventure, he is doubtful, as a producer is a result-oriented person who is always nervous when changes happen as there is a possibility of failure. He is the embodiment of the producer role due to this reason.
Then, we have Melmon, who represents the cute caricature of an office clerk. His life in the zoo is predictable and progress at a slow pace, which portrays the identical character of an administrator. Plus, most of his friends turned to him for any advice or data. The reason being is that he is a very structured and prepared person, just like an administrator.
Other than that, the life of the group, Marty acts as the entrepreneur of the group, as he is the enthusiastic one who constantly starts their numerous adventures. He is an energetic, visionary and high-driven character that influences his friends to join his crazy ideas. Without his enthusiasm, his group of friends will not be able to go on numerous fruitful experiences.
Lastly, there is Gloria, who is the glue of the group. She possesses the integrator role, as you always find her solving the conflicts among her friends. She acts as the voice of the group, which allows her friends to rely on her for anything.
All in all, these characters interestingly present the perfect example of the PAEI model. You can see how everyone's roles affect each other in the group and the outcome from their interactions.
Let us dive into the benefits of integrating each role into a team. It is beneficial for an organization to take into account their employee's PAEI score.
It provides valuable information to accommodate any specific company's projects. It ensures that the people can enjoy their job based on their best proficiency and abilities, which in result will contribute to the company's growth.
Firstly, the PAEI model is a simple model that anyone in any position, from interns to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), can understand.
In fact, the company can easily apply it for their hiring process. It allows them to find the right people with the right roles to fill in the available positions.
Moving on, the PAEI model is an accurate representation of how most people work, as claimed by most enterprises and multinational companies.
It explains what drives the person to do better, what affects their workflow, and the work nature of the person.
Learning this will allow the company to understand their employees and make a strategy on ways to ensure they can work efficiently.
Apart from that, this PAEI model is not limited to employees and corporate purposes only. It can be applied for other reasons, such as personal development, project planning and managerial process.
Adding on, the PAEI model also acts as a reference for the organization to grow. The different stages in the business life cycle require specific roles that fit the phase, as, throughout time, the organization's situation changes.
Therefore, it provides insight into which roles and energy that is needed more in that particular point to allow the organization to stay sustainable.
Hence, by adjusting the weight of each role, the organization can deal with all the different challenges in the business life cycle.
In conclusion, the PAEI model is an advantageous tool to identify the people with the correct roles you need in a particular department or the stage of your business.
It acts as a checklist to ensure you have a well-rounded group of people that helps to bring the goal alive.
Apart from that, it also reminds the company of ways to develop a healthy working environment that allows each employee to work efficiently by learning about the personalities of the employees.
It is favourable to the organization to identify everyone's strengths and weaknesses, which allows the team to brainstorm on how to tackle them.
Therefore, adopting this model into your day-to-day operations will provide you with valuable information to achieve the organization's desired goals.
If all of people think alike, none of them is thinking too hard.
Ichak Adizes
