Fleet Safety – How To Manage the Hot-Tempered Driver

If you hire drivers who have a Core D (Dominant) behavioral style and/or a high Individualistic value, you're asking for trouble. They're accidents waiting to happen.

These drivers crave power and control. They have a “my way on the highway” attitude. They take risks and lose their temper easily.

If you already have people like this driving for your company, there are ways to manage and motivate them. Keep in mind you can't change a person's natural behavioral style or attitude, but you can make them aware of their negative tendencies in hopes they'll learn to be safer drivers.

Understanding their need for authority and dominance over others, you can manage them more effectively by knowing that they need:

Encouragement to appreciate slower-moving people and have empathy for those who approach life differently than they do.
To adjust their intensity to match the situation.
Consistency. Give them systems to follow and put parameters or rules in writing.
To know the results expected of them and to be evaluated on the results.
A work environment with many activities; conversely, they need guidance on learning to pace themselves and relax.
Vacations and down time.

To motivate the Core D, High Individualistic driver, understand that they want:

A manager who practices participative management; don't micromanage them.
To be trusted.
Variety – travel or changing work stations (a given).
Freedom from control and detail; a support system to do the detail work.
Freedom to move, participate, and talk to people.
Rewards to support their dreams.

Successful managers manage by understanding people's needs and motivate by knowing what they want.

Behavioral Style Analysis and Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values assessments used in the pre-employment screening phase can tell you exactly if your driver applicants have the Core D behavioral style and/or the high Individualistic value. If so, don't hire them.

Then down the road, so to speak, you'll cut your accident rate significantly, reduce turnover of safe drivers, and save a lot of money.

Guaranteed.

©2007 Annette Estes.  All Rights Reserved.  Permission to reprint granted as long as entire text and tag line are included.