Whether you work in an office or from home, there’s always going to be one common factor: people. Between Zoom meetings, group projects, and communications with customers, you’ll probably run into a variety of personalities. Sometimes those personalities will mesh with yours and you’ll get along great. Other times, that won’t exactly be the case.

It can be challenging when someone you see and interact with every day has a personality that clashes with your own, and can leave you unsure of how to navigate it. Have you ever collaborated with someone and found that no matter what either of you did, it just felt awkward?

Whatever the case, we all have our own personalities. It’s part of who we are. And it’s more than just our attitude — it’s what causes us to act and react the way we do in every situation. But when we encounter a different personality in the workplace, that can be difficult to remember.

So, what do you do?

We gathered some tips to help you more easily navigate different personalities:

1. Study Different Personality Types

There are multiple personality tests out there, and they are a great way to understand yourself and others better. One of the simplest yet detailed of these tests is The Color Code, devised by Taylor Hartman. It’s based on four different personality types, identified by colors: red, blue, white, and yellow.

Take the test! Once you get your results, read about your personality type and then read about the others. Once you have a general understanding of each color, it will become quite easy to identify those colors in other people.

Remember that this test will not be 100% accurate — everyone is unique, and can’t perfectly fit into one of four boxes.

2. Use Your Differences to See Things from Another Perspective

You may not always see eye to eye with a coworker, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Put yourself in their shoes for a moment and try to understand their perspective. Perhaps they have a background in an area that’s not as familiar to you.

Compare ideas — they may bring a new thought to the table that you didn’t even realize was a possibility. You could even do the same for them. Hear them out, and see if they’ll hear you out too.

3. Find Balance in Differing Personalities

If you’re working with someone who is more assertive while you tend to be more passive, there can be power in that.

Say you’re working alongside a coworker to pitch an idea to your boss. If you were both too assertive, it would probably come across as off-putting. If too passive, any sliver of rejection would be the end of it. But when those two different qualities come together, that balance can be very productive.

4. Adapt Your Communication Style to Others’ Personalities

Everyone has a different communication style: assertive, passive, aggressive, or passive-aggressive. Recognize these communications styles and adapt to them. Take a more guiding approach when working with a passive type, a calm yet firm approach when working with an aggressive type, etc.

Sometimes, compromise is just what’s necessary to make things work. Remember, where different personality types clash, they can also complement each other. Even if it’s a shorter interaction, take note of the ways they communicate and adapt.

In the end, we’re all only human. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and we should all be open to understanding those in other people. Empathy goes a long way. With a general knowledge of different personality types, you can recognize and understand the ways others think, making it easier to collaborate with them, while giving yourself an opportunity to grow.

Visit our careers page to learn more how Reynolds associates are collaborating every day.