Professionalism

Styles at Work and Play

November 13, 2006

 

Increasingly, I am aware that the real goal of all our programs is to help people get along at work. Whether discussing business etiquette or ethics, I hope that at the end of any one of my sessions the folks with whom I’ve just spent some time will treat each other just a bit better.
 
This whole idea of “getting along” is the real thrust of our communications or work styles program.  I believe that most of us encounter four basic styles in the workplace. The styles include:
Drivers – fast-paced, goal-oriented, “Bottom line, what’s the answer?” people
 
Innovators – big thinkers, gregarious, “Why do we always have to do it that way?” people
 
Socializers – team builders, listeners, “Why can’t we all get along people?” people
 
Correctors – detail-oriented, number crunchers, “What makes you say that?” people
My husband and I possess very different styles. I am an extreme Driver, and he is a Corrector through and through. Though our styles are not always on open display, they usually are fairly apparent. Consider a recent weekend hike.
 
Last weekend, John and I decided to hike up a mountain just outside of Boulder, CO. The first part of the walk was moderately challenging. The last part was an utter thrill.  It required us to literally scale somewhere between 50 to 75 feet of mountain face, finding small crevices for our feet and rocks overhead to pull up on. The whole experience left be absolutely exhilarated.
 
On our way back to the car, John stopped me at one point and asked rather sternly, “Had it ever occurred to you that you could have fallen?” Of course, it hadn’t. I had seen a group of college students scramble up the face of the cliff and figured if they could do it so could I. As soon as the last one achieved the summit, I knew I had to make the climb. 
 
John continued, “Did you even consider the fact that you have five presentations over the next two weeks and untold meetings? How could you possibly have made all your appointments if you had fallen and broken a leg?” The thought had never crossed my mind.
 
Drivers will nearly always succeed at setting overall goals and objectives and then plugging away at accomplishing them. Correctors will consider all the potential problems that might emerge along the way.

 




 



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