Build a More Effective Team!

Embrace Diversity in Work Style

Author: Patricia Katz

So, how would you like to join me on a mini tour through the office and meet the team? I know you’re busy; but it’ll only take a few minutes, and you might find it interesting. Here, I brought you a fresh cup of java. We’ll sip and stroll and see what we can find.

Look, there’s Jan, barely visible behind those stacks of paper sprawled across the top of her desk and piles of files spilling over onto the floor. I’ve never actually seen the top of her desk, but those sticky notes dangling from the arm of her long neck lamp sure add to the decor.

I see Chris is labouring away again behind his closed door. That ‘Do Not Disturb Except In Emergency’ sign hangs there a lot these days. There are a few new folks in the office who claim never to have met Chris in person, but he really does exist. I had an email from him just yesterday.

Here’s Tony, the new recruit of no fixed address. Today he’s parked at a workstation near the reception area, laptop and blackberry at hand—not a piece of paper in sight. Looks like he’s mapping out his mobile day ahead, happy as can be!

Sarah and Sid are holed up in Meeting Room B this morning. From the flurry of flipcharts, it looks like they’re having a go at the first-cut plan for an upcoming project. Yakking and yukking it up seems to be their regular style, but they sure do pump the work through!

Did you ever notice how differently people work even when they are part of the same team? Now, if we were strolling through your workplace, spying on you and your colleagues, what would we discover? The face of the modern workplace is one of diversity—and not just in terms of race, gender, and generation. People think, work, and connect in different ways. Understanding and embracing those differences is one of the keys to finding satisfaction and creating harmony and productivity in workplace teams.

Success depends on knowing yourself, becoming more aware of the preferences of others, and finding ways to accommodate and capitalize on the differences.

Here is a starter list of work style variables. Think about your own preferences, and see if you can predict how other members of your team might respond to the very same questions.

Pace: Are you more like the hare or the tortoise? Do you thrive on high-speed bursts of activity or do you prefer a more regular, even pace?

Variety: Does it energize you to bounce around between tasks, moving many jobs forward at once? Or would you rather focus on one task to completion and then move on to the next?

Planning: Do you prefer advance notice of tasks and projects so you can plan ahead and work them into your schedule? Or are you happy to roll with the punches, reprioritizing as needs and opportunities evolve?

Thinking: Are you someone who likes to take your time to analyze and think things through before proposing a course of action or responding to a request? Or do you do your best thinking out loud in conversation with others who will bounce ideas around with you until you work through to conclusion?

Prime Time: Do you do your best and most creative work first thing in the morning? Or are you more of a night owl, coming alive and fully energized in the late-night hours?

Integration: Do you need clear boundaries between your roles and responsibilities, compartmentalizing work, home life, and personal interests? Or do you enjoy mixing things up, moving back and forth between the various demands in your life—checking business email during a youngster’s soccer game, and making a personal call from work?

Collaboration: Do you prefer to work on your own, controlling all aspects of a task or project? Or would you rather operate as part of a team, sharing responsibilities between partners?

Order: Do you work best in the midst of a mess? Does flipping through your chaotic collection help you stay fresh, energized and engaged? Or do you need to have visible order to your workspace with papers grouped and info filed, so you can lay your hands on what you need at a moment’s notice?

Technology: Are you at ease operating in a mobile digital world—texting, reading online, storing information electronically, using as little paper as possible? Or are you more comfortable with newspapers in hand, paper and pen for notes, and print files for reference purposes?

Renewal: Do you prefer to re-energize on your own with a walk, a read, a rest, a bike ride—no company needed? Or, when you are exhausted, would you rather recharge by getting together with others to socialize and let off steam?

You’ll find highly effective individuals operating at every extreme and all along the continuum for each of these variables. The challenge is learning what works for you, and discovering the preferences of others. Armed with this knowledge, you can create a better fit, a stronger team, and choose to interact in ways that work for all.

Five Actions To Strengthen Your Team by
Embracing Different Styles:

Discover the unique features of your own work style. Observe yourself. Invite feedback. Take a behavioural style inventory (i.e. MBTI, Kolbe, Strengths Finder, or DiSC). Be able to describe to those you work with the top three conditions that help you deliver your best work.
Using observation, feedback and inventory approaches, learn as much as possible about the preferred work styles of your boss, your key colleagues, and each member of your team. Ask them for feedback on what you are doing that gets in their way. Discover how best you can support the conditions they need to deliver their best work.
When different work style preferences collide, raise the issue and explore the underlying needs at play. Agree on first steps you will both take in accommodating or working around the differences. Plan for regular check-ins to see if your strategies are improving the situation, or if you need to look for other options.
Expect and appreciate work style differences. Recognize that neither you nor the other person with whom you are in conflict are right or wrong—just different. Avoid applying negative labels and derogatory terms to approaches and behaviours that irritate you just because they’re not the ways you prefer to do things.
Actively search out colleagues and partners who compensate for the shadow side of your strengths by working from their own unique strengths. If you are a big picture thinker, find a partner who is great at handling the detailed research and follow-up. If you are motivated by speed and accomplishment at all costs, collaborate with someone strong in empathy and skilled in relationships.

PHOTO: Shattle » Dreamstime (Coffee Cup)

Patricia Katz, MCE CHRP, is a Canadian speaker and author who helps the overloaded and overwhelmed to get things done and have a life, too. Sign up for Pat’s free weekly e-zine, Pause, and learn more about easing your load at www.pauseworks.com and www.patkatz.com.