What your work style preference says about you

The analyser is very deliberate about decisions and constantly seeks data on which to base any action or reaction. [iStockphoto]

At a basic level, most work style and personality preference assessments plot you and your team on a continuum from introverted to extroverted and from task-oriented to people-oriented.

The point of such exercises is not to be deterministic about who you are or how you work, or, worse, to stereotype people, but rather to give you and your colleagues some shared language around your expressed preferences and to make you aware of some of the opposing poles of those leanings.

With the caveats that it's dangerous to fall into stereotypes and that we're all unique individuals, think of the primary quadrants of all work style assessments this way:

Analyser: introverted, task-oriented

The analyser is very deliberate about decisions and constantly seeks data on which to base any action or reaction. As a result, they'll be rigorous and prevent you from falling into an intuitive trap that lacks data-driven support. They have trouble acting without data, though, and because they're task-oriented, they can be less good at collaboration, process building, and bringing people along with their decisions and actions.

Director: extroverted, task-oriented

Directors have strong opinions about the "right" answer and a bias toward rapid action because they care a lot about getting to the proper outcomes quickly. They're great at establishing a vision but want everyone to align with it. They often do the work themselves because they don't enjoy building processes and feel confident about exactly what steps need to be taken, which can disempower others.

Promoter: extroverted, people-oriented

These talented individuals are charismatic and people-oriented. They have a lot of ideas and the ability to articulate an inspiring narrative. They don't like details or administration, and they're usually great starters but not always finishers. They can see the big picture and excel at inspiring others and building relationships.

Collaborator: introverted, people-oriented

These employees care a lot about the customer, be it an internal customer or an external one. Given this inclination, collaborators often build great systems to bring others along. Conversely, people-oriented builders tend to overcomplicate things because they don't want to leave anyone out.

They may create a process everyone can agree on, but that doesn't benefit the organisation. For example, you might end up with a process in which practically everyone on a team gets to meet a job candidate, but the time in process for that candidate might be 90 days.