You may have heard the saying, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” While a good general rule that implies one should avoid mistreating others, a more effective phrase is “Treat someone the way they want to be treated.”

Everyone is different and has a unique perspective. One person’s preference may be another person’s pet peeve. For instance, one person may prefer to be left alone when they’re upset, while another person prefers to talk things out instead.  Recognizing these differences, by seeking to understand others, can go a long way to communicating and connecting effectively.

The Four Work Personalities

We have two main parts to our brains—the left and the right side. The left side deals with analytical thinking, numbers, steps, and facts while the right side deals with emotion, the big picture, and the whole. Although we use both parts of our brain, a theory exists that humans tend to rely more on one side of their brain. This dominance segments the human population into two categories, right-brained and left-brained individuals.

Right brain or left brain dominance creates differences or styles in the way we approach work, problem solving, and communication. These styles can be categorized into four work personalities. These work personalities should not be confused however, with your personality type. Work personalities are simply a way of categorizing different styles of communication and problem solving in the workplace.

Implementer

An implementer is someone who executes with a dominant left brain. They focus on management and getting things done. They make plans and check things off their list.

Effective communication with an Implementer

 

1. Keep the relationship businesslike
2. Take a step-by-step approach using common sense principles and facts
3. Offer clearly defined results that fit the expectation for plans and goals
4. Provide detailed explanations of various features of an idea
5. Be precise, efficient, time-disciplined, and well organized
6. Explain your ideas carefully and orderly
7. Provide step by step proposals with instructions and time frames
8. Make a list of questions and  objections and answer them in order and accurately

 

Analyzer

An analyzer is a person who uses logic to interpret words and has a dominant left brain. They prefer to have numbers, data, and facts. They thrive on having evidence and making “correct” decisions based on all the data available.

Effective communication with an Analyzer

 

1. Support a logical thoughtful approach
2. Develop a rationale that proves your facts and figures are correct
3. Provide solid, tangible, factual evidence backed by research with technical and financial data
4. Be systematic, exact, organized and prepared
5. Provide alternatives to analyze and choose from
6. Provide pros and cons to different choices
7. Do not rush the decision making process
8. Provide written materials after a meeting that summarizes what was discussed and the data behind it

 

Collaborator

A collaborator works with other people to solve a problem. Their right brain is more dominant. They prefer to work in a group rather than by themselves and enjoy forming and strengthening interpersonal relationships. They are often emphatic and use a lot of feelings to connect with others and make decisions.

Effective communication with a Collaborator

 

1. Focus to understand the mood and feelings of the collaborator
2. Provide a setting that invites an interpersonal relationship
3. Demonstrate understanding of their personal goals and how your idea will result in satisfaction for them
4. Support key relationships they have with others
5. When a disagreement occurs, focus to understand feelings and opinions versus facts and logic
6. Be agreeable by moving along in an informal manner
7. Demonstrate that you actively listening with intent to understand and are open and flexible in the discussion
8. Offer your personal support

 

Innovator

An innovator is someone who loves to imagine possibilities. They are strong right-brained individuals and usually considered “visionaries”. They often focus on the big picture and overall ideas.

Effective communication with an Innovator

 

1. Focus on big picture concepts instead of details
2. Be entertaining, spontaneous, and move quickly
3. Discuss ideas, dreams, intuition and vision of the future
4. Point out the unique parts of your idea and how they fit into the big picture
5. Talk in terms of opportunities, innovation, and future trends
6. Use metaphors and analogies
7. Develop stimulating ideas together
8. Indicate how you will execute and take care of the details
9. Make sure you are in agreement and follow up with a written summary to ensure agreement

 

Try It

With the above information in hand, we can recognize our work personality type and the work personality types of one or two people we normally communicate with. We can try some of the above approaches during our conversations to gauge their effectiveness in our interactions.