Each Monday, the Martin Sunday Lighting Design team has a team meeting, though we begin these meetings a little bit different than the average company team meeting. We start with a group Meditation session lead by one of our team leaders, we “Check In” with each other, then we’re led in a Personal Development Teaching Piece where a designated team member teaches the team something new that they’ve benefitted from either in their personal or professional life. You can learn more about this by reading What Sets Our Team Apart.
This week, it was my turn (Bailey Reber) to lead the Personal Development Teaching Piece and I chose to have the team participate in a personality quiz titled Work Styles Assessment. Feel free to take a moment to read over the quiz or even take it for yourself before diving into our discussion below.
Team Discussion
I began by first passing around pages 1-6 of the quiz (the pages containing all of the quiz answers) along with the two Work Styles Assessment Scoring Sheets (one of them is for scoring your Primary Work Style, the second one is for scoring your Secondary Work Style). I withheld pages 7-9 (the pages that describe the 4 Style in detail) and did so purposefully in order for the team to make answer choices based upon what they would actually do, not what they would like to think they would do.
After answering all of the questions, I asked each person to tally up their scores for both their primary and secondary work styles (the instructions for this are found within the quiz pages) so that we could go around the table and tell everyone what our results were. Before doing so, I told the team, “The point of doing this exercise is so that when we learn what our working styles are in conjunction with everyone else’s working styles, we can learn how to better work with each other as a team. Understanding your own style is important, but understanding everyone else’s style is equally as important in order to be able to create harmony within the workplace.”
Once everyone had finished tallying up their scores, we began going around the table and announcing our styles. The results were as follows:
- Bailey: Primary – Driver ; Secondary – Expressive
- Katelyn: Primary – Amiable ; Secondary – Expressive
- Tiarra: Primary – Analytical ; Secondary – Analytical
- Martin: Primary – Expressive ; Secondary – Amiable/Driver
- Stathis: Primary – Driver/Expressive ; Secondary – Analytical (Stathis wasn’t present for this meeting, though he took the quiz ahead of time and allowed me to share his results with the team)
After everyone announced their work styles, I passed out pages 7-9 of the quiz packet that contained descriptions of each one. I had each person read their primary style (found on page 7) as we each had one of the four styles between the four of us. The descriptions of each type are as follows:
- Driver (The Eagle) – People with the Driver style are characteristically decisive, competitive, independent and confident. As an action-oriented and ambitious style, they are usually focused, direct, practical and driven. Extremely goal-oriented, Driver types tend to value results, speed and personal achievement, and they usually thrive on being in charge, taking risks and telling others what to do and how to do it. Typically, they take the lead and get things done, and they are usually highly effective in crisis situations. Sometimes, Driver types can be seen by others as domineering, pushy, impatient, insensitive and even aggressive. If they seem unempathetic, it’s probably because Driver types tend to be task-oriented rather than relationship-oriented and typically don’t take things personally or think others should either. Because they focus on getting results and saving time, Driver types may come across to others as, controlling, short-tempered, bossy and uncompromising.
- Amiable (The D0ve) – People with the Amiable style are characteristically calm, patient, consistent, dependable and loyal. Typically highly cooperative, sensitive and easy to get along with, they tend to be great listeners. Amiable types value stability, sincerity and harmonious relationships, and they usually have very high emotional intelligence. They typically avoid confrontation, yet have the ability to mediate in conflict situations, if necessary. Amiable types tend to be introverted and are uncomfortable being the center of attention, so they may be perceived by others as timid or too accommodating when it comes to voicing their opinions. They are generally more interested in the group arriving at consensus than being personally right, Amiable types sometimes come across to others as unsure or hesitant when making decisions.
- Analytical (The Owl) – People with the Analytical style are characteristically logical, fact-based and task-oriented, and tend to focus on precision and perfection. Typically more private with personal information, they are usually polite but reserved. Analytical types often have a strong desire to be precise and exact, and typically won’t openly discuss ideas until they are confident with their information or decision. They value numbers, statistics and ideas, and usually love details and discipline, and you can usually count on them to be persistent, diligent and systematic. Sometimes, Analytical types can be seen by others as withdrawn, boring, quiet, reclusive and even sullen at times. If they seem indecisive, it’s probably because of a need to assess all the data first. They are generally methodical, objective and candid, Analytical types may come across to others as impersonal, inflexible, rigid, overly critical or insensitive.
- Expressive (The Peacock) – People with the Expressive style are characteristically friendly, enthusiastic, socially adept and optimistic. They tend to be full of ideas and thoroughly enjoy brainstorming with others. Typically talkative and open, Expressive types tend to readily exchange information and life experiences, and are usually motivated by acceptance and appreciation. They value creativity and collaboration, and work best in a stimulating, personal and friendly team environment. You can ordinarily count on Expressive types for their energy, encouragement and vision, but they usually leave the details to others. Sometimes, they can be seen by others as overly dramatic, impulsive, disorganized and even egotistical. Expressive types are generally spontaneous, self-assured and passionate and may be perceived by others as too impulsive, overly talkative, unrealistic and abrasive.
Next, I had everyone turn to pages 8 & 9 for us to read further descriptions of our Primary Work Styles. These pages included the following sections filled with valuable information on each style: How to Recognize [These Styles in Other People], Reacts to Pressure and Tension By, May be Perceived by Others As, Words Used to Describe This Style and Tips for Communicating with This Style. I went on to say, “These pages are most valuable, in my opinion, especially the sections Tips for Communicating with This Style and Reacts to Pressure and Tension By. Just like with the Enneagram, when you learn about not just your type, but everyone else’s type too, you can better understand someone else’s behaviors and not take them so personally.”
Each Team Member’s Personal Thoughts On This Teaching Piece
We’ll end our discussion today by taking a moment to share each team member’s personal thoughts on this teaching piece; what it meant to them, what they took away from it or how they plan to utilize the information moving forward. You can learn more about each team member by visiting our Meet the Team page
Bailey Reber
We talk about the Enneagram a lot within the office, which is amazing, although I think it was very important to learn about our work styles, too. Now that I’m aware of everyone’s personal work style, I can learn how to communicate to them in a way that not only makes the most sense to them, but will also be the most efficient and less domineering. Knowing that I’m a Driver is also powerful so that I can understand how I may have unknowingly been perceived as by others.
Katelyn Moore
Knowing each person’s work style will be very helpful for all of us to work on building our teamwork skills along with learning how to better understand one another. I find this very interesting how this personality assessments compares to other personality assessments I’ve taken in the past.
Martin Sunday
I think that this was a great exercise that can help us become a stronger team. I have a copy of the 4 Work Style descriptions along with each employee’s name written next to their personal style that I plan to utilize when working with each individual. Reviewing someone’s work style before delegating a task to them or working with them directly will allow me to become an even better leader for my team.
Tiarra Whitaker
It’s very interesting to learn about the different work styles. It makes a lot of sense to me that I am typed as the Analytical style. I also find it interesting how everyone on the team has a different work style.
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Hungry for more? Be sure to check out these previous Personal Development Discussions to indulge in more personal growth teachings.
