Micah Lally — January 5, 2020 It’s become pretty universally acknowledged that individuals have different personalities, preferences, and even work styles.
In workplace settings, it’s important to be aware of these unique differences in order to provide a more efficient environment for teams, especially when it comes to productivity.
Your business is only as productive as the teams operating it, so it only makes sense to try and encourage a healthy environment and provide team members with the tools they need to excel.
It can be difficult to try and support every productivity style though, especially if your staff isn’t aware of their own in the first place.
Understanding the differences, though, is always a great place to start.
The 4 Productivity Styles
There are four key productivity styles that have been identified over the years, and each one has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.
The Prioritizer
These are your more analytical team members who run off of facts and critical thinking. They prefer information to be straightforward with as little fluff as possible.
They believe in efficiency and work to accomplish their goals in the most organized, strategic ways possible. They’re great for when you’re looking to get the job done quickly and completely.
Driven by data and results, derailing their process isn’t going to pan out well for you.
Pros
- Goal driven
- Problem solvers
- Logical
Cons
- Rigid
- Competitive
- Possessive
The Planner
This individual is all about keeping an organized, tight ship running. With a heavy commitment to their carefully detailed schedule, they’re great project managers and can spot inconsistencies easily.
To-do lists are their best friends, and spontaneity isn’t anywhere on their radar. They operate on the same wavelength as Prioritizers, but Planners pay greater attention to the what, when, where, why, and how of a task in order to guarantee indisputable success.
Pros
- Practical
- Action oriented
- Organized/structured
Cons
- Inflexible
- May not see “big picture”
- Controlling
The Arranger
These are some of your more adaptive team members who have no problem reading a situation and realigning everyone as changes and obstacles appear.
Arrangers think on their toes and act as the ultimate support staff to other team members. They thrive off engagement and prefer having the space to play it loose and tackle tasks at their own pace.
Pros
- Team players
- Great mediators
- Conversationalists/persuasive
Cons
- Easily distracted
- Codependant
- Disruptive
The Visualizer
Visualizers need diversity in their day in order to actually get anything done. They can’t work on any singular project for more than a few hours at a time before becoming bored or burnt out.
Give them multiple tasks, though, and you’ll see them juggle it all like a pro. They have the ability to take several, disjointed ideas and pull them all together into a complete picture.
They’re impulsive risk takers, but they’re great at betting on themselves.
Pros
- Innovative
- Great multitaskers
- Creative thinkers
Cons
- May overwhelm themselves
- “Out of sight, out of mind” mentality
- Disorganized
How Understanding Styles Improves Workplace Productivity
The better you understand your employees, the better you’ll be able to help them find what they need to thrive. You’ll be able to train, supply, and encourage each and every one in ways they’ll be able to easily receive.
This benefits their development just as much as it does your company’s growth. Think about it. When everyone is working to the best of their ability, your business has nowhere to go but up!
Here are some more benefits to understanding your employees’ styles:
Employees Will Feel More Engaged.
Making sure that your employees feel valued and empowered is key to keeping them engaged with their day to day tasks.
No matter what industry you’re in, it isn’t uncommon for the daily grind to become mundane and repetitive. But having your workload delivered to you and managed in a way that’s tailored to your cognitive thinking can help alleviate some of that boredom.
Engaged employees are invaluable to the success of a company, so it’s important to always keep their satisfaction in mind.
Leadership Will Be More Aligned with Team Needs.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like your leadership team had no idea what it was you needed in order to be successful in your position?
It’s an unfortunate occurrence, but it happens pretty frequently. Sometimes, managers, supervisors, and executives become so bogged down in results and ROI that they forget to attend to their reports.
By tuning into your teams’ drive and work styles, you’ll be able to pay closer attention to productivity lags and challenges and then help provide solutions to them.
Teams Are More Unified.
Healthy and open communication should be high up on any team’s priority list if they’re looking to achieve anything. Knowing how to communicate is something else entirely.
If defined productivity styles are public knowledge, then team members will have an easier time understanding different perspectives and methodologies.
You’ll see tighter alliances, and team building will blossom.
5 Productivity Tools to Help All Types
It’s a lot to ask of a person to be their best, most productive self all on their own. Everyone needs the support and encouragement of their peers, along with a variety of tools, to help them succeed.
There’s a plethora of tools and software, aside from practical tools like notebooks, available designed specifically to help with project management and efficiency.
1. Coggle
Coggle is a mind mapping tool that provides a visual outlet for any project that may have multiple layers or branches. Users can create flow charts or topic clusters for personal or collaborative use.
Edited in real time, you can share your train of thought or project sequence with your team using text, images, and charts. Its free plan allows for three diagrams, and you can purchase more functionality with higher tiers.
2. Evernote
A pretty popular tool today, Evernote is no longer just a clever notepad app. With templates, document scanning capabilities, and cloud sharing now available, you’ll be more organized than ever.
Keep track of deadlines, projects, and clients with ease using their Business Plan at $ 14.99/mo.
3. Trello
Speaking of project management, Trello allows you to work either independently or collaboratively on their Kanban-style board.
List out your tasks for the day, week, month, or even the year, keeping yourself organized and your team clued into what you’re working on. You can move projects down your lanes as they hit certain stages so you always know where you stand.
4. G Suite
Google’s suite of business applications has revolutionized operating as a productive team. With apps for email, calendars, word processors, and beyond, your entire organization can operate as a unit in the G Suite drive.
5. ZenPen
This tool is perfect for anyone looking to write without distraction. ZenPen is a minimalist word processor. Once you hit the fullscreen button, you’ll be able to zero in on the project without interruption from other tabs and tempting apps.
Track your word count, set goals, and even save and download your text to transfer the file elsewhere.
Everyone wants to be productive and be a rockstar at their job, but sometimes you’re missing the tools or environment necessary to get there.
Learn more about your team’s productivity styles to help everyone contribute toward the success of your business!
Business & Finance Articles on Business 2 Community
(31)
