Understanding your working style

Every one of us has a way of particular way of approaching and completing our work, and relating with our co-workers. This is called our working style.

Understanding your working style can help you in three key ways:

1. Assisting you to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses
2. Improving your ability to collaborate with co-workers and other stakeholders – once you understand your own working style, this will help you in identifying the working style of others
3. Providing guidance about the types of jobs and working environments are best suited to you. You can then use this information to help decide what roles to apply for and to pinpoint organisations you could work at in the future.

In essence, understanding your working style can assist you throughout your career!

The four working styles

There are four widely-recognised working styles. There is no right or wrong style of working and an individual may identify characteristics that place them in one or more of these categories.

The four working styles are:

• Logical – People who fit in this category prefer to work with data. They are logical and rely on facts and evidence when developing and implementing strategies, rather than ideas. They use their initiative, are good problem solvers, and are tenacious. They like a challenge so when they start a project, they like to see it through to completion. People with a logical working style can be very task-focused and tend to favour a communication style which is concise and to the point.

• Detail-oriented – These people have strong attention to detail skills and excel at planning and preparation. They are highly organised and strategic, and as a result consider all possibilities when working on a project. No detail is too small for people with this working style.

• Idea-oriented – These people are big picture thinkers, visionary and innovative. As such, they have the ability to generate ideas and concepts that organisations and project teams can use to achieve key goals. They are also optimistic and have the ability to inspire people. As a result, they can make great managers and leaders. Additionally, whilst they have plans to achieve big objectives, people with this working style can sometimes lack the necessary detail required to convert their concepts into reality.

• Supportive – People with this working style are good at building relationships at work and favour teamwork. They like to receive the input of others and therefore may encounter some difficulties when working by themselves. They excel at communicating and collaborating, and are good for morale and keeping people spirits up. As a result, they are often the ‘cement’ that binds people in the workplace together.

What is my working style?

To determine your working style, consider the following:

• Your preference for working alone versus as part of a team
• Whether you are more interested in working with data and facts, or working with ideas
• Your style of communication – do you like detail or do you prefer to work with just the essential information?
• How you engage with projects – are you a planner or do you like to jump straight in?

Other ways of determining your working style include:

• Asking friends and work colleagues about your work strengths and weaknesses
• Taking an online test, such as this one by Idealist. If you are interested in understanding your work style in more depth, it may be helpful to consider a detailed test focused on your personality and associated working style, such as a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which is one of more popular and established personality tests.