How is that the environment we work in can either enhance our productivity or inhibit it? This Meta Program pattern plays a huge roll in how beneficial a working environment can be for motivating and supporting those in it. Many people will also discover that they have more than one pattern in any given setting, a dominant and a secondary style.
Our Intention with this blog is to give you some experience with each of the different Meta Programs that MindSonar measures, and how you can learn to easily integrate them in any setting, whether it be personal or professional. Each week we have been exploring all of the different Meta Programs in depth. This week has to do with working style.
Working Style: Independent, Proximity or Co-operative
Independent: You do best by working alone. If you have to work with others and share responsibility by being a member of a team, your work may suffer. You may find yourself preferring to work in a setting where you have an office door that you can close to be at your peak in performance. As well, you may find more difficulty in creating rapport with others.
Proximity: You like to have others around and involved in a project with you, but want responsibility for it and to also set a very clear boundary around your “territory”. If you have to share responsibility with a team where territory is undefined, or work alone, your productivity will often go down. You typically do well as the project manager or boss.
Co-operative: You want to share the responsibility and enjoy being a part of a team. When you have to work by yourself, you often struggle with finishing tasks or meeting deadlines. If you are a manager, you will often want to participate and do things with your employees. You may not always be good at cooperating, but you definitely want to be interacting with others while engaged in an activity.
It is apparent which pattern someone prefers when they are telling you a story. Do they tell you about what they did, or do they tell you about themselves and other people, or just use words like “us” or “we”. Tim Hallbom and Nick LeForce (Coaching In The Workplace) outline the appropriate language to be used for rapport and understanding, depending on which thinking style is preferred.
Some examples are:
Independent: “Your the one to…” “You have the responsibility”, “…by yourself…”
Proximity: “You’re the lead on this…” “You’ll be working with a team, but be the one in charge”, etc.
Co-operative: Together, teamwork, us, we, “You’ll be sharing the responsibility…”
Really interesting, Independent definitely and to the extreme, not only I do prefer to work on closed doors, I also get distracted wit people around and even end up doing others work whenever I have to share the work, I prefer doing things myself than relying on others who don´t work the way I do. I´m doing a lot better now cause now I do work independently and not in an office anymore.
I tend to find I’m more team oriented and enjoy working with others, good read Tim.
Really interesting perspective on team structure and how we manage our own ability. Thanks
Tim:
As would know what kind of metaprogram the team members involved would know ?, as adjustment mechanisms that would be necessary for each member of the team can adjust their participation according to each context? …. How would understand each other in his Meta Program is to make conscious as mine?
Thank you for your contribution … I think this metaprogram is very important to understand the dynamics of interaction in a team.
thanks again and my appreciation for your focus !!