Metaprogram: Work Style

The work style category allows you to find out or confirm how you work best; whether you prefer to work with others, work alone and involve others, or work completely alone.

In this category, many have more than just one pattern; often there is a dominant and a secondary style in a given context. The three patterns in detail:

Independent:

People who have an independence pattern in the context of the work situation want to work alone and bear responsibility alone. Their productivity suffers when others are present or when they have to share responsibility with others. If they are interrupted, they easily lose their train of thought. They prefer to work in their office with the door closed. In extreme cases, they forget to consult others (especially if they are also internal). They can work for a long time without missing contact with others.

The expression:

"A camel is a horse designed by a committee" was probably coined by someone with this pattern. In the role of a manager, a person with an independence pattern will do most of the work alone and will likely have difficulty rapport producing.

Involvement:

People with an involvement pattern want clear accountability but also need others to be involved in or near their tasks. They need clearly defined responsibilities, and to be productive and motivated, their tasks must involve other people. Their productivity decreases when they have to share responsibilities and authority with others or work completely alone. This pattern is best suited for managing employees and projects.

A person with this pattern will ensure that everyone knows what they are responsible for. People with an involvement pattern are well-suited as supervisors. When working as subordinates, their responsibilities must be clearly delineated.

Cooperative:

Cooperative people want to work with others and share responsibility. They believe in the synergy principle: 2+2=5, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. They have difficulty meeting deadlines and completing tasks when they have to work alone. They do not need an area for which they are solely responsible, and when working as managers, they will want to do everything together with their employees.
The Californian light bulb joke applies to these people. How many Californians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Six; one to change the bulb and five to share the experience with him.

A cooperative pattern does not necessarily mean that the person cooperates in the usual sense of the word, but merely that they must perform an activity together with other people.

Statistical distribution:

independent 20%, involvement: 60%, cooperative 20%

Question

Tell me about an experience in your work that was (criterion of the person). What did you like about it?
Alternatively: How long can you work alone in your office without calling someone or stopping by someone?

Independent:

• says "I", "myself", "my responsibility"
• does not mention others
• the mentioned activity assumes it was done alone

Involvement:

• others are present, but "I did it"
• may or may not mention others, but the nature of the activity requires the presence of others (for example, sales or teaching)

Cooperative:

• says "we", "us", "our task", "together" etc.
• involves others and shares responsibility

Examples:

• independent: "I developed the new program and checked it for errors."
• independent and involvement: "I developed the new program and then checked it for errors together with my team."
• involvement: "I developed the new program together with my team."
• involvement and cooperative: "I developed the program with my team, and then we ironed out the errors together."
• cooperative: "We developed the new program and checked it for errors. It was a great team effort."
• independent and cooperative: "I developed the new program, and then we all sat down together and checked the whole thing for errors."

Language patterns:

Independent: do it alone; myself; you alone; without interruptions; you will have sole responsibility and control; just close the door and take the receiver off the hook

involvement: you will be in charge; others will work on it, but this is your project; you take the lead; you are responsible for X, the others for Y

Cooperative: we; us; together; all of us; the team; the group; share responsibility; do it together; you will not have to do it alone (from something); let us; we could do the following