What Type Are You?

Over the past three decades, I’ve seen a dramatic change in how people go about doing their job in the workplace.

When I started out, much of what many other teammates and I did was individual. We were expected to bring some skills and work on activities or tasks that someone assigned to us. There was little specialization, so we had to do multiple tasks independently and deliver on the outcome.

Over the years, specialization has evolved in a big way, where different folks come from functional silos but work together in project mode, exchanging ideas, visualizing outcomes, problem-solving, and getting things done as a team. As a result, much of the work in organizations today gets done through cross-functional teams. 

This is where differentiation occurs. At the table, there are two types of executives.

Those who are comfortable following instruction.

Those who are comfortable taking the initiative.

Type 1– People who are used to following instructions can never be accountable. They depend on someone else to make even the small decisions and they are afraid of being responsible for the consequences of their choices. They are order takers. Unfortunately, type 1 profiles can never get anything of substance delivered.

Type 2: People who take the initiative are passionate about their work. They are not afraid of taking risks, being accountable, and taking responsibility for the outcomes and consequences of their decisions. And, because they are willing to take responsibility, going beyond organisations silos, they are able to get work done fast and efficiently.

In workplaces today, where much of the significant work is done across cross-functional teams, the type 2 profile shines through and gets noticed for all the big career breaks.