Work Styles: Definition, Examples, How to Find Yours

Think of the last project you worked on. Did you come up with the idea? Plan every step ahead of time? Dive in head first? Handle the support work to get your team to the finish line? Your answer might reveal your work style.

The way you approach tasks can help determine where you could best flourish — in both your present job and long-term career.

 

What Is a Work Style?

A work style is the primary way someone approaches tasks, solves problems and interacts with others at their job. There are four types of work styles, which we cover in more detail later on. They are:

• Logical
• Idea-oriented
• Detail-oriented
• Supportive

 

Why Are Work Styles Important?

Knowing your work style comes with several benefits:

1. Better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Happier and more productive at work.
3. More effective collaboration.
4. More informed decision making.

Danielle Boris, CEO and founder of Sandbox Together, said when you know your work style, you’re able to find environments where you’re able to thrive. 

“You can ask the right questions at interviews, you can figure out why you’re happy or unhappy at work,” Boris said. “You have better conversations with your managers, your colleagues and your teams. The more we know about how we work, the better we can work together.”

As for Peter Griscom, CEO of Tradefluence, he emphasizes that knowing your work style illuminates not only your strengths, but also areas where you can improve — making it “absolutely critical” for career growth. “You have to know your working style, because it shows where your shortcomings will be,” he said.

 

The 4 Types of Work Styles

The four widely recognized work styles are logical, idea-oriented, detail-oriented and supportive. Chances are good you’ll recognize yourself in more than one category. 

1. Logical

Strengths: Analytical, data-oriented, determined

Areas to improve: Overly independent, may not prioritize planning or communication

People with this work style love data. They can quickly and effectively analyze problems and figure out solutions to them. They are determined and focused. 

At the same time, people with logical working styles may be increasingly independent, and not prioritize extensive planning or communication with others.

Rinat Hadas, the chief of staff at JumpCrew, drives JumpCrew’s strategic and operational priorities, which requires a logical mind and approach. While she describes her work style as primarily logical, she is also detail-oriented and supportive, and minimally idea-oriented. 

2. Idea-Oriented

Strengths: Visionary, adaptable, optimistic

Areas to improve: Disorganized, can overlook details and logistics

Idea-oriented professionals have a holistic vision for their companies. They are often seen as leaders and pioneers, people who focus on the big picture. They take risks and thrive on them, and can inspire others to believe in their visions. They are optimistic and excel at creating opportunities out of obstacles. 

However, people who are idea-oriented can fixate on a big picture idea, resulting in overlooking details and delegating planning to others in a team.

Erik Sussman, CEO and founder of Institute of Financial Wellness, considers himself ideas-oriented and supportive. “It’s a good fit for my career because as an entrepreneur, you have to have a vision that excites you and inspires others’ creativity,” he said. Over his career, Sussman has recognized that he’s good at sales, but not at the detail work required for operations, software or building systems to process sales.

3. Detail-Oriented

Key strengths: Strategic, thoughtful, organized

Areas to improve: Overly focused on details, can work slowly

These individuals are thinkers. Their work personality is strategic and sequential. They study and comprehend the problem and all its intricacies to provide the best step forward.

While focusing on the details, people who are detail-oriented can sometimes miss the bigger picture and get caught up in the intricacies of a project, resulting in a slow working pace.

Aaron Warrick, CEO of Reju, identifies as primarily logical and detail-oriented, which he said stems from his background as a computer programmer and control-system engineer. “I’m very analytical and sequential in my thinking,” he said. The dual workstyle has helped him in his entrepreneurial endeavors. “You have to look at all the possibilities, and when problems arise, find effective solutions to them.”

4. Supportive 

Key strengths: Collaborative, empathetic, emotionally intelligent

Areas to improve: Overly reliant on others, can struggle to make decisions

Professionals with supportive work styles tend to be more emotional and expressive — they’re quick to lend a hand when needed. They put a premium on relationships. Coworkers view supportive teammates as the tie that binds the group together.

Being attuned to others and their needs can be helpful for solving conflicts, though this can also lead to difficulty making independent decisions, and overly relying on the opinions of others to move forward.

Joe Vu, digital marketing manager at QuickFi, describes his work style as supportive. He said his skill set, communication style and ability to process a problem into a solution supports the goals of many people at QuickFi.

“Having a supportive working style helps you understand both the challenges that are faced by all teams in an organization, and also the accountability and goals that translate to tangible success,” Vu said. “Understanding these things helps you accomplish larger organizational goals, which puts you in a position to succeed.”

More on Work StylesThere Are 5 Basic Types of Entrepreneurs. Which 1 Are You?

 

How to Find Your Work Style 

Identifying your working style requires you to pay attention to the way you work and ask lots of questions, of yourself and others, about how you approach problems. As you journey toward discovering your work style, remember that you might identify as more than one style.

For example, Leslie Mizerak, a coach with NimblyWise, knows that idea-oriented is her style because work centered around ideas gives her the greatest amount of joy. By contrast, her opposite style — detail-oriented — “gives me pause and I really have to be in a different mindset to get deep into details,” she said. 

1. Notice What Brings You Joy 

To some extent, your natural abilities shape your work style, and people are happier doing what comes naturally to them. Engineers, for instance, are more likely to be detail-oriented. 

With that in mind, ask yourself: Which parts of your workday or tasks got you enthusiastic and excited? Take notes at the end of each work day and within time, you’ll likely detect a pattern. 

2. Pay Attention to How You Handle Projects 

Was a project your idea? Did you come to meetings with color-tabbed binders and spreadsheets? Did you document and print out every last bit of material for the meeting? 

“How you handle big projects in your work and daily life can give you major clues as to your working style,” said Amanda Marcotte, vice president of marketing and growth at Kiwi for Gmail. If you sweat every detail, you’re in the logical and detail-oriented spheres. Winging it? You’re most likely an ideas person. 

More on Work StylesSo You Want to Be a Transformational Leader

3. Take a Personality Test 

Taking a personality test can give you an idea of your personal strengths and values, which can then help you discern your working style. These can include tests such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC and Culture Index.

A “steadiness and conscientiousness” result on DISC, for instance, would indicate that you’re supportive, while “dominance” would indicate an idea-oriented person.

4. Reflect on Your Career

The positions you’ve held and the work you’ve done hold many clues as to your working style. Rob Green, chief revenue officer at Smarty, learned that he is idea- and detail-oriented as his career progressed. When he worked at an organization that helped business owners return their companies to profitability, he’d renegotiate with creditors and restructure companies.

“In that role, I had to be fairly creative in terms of identifying ways to solve the problems,” said Green.

Green also had to devise a plan for the company to repay creditors, which required a detail-oriented approach. “That’s how I realized those two styles were most effective for me,” he said.

5. Recognize How You Use Your Free Time 

Leadership consultant Alexandra Phillips discovered her working style at the Parent Teacher Association. Volunteer organizations tap the strengths of volunteers, and Phillips soon realized she was great at coming up with ideas. 

Your work is one thing, but you can also get a more finely tuned sense of your style outside of what you’re paid to do. Pay attention to what makes you happy, what others think you’re good at and what you gravitate toward in your free time.

6. Ask Friends and Colleagues for Their Opinions

Find a handful of people with whom you work closely or whom you admire, and ask them questions about our work and your approach for work. One way to ask it: “If you were building a team of three people to start a brand-new company, would I be on the list? If yes, why and if not, why not?” 

Whether you’re on or off the list, the answer (“yes, you’re a great ideas person and team player” or “no, you tend to get too lost in details to be part of a startup team) will clue you in as to your workstyle.

7. Take Feedback Seriously

When Sussman was in college, his career counselor complimented him on his communication skills. “I didn’t believe him at the time,” Sussman said. When Sussman began a career as a financial professional, and began getting “amazing” feedback from his mentor and prospective clients after product presentations, “I started to realize I had a talent for expressing myself effectively,” he said. 

Start paying attention to how you work, from the way you tackle each day to the way you approach projects. Your work style(s) will emerge, and chances are you’ll be a better employee, and more successful professional, for it. 

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