Drivers

They favor stability, order and rigor.

Likely to stick with the status quo, they are deliberate decision-makers who are practical, focused on detail and reserved.

They value change and they generate momentum.

Direct in the approach to people and problems, they are technical, quantitative and logical.

• Hyper-organized, detail-driven.
• You thrive on deadlines. 
• You have every appointment and reminder possible in your calendar.
• Your biggest pet peeve is when people are running perpetually late. 

Productivity Boost: Batch tasks. Grouping similar tasks together lets you get into a flow state and not waste any time switching between tasks.

• A natural-born facilitator.
• You’re highly intuitive and communicative. 
• You do your best work with people and on teams, and you understand instinctually what needs to get done to wrap up a project. 

Productivity Boost: You need to intersperse solo work with group work. Spending the entire day holed up in an office will actually backfire.

In any organization you will usually find these main work styles:

• Logical, analytical, linear, and data-oriented
• Organized, sequential, planned, and detailed-oriented
• Supportive, expressive, and emotionally oriented
• Big-picture, integrative, and ideation-oriented.

Their strengths are in analyzing data, logical processing, and solving complex problems.

They are focused on achieving the established goals and will ensure that you stay on budget.

A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work well on a team with a mix of types.

For example, too many constraints can completely shut a Pioneer down, while a Guardian may withdraw in an environment that feels too chaotic.
A Driver may become very frustrated in an organization that lacks decisiveness, while an Integrator may wither on a team that doesn’t value broad-based input.

Manage the team in ways that support the diverse needs of different types of work.

You wouldn’t want a team that is all about creative ideas with no focus on implementing those ideas. Or one that is searching for the big win with no attention paid to the people involved in getting there.

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his framework in the 1930s, and it provided the foundation of many of the approaches that followed afterwards

• Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team members, even if their input would be useful.
• Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-making process.
• Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work. They provide support with resources and advice if needed, but otherwise they don't get involved.

• With a people-oriented style, you focus on organizing, supporting, and developing your team members. This participatory style encourages good teamwork and creative collaboration.
• With task-oriented leadership, you focus on getting the job done. You define the work and the roles required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work.

The best style to use is one that has both a high concern for people and a high concern for the task.

People with a high need for achievement seek to excel.
Going for high-risk situations, these go-getters are not sitting relaxed even after reaching their objectives, rather going after the next goal.

People who are driven by a need for power love to be in charge, and crave authority even more than monetary gains. They want to make impactful decisions, desiring to be revered and followed.

Whenever a colleague asks for your support or provides you with a solution to an issue, make sure you acknowledge his or her action with a simple ‘got it’ or ‘received’. The lack of reaction from your side might lead to your co-worker thinking that their help or need does not matter. 

Showing consideration toward coworkers by acknowledging their communications promptly is a form of civility, which is important to workplace culture. And, as management researchers have documented, experiencing incivility can lead workers to be less productive and loyal to the company.

When listening to a colleague, try to focus entirely on his or her story rather than reflecting on your own position or experiences. Asking questions and actually taking into consideration their answers is a sure way to understand their story and prove helpful when providing advice.
Active listening enables employers themselves to lead more effectively, as it avoids frustration on the staff’s side. 

There's very specific loneliness that can creep in when you're responsible for the care of another person — be it an elderly parent, a sick sibling, a disabled partner, etc.

So even though it's a big job, it's important to not forget about yourself. Find a supportive friend to talk to without judgment, or attend a support group.

Independent work styles are efficient, disciplined and productive. They like to follow their instincts and see where they take them.

Visionary and entrepreneurial types often have an independent working style. This type is also often found in creative or scientific fields.

Those that identify with this style are organized, strategic and collaborative. They are diplomatic and are typically excellent communicators.

They are often found in relationship-oriented roles like human resources and in leadership roles. Account executives, HR directors, and project managers are often known to have a cooperative business style.