The Bigger Picture – Internal Dynamics of a Team – From Playgrounds to Board Rooms
Psychologists often point to a person’s early development being as much about peer interaction as the lessons we learn in school. “Mommy and Me”, “Gymboree” etc., there is an entire industry built on socializing children early and often as a key part of their development. The same principles apply as we move to school age. Think back to our elementary school days on the playground where we start to learn how the different personalities of our peers teach us that we need to find a way of working together to accomplish a common goal.
These same principles apply on a much broader scale within the workplace.
There are four major types of personalities within the workplace: the Visionary, the Get it Right, the Get it Done and the Get Along.
- The Visionary is the driver, the starting point of everything. This type of personality sees the big picture and can visualize 5, 10 or 15 years into the future based on what they have in mind.
- The Get it Right puts processes in place to ensure that, in order to get where the visionary is going, certain rules, regulations and thresholds meet compliance requirements on all levels.
- The Get it Done initiates the plan, whether it be a product or a service. Their goal is to market and sell not only the product or services but also the company and its core values to keep continued business flowing with current customers and obtain new business by ensuring positive feedback.
- The Get Along jumps between the other three as a go-to person on all levels to maintain balance. Often times this personality gets misrepresented and over-shadowed by the other three; however, behind the scenes this one drives the other three to get along, get things done and move forward.
The goal of any company is success driven by passion from every team member. Molding a team to fit well with each other takes tact and skill. Not everyone is designed to have the same roles. I have worked in an office setting for several years and can tell you that if there is a break in just one of these roles it creates unnecessary setbacks for the other team members and for the goals of the company. Everyone must play their individual role in order for the team to be successful, and in turn, the company successful.
