THINKERS and DOERS - SAGES Leadership Academy

I am sure all of us have our preferred style of working. These styles are developed over a long period of time. Lot of things contribute to making a style of an individual – their parenting, schooling, formative years, friends, role models, biology and many more.

People have their own styles when it comes to thinking about a task and actually implementing a task.

Three types of people as per their inclination towards planning and actions

Think in mind
Think on paper
Think on tasks

1. Think in mind: These are people who like to think, discuss, talk and brainstorm.

Pros:

Easy to have discussion with
They will quickly share their thoughts and feelings which makes the conversation interesting
They have the capacity to talk for long
Their excitement comes from their ability to share their experiences

Cons:

Will avoid commitment to dates or time
Will avoid specific tasks or actions (especially if the tasks requires them to act)
Will never jot down points for reference or further discussion
Not organized or disciplined
Keeps diverting and deviating from the main topic of discussion

2. Think on paper: They like to document, make a list on paper, note and record

Pros:

Clarity of thought
Organized and disciplined
They stick to the point (less chances of deviation)
They can summarize the points quickly for the benefit of all
You can always rely on them to capture your points of discussion
They bring structure to the discussion

Cons:

They need time to reflect and contemplate
They need clarity, without which, they cannot extend the conversation
Sometimes they may be upfront (Example: they may say something like “I don’t understand what you are trying to convey here”) which may offend the speaker
They usually note down the discussion points (meaning, scope for casual conversation reduces drastically)

3. Think on tasks: They cannot wait to talk, discuss or think for long. They need to jump into action right away

Pros:

These are people of action
They are quick at implementing the ideas
They do not waste time to bring concepts and theories into action
They get things done
Highly energetic and enthusiastic
Can get others moving

Cons:

They find it difficult to think, plan and organize
Always in a hurry to act and start the task
Weak anticipation/forecasting skills
Their inability to be organized or disciplined in terms of pre-planning and doing their homework means they would frequently come across challenges and keep changing the rules
Frequent mood-swing

Upon reflection, here are few points that come to my mind

No one category is perfect. There are pros and cons to each one of them
It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that the team works in cohesion and everyone adds as per their strength and capitalizes on each other’s talents.
It is also important to cover up each other’s drawbacks. Remember, somebody’s weakness is somebody’s strength.
It is important to learn from each other and respect each other

We will cover more details about these categories, how to handle them, and also you will get an opportunity to identify your preferred style of working and thinking…..all of it and more in our upcoming course…. keep reading and checking for more details