An effective team always has a mix of personalities, all with different strengths and talents. Ideally, the types work together seamlessly, each taking over where another leaves off.
In the blog series by Software Advice for the New Talent Times, Holly Regan and James Maynard describe the four types that must compose every productive team. They are The Giver, The Champ, the Matrix Thinker, and the Savant. Let’s have a look at what the types are like and how leaders should best leverage them.
The Matrix Thinker
Matrix Thinkers are your quintessential creative types. They don’t just think outside the box, they think about where the box came from, why it’s there and how it could be designed better. Matrix Thinkers are constantly absorbing information from everything around them; as a result, they often make connections among seemingly unrelated concepts. Frequently, this leads them to creative and revolutionary ideas, but sometimes, it just confuses everyone.
How to Work with Them
Don’t overload them with input. Matrix Thinkers will take in everything you give out to them, so be careful not to give them too much lest they become overwhelmed. While highly-functioning Matrix Thinkers can effectively juggle multiple projects, if you’re constantly providing changes and updates to all of them, they may fail to complete anything.
Make sure they know what’s expected of them. Since Matrix Thinkers are already dealing with so much outside noise from their environment, they may struggle with additional ambiguity in the form of undefined expectations or authority. They would rather have full control over a few projects than partial control over many, so make sure you clearly define roles, rules and expectations.
Don’t penalize them for disorganization. You may need to relax your standards for organization somewhat when you have Matrix Thinkers on your staff, as long as they aren’t interfering with their colleagues’ workspaces. While their desk may look chaotic, there is likely a unique system behind it.
For the rest of the types, check out the full post at Intuit's Fast Track blog.
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