On every team, there are thinkers and doers. Thinkers like to contemplate problems and issues and devise strategies to address them. While thinkers are not without initiative or action, they prefer thought partners over accountability buddies. They take steps cautiously and deliberately.
Doers, on the other hand, like to get things done. They don’t bypass strategy, but they prefer action over contemplation. They move quickly to execute an action plan and measure themselves by what they achieve in the short term.
While this is a contrived dichotomy, the idea that team members differ in their action or thinking biases is well-established. Most team members exhibit more of one bias than the other. Leaders who use this dichotomy to their advantage will likely find less disappointment and frustration with others.
Both thinkers and doers are highly valuable, and most teams don’t run well without a good mix of both orientations. With experience, good leaders can learn exactly which quality each team member exhibits and can make assignments based largely on this experience and assessment.
For instance, expecting a thinker to charge directly toward a problem with swift and determined actions is likely to lead to disappointment. Expecting a doer to slow down and think carefully through the risks and consequences of the approach is likely to produce a half-baked strategy. Playing toward team members’ strengths makes a lot more sense than expecting a team member with a different bias to change their stripes.
Who are the doers and thinkers on your team? Do you sometimes make assignments that best fit their strengths? Round pegs, as the saying goes, do not prefer square holes. Good leaders appreciate the difference in the cognitive shape of team members.
