Does your job match your work preferences?
03/03/2010
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8
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What draws someone to choose one job over another? Why do some people feel great loyalty to an organisation, often going beyond their self interest by putting in extra effort? What is it about work that generates high levels of personal satisfaction and happiness?
Take a moment to reflect on your current job. Do the critical activities in your job match your work preferences?
Preferences are dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistent patterns of relationships, thoughts, feelings and actions. They determine the conditions we set up to allow our mental and psychic processes to flow freely. They guide our behaviour, but if we have to work outside them at various times then we can usually cope. Preferences are just another name for what we like doing. Often our preferences at work are different from our preferences outside of work, leading to the distinguishing labels of work preferences and non-work preferences.
Preferences are usually transparent and are often the first thing we notice in others - 'He's rather quiet, isn't he?' or 'She never stops talking.' Some people prefer to think things through on their own whereas others need to talk out loud to clarify their ideas. Preferences are readily visible to others and are usually the basis of first impressions.
When we are working to our preferences we set up conditions where our psychic energy can flow freely. If we are more extroverted we like work where there are lots of interactions with others, both inside and outside the organisation. If we are more introverted, then we like conditions where we can work on our own with few interruptions and a minimal requirement for meetings. Under these conditions our energy can flow freely with little resistance. Just as electrical energy generates heat when it meets resistance so our psychic energy generates tension and stress when it has to flow through areas that are not our preference. This leads to wasted energy and eventually lower performance, reduced productivity and even poorer health. So checking your preference overlap with your job is important.
A useful tool to analyse your job is the Types of Work Wheel that I developed with my colleague Charles Margerison. This classifies jobs into eight key critical functions (www.TeamManagementSystems.com) that make the difference between good performance and poor performance in a job. The critical functions are:
- Advising - Gathering and reporting information
- Innovating - Creating and experimenting with ideas
- Promoting - Exploring and presenting opportunities
- Developing - Assessing and developing the applicability of new approaches
- Organising - Establishing and implementing ways of making things work
- Producing - Concluding and delivering outputs
- Inspecting - Controlling and auditing the working of systems
- Maintaining - Upholding and safeguarding standards and processes
Most jobs can be classified into a distribution of these activities but usually there are two or three that are critically important. For example, a job analysis of 587 Finance and Accounting positions shows the top three work functions to be Organising, Producing and Inspecting. Compare this with 310 Design/R&D jobs where the critical work functions are Advising, Innovating and Developing.
Our research showed that people with preferences for extroverted relationships and creative information-gathering mapped most often into the Promoting area whereas those with introverted relationship preferences and practical information-gathering most often preferred Inspecting work. Those who liked analytical decision-making and who preferred to work in a structured way showed a bias for Organising work, whereas those with beliefs decision-making and a more flexible approach to the way they organise themselves and others enjoyed Advising work.
The study is summarised by the Team Management Wheel.
Margerison-McCann Team Management Wheel
| Role preference |
Characteristics |
| Reporter-Advisor |
Enjoy the reporting function in a team by giving and gaining as much information as possible |
| Creator-Innovator |
Like to create ideas and diverge their thinking |
| Explorer-Promoter |
Tend to focus on exploring opportunities and promoting ideas and concepts |
| Assessor-Developer |
Will prefer to plan and analyse ideas to see how they can be made to work |
| Thruster-Organiser |
Enjoy thrusting into action to make things happen |
| Concluder-Producer |
Like to work systematically and deliver outputs |
| Controller-Inspector |
Prefer control processes where they can focus on details |
| Upholder-Maintainer |
Like to put principles first by upholding and maintaining standards |
The Wheel can be used to measure the alignment between your personal work preferences and the job you are doing. Analysis of hundreds of respondents shows a mean match of around two-thirds. An analysis like this can give some valuable answers to the question 'Where am I now?', by indicating critical areas where changes might be of benefit. Low matches could be an early warning of a possible low job satisfaction. If your match is low, you could:
- Meet with your supervisor to redesign the job.
- Undertake some personal development so that you are better suited to the job
- Possibly delegate those parts of the job with a low match to others
- Consider looking for a new job that is more in line with your work preferences.
It is important to realise that there is no relationship between performance in a job and the level of preference match. Many people are comfortable with performing well in areas where there is a low match. This is because other factors also contribute to an individual's job satisfaction. Salary and rewards, quality of supervision, perception of career prospects, autonomy, job variety, health, prestige, ability, experience, interpersonal skills, environment, corporate values, and co-workers are just some of the many variables that impact job choice and job satisfaction.
However, if there is a good preference match to your job it means that a large part of your time will be spent doing what you enjoy - and that leads to significant improvements in wellbeing, contentment and productivity. Happy employees increase staff retention rates, and that leads to happy employers. As anyone running a business knows, the cost of replacing an excellent employee far outweighs the cost of increasing their workplace satisfaction.
At Team Management Systems, we offer accreditation in tools that help individuals come to grips with matching their job to their work preferences. Check out the details on our accreditation web site.
About the author
Dr. Dick McCann is the co-founder of Team Management Systems (TMS) and is currently Managing Director of TMS Australia and a Director of TMS Development International, UK. He is also Director of the Institute of Team Management Studies, the organization that provides the research that support TMS products.
Dick has written many articles in areas of personal, team and organizational development. He is the author of The Workplace Wizard - the definitive guide to workplace behaviour and How to Influence others at Work. He is co-author of The Half-Empty Chalice, Team Management - Practical New Approaches, and Aesops Management Fables. He has presented at conferences throughout the world and consulted for many organizations worldwide. For more information on Dick McCann and TMS's 25 year anniversary, please go to www.tmsoz.com
Latest Comments
Total:
8
comment(s)
L on
05 Mar 2010 12:06 PM
Hello,
I've done the evaluation and Creator/Innovator is my major with Reporter/Advisor my secondary. My dilemma is that I'm not sure what job titles constitutes either of those areas so as to be able to reroute from my current role/experience.
I'd like to see a job search website that can sort jobs into those areas on the myers/briggs wheel.
Can you help or would you know anyone who could?
Kind regards,
L
L on
05 Mar 2010 12:08 PM
Hello,
I've done the evaluation and Creator/Innovator is my major with Reporter/Advisor my secondary. My dilemma is that I'm not sure what job titles constitutes either of those areas so as to be able to reroute from my current role/experience.
I'd like to see a job search website that can sort jobs into those areas on the TMS wheel.
Can you help or would you know anyone who could?
Kind regards,
L
Matt on
05 Mar 2010 02:22 PM
Hi L
I'm not all that familiar with this model, however, I use the MBTI regulary with my clients to help them live their life, and build their wealth, in their way. One of the most important parts in achieving this is determining the best way to earn income for you. This may be a job, but there are other ways.
Unfortunately for creator/innovator types, which happens to be my preference too, there are few "jobs" that provide the speed of growth and change that will satisfy you. Further to that, there are different types of creators, some being particulalry interested in people, and those who are more interested in systems and commercial opportunities.
Many creators end up working for themselves, or for a number of orgainsations, which provides adequate flexibility and variety so your deeper needs can be satisfied.
Anyway, if you want to read more about this, I can send you a free ebook. Go to www.linnerts.com.au and subscribe to the newsletter, and then I will send you the ebook. There are no strings attached. It's not my style. You can unsubscribe whenever you want.
I think you will find it interesting and valuable at this time.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards
Matt
L on
05 Mar 2010 05:55 PM
Hi Matt,thanks for that, the mbti is what I was referring to, the management wheel that is illustrated above on the page. I'll look forward to the e-book. I have ideas for businesses and things that could be developed but don't have the connections or the finances to go it alone. I've just come off the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) without any luck. It seems I can create but I can't sell.
Anyway, thanks again and have great long weekend. Cheers, L
Matt on
06 Mar 2010 08:13 AM
Hi L, my pleasure. The ebook is on its way. Kind Regards, Matt
colin on
31 Mar 2010 01:46 PM
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Clio Robertson on
31 Mar 2010 04:22 PM
Hi L,
Good question about what sort of jobs would suit your work preferences. It sounds like you are looking at a career change and it can be useful to reflect on your Team Management Profile (TMP) which indicates those aspects of your work where it is best for you to concentrate your energies and build on your strengths.
As you know from receiving your own TMP, the Team Management Systems (TMS) approach is grounded in the notion of work preferences, not proficiencies. Therefore, we would hold that every team role holds the potential to perform well within any job. This is reflected in our global research which shows the Team Management Wheel major role preference distributions for a range of occupations, functional areas and industries. For example our data shows that:
• Bankers show the highest percentage of Thruster-Organisers (37%)
• Electrical Engineers showed the highest proportion on Controller-Inspectors (16%), and
• Psychologists recorded a very high proportion of Creator-Innovators (27%).
(Team Management Systems E-Shop: Research Manual Third Edition)
So while people typically gravitate to jobs where they can exercise their preferences, it’s more about the attractiveness of certain jobs and sectors, rather than competence or performance. It makes sense that people tend to be attracted to and enjoy roles/careers which provide them with opportunities to express their preferences.
With that in mind, some thoughts on jobs with a particular emphasis on Innovating and Advising:
Innovating Jobs
Innovating covers a wide range of activities, from coming up with ideas to experimenting with them. Possible work areas include various forms of research, writing, and communication as well as the education and training sectors.
Pure Innovating work tends to be more prevalent in organisations that are expanding with new products and markets. There will be more opportunity for you to get job satisfaction in departments that have a specific focus on the future rather than the constraints of delivering today’s products. Look for creative design departments, research and development units, or product development groups. Matt raised a great point about people who have a preference for Innovating work often end up working for themselves where they aren’t constrained by organisational systems and rules.
Specific job titles might vary from organisation to organisation, and some examples of job areas that may contain significant elements of Innovating are:
• New product development
• Information technology
• Technological development
• Design
• Marketing
• Consulting work
• Strategic planning
• Research and development
• Writing and publishing
• Project task forces
Advising Jobs
A career that focuses mainly on the Advising work function requires an emphasis on gathering and assembling information, often for others to use. If you have a love of finding out as much information as you can about a variety of topics, then you could look for a job with a significant Advising component.
Possible areas to consider are the various forms of research, writing and analysis in the media, education, training, and policy development sectors. The collection and analysis of information is also important in the strategic planning initiatives of most organisations.
Some examples of job areas that may contain significant elements of Advising are:
• Consulting assignments
• Media work
• Teaching and training
• Strategic planning
• Policy review and planning
• Investigative work
• Organisational development
• Information management
• Benchmarking projects
• Forecasting and planning
• New product development
To review your current job and make choices about the future, it may be helpful to reflect on:
• What aspects of your current job do you enjoy the most / the least?
• What are the most critical work functions in your job on the Types of Work Wheel?
• How well do your work preferences match the demands of your job?
• In terms of your current job, what changes (if any) would you like to make to increase the match?
• If you are considering moving to a different job, which work functions on the Types of Work Wheel would you like to focus on?
If you’d like to chat any of this through further, I’d be happy to help. Please feel free to email me at awsupport@tms.com.au. I wish you all the best with your future career choices.
Kind wishes,
Clio
Clio Robertson, Senior Consultant, Team Management Systems
Ed on
12 Jan 2011 09:30 AM
I''m in the same boat as L after going through the TMS program with Outward Bound. So I''m also looking for some guidance on where I''d best fit in as a Creator/Innovator. Any chance of getting the ebook you mention? I''ve just subscribed to your news letter.
Kind Regards,
Ed