Meet The Team Member - Get It Right Gordon

Each character in this new series is designed to portray one of four different styles of behaviour, based on Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton’s book, ‘People Styles at Work’. (See description). We are looking at two examples of each style: one person whose approach has more impact upon other people and one that has more impact upon the task in hand.

The style
This month, we’re looking at Gordon, whose style defines him as an Analyser. Analysers focus on tasks and on detail. They are rational, precise and thorough, but others may find it difficult to get to know them as they can be rather impersonal. They can tend to ‘nitpick’ and they therefore need to avoid ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Gordon is a good logical thinker and pays great attention to detail. He is meticulous about getting everything right. His output is excellent – if you can wait long enough for it!

The substance
The challenge is that Gordon’s rigid attention to detail and processes doesn't always fit in well with the needs of today's business world. He needs to learn to trust other people's judgement more, and to ‘go with the flow’. There are times when commercial needs dictate that a piece of work is sound and good enough – it needs to be fit for purpose, but it doesn’t have to be analysed from every possible viewpoint. 

The solution
In business, the Pareto principle suggests that 80% of sales come from 20% of clients. A similar principle could be applied to Gordon – he needs to understand that he could achieve 80% of the required results with 20% of the effort. Alternatively, you might suggest that he could achieve everything he needs to achieve with just 80% of his current effort. He somehow needs to understand that too much attention to detail can ultimately be counter-productive, and just wastes everybody’s time (including his own). 

However, you will need to guide him on this. The solution is to read the situation, and at times, be prepared to compromise. There are occasions when it is absolutely worth checking every minute detail - but not for every task. Sometimes a top-down approach is okay. Encourage Gordon to trust other people's commercial judgement, and to try to develop his own judgement so that it’s more in line with that of his colleagues.