Work Style Assessment: What's Your Work Style?

A successful team balances each other out in the workplace. The best teams aren't made up of only those who are strong at organizing and coordinating. Likewise, they're not made up of only those who are strong at taking charge. Rather, the teams that work best together are those with a mish-mash of personalities and work styles – those who can take charge, those who can organize, those who can innovate, and those who can get tasks done. Balance.

Where do you fit in this mix of work styles? Identifying your strengths through a work style assessment can help provide the answer. From there, not only you can use this new insight to improve your current workplace relationships, you can also use it to better understand yourself so you can communicate your strengths through your resume and the interview process.

Let's start the career interest test below. Choose one of two options presented for each row that fits you the closest. For example, in Row 1, choose between A or B. In Row 2, choose between A or C.

Answer this question for every row: “I like work assignments which enable me to:”

Work Style Assessment Results

Mostly A's

If you scored highest in A, your work style and defining characteristics are listed below:

Work style: Focuser (Self-Starter)

• You like to: focus

• You want to know: the task at hand

• Your preferred roles are: taking charge and working independently

• You are concerned with: practicality

• You manage by: directing

• Your managing style is: authoritative

• You want to be: productive

• You value: experience

• You follow: strong leaders

• You work well with: clear goals

• Your focus is on: outcomes

• You want to have: authority

• You learn best by: doing

Mostly B's

If you scored highest in B, your work style and defining characteristics are listed below:

Work style: Relater (Enthusiastic)

• You like to: relate

• You want to know: big picture

• Your preferred roles are: coordinating and facilitating

• You are concerned with: teamwork

• You manage by: organizing

• Your managing style is: democratic

• You want to be: flexible

• You value: participation

• You follow: focus of group

• You work well with: broad goals

• Your focus is on: involvement

• You want to have: influence

• You learn best by: observing and participating

Mostly C's

If you scored highest in C, your work style and defining characteristics are listed below:

Work style: Integrator (Finisher)

• You like to: integrate and understand why

• You want to know: significance

• Your preferred roles are: problem-solving and diagnosing

• You are concerned with: innovation

• You manage by: planning

• Your managing style is: self-directed

• You want to be: self-reliant

• You value: questioning

• You follow: personal reasoning

• You work well with: ideas/input

• Your focus is on: input

• You want to have: time to assess

• You learn best by: listening

Mostly D's

If you scored highest in D, your work style and defining characteristics are listed below:

Work style: Operator (Detailer)

• You like to: operate and understand how

• You want to know: details

• Your preferred roles are: monitoring and analyzing

• You are concerned with: documentation

• You manage by: controlling

• Your managing style is: systematic

• You want to be: accountable

• You value: compliance

• You follow: policy

• You work well with: systems

• Your focus is on: procedures

• You want to have: boundaries

• You learn best by: repetition

How do you feel about your results? Do they align with your past experiences in the workplace? Our hope is that you learned something about yourself. Use this newfound knowledge by playing up your work style strengths in your resume. Also, use these insights to better inform the answers you may use in an interview. The more you can showcase yourself in an accurate, strength-focused way, the better off you will be.