Working closely with me? Wondering how I tick? The below might help.
In your life/work, what do you look like on your best day? (What are the mindsets, attitudes, and behaviors that characterize you at your best?)
- I am optimistic, sometimes to a fault
- There’s no “can’t” only “haven’t yet”
- Take time to put the right words together to accurately convey idea and intent
- I have clear lists of small manageable things to accomplish
- I am slow to anger and stay calm no matter the surroundings
- I enter “flow” and am able to stay there for large chunks of time
- I hold strong opinions loosely
How would you describe your personality or working style? (Do you like to work independently? Thrive in social settings? Prefer mornings or later in the day, etc)
- I enjoy routine with scheduled “unscheduled” time
- I prefer working alone MOST of the time
- I prefer not to work exclusively alone
- I enjoy the freedom to start/stop being productive when it suits me and as my environment allows
- I like blocks of productivity with clearly defined “endings”
- I prefer many small tasks to a large one
- I enjoy the process of making lists of tasks
- Context switching is expensive for me when I am in deep work
- I strive to be a “change harvester” in all aspects of my life
- I think best in the morning
- Evenings are for my kids/family, nights are for me. Mornings and early afternoons are for my employer and colleagues
When things start to feel stressful, I look like this: (Describe your reactions, Do you go silent? Get more involved/dive in? etc)
- I blame
- I’m slow to change my mind; I hold weak opinions strongly
- I hyper focus on unimportant things
- I am easily distracted.
- I fail to keep track of goals and tasks and find it difficult to quantify what I accomplished
What can people do to make you feel appreciated and supported in your work?
- Take the time to argue a counter position. I love a good, slow argument
- Ask for more of what you like; Knowing which particular aspects of a task were helpful informs me of what to focus on to be most assistive
What qualities do you particularly value in people who work with you?
- I appreciate being taught by people who want to share something
- I like working with people who question the motives, direction and goals of a task
- I appreciate people who verify things
- I work best with people who also work well alone… but also like to come together to “share deeply” for short periods of time
How do you like to *give* feedback?
- I’m free with “non-human” feedback – critiquing policy or process
- I enjoy giving examples of how something could be written more clearly or be better understood
- For technical feedback I like giving discreet examples or suggestions rather than vague responses
How do you like to *get* feedback?
- I love brutal code reviews. Please tear it apart and make it better
- I like trying to be “like” people and I appreciate examples; Showing me a good example of how I could improve helps me to understand
Outside of work, what is most important to you?
- Fostering Healthy Relationships with my Family
- Making things with my hands
- Spending enough time alone to stay mentally healthy
What is most misunderstood about you, if anything, that you would like to clarify?
- Because I argue a point strongly doesn’t mean I feel strongly about it or that my goal is to convince, only that it is the opinion I currently hold. I am frustrated when I “win” an argument too early. I don’t like “winning”, I like “getting all the way to the end”.
- Because I restate something doesn’t mean that I wasn’t paying attention and am trying to claim ownership of an idea, often it means I’m thinking deeply and want to ensure a shared understanding.
What else should people know about you or how you work?
- If I am expected to focus on something that doesn’t involve my hands then I’m either walking (I lap my back-hard when on the phone) or fiddle with things (I have a box of “fiddle toys” on my desk to keep me focused when somebody wants my attention).
What are you best at? What’s the work you love to do?
- Figuring out the “how”. Implementation isn’t as fun as the exploration of HOW something will be implemented
- Outlining Process. I like seeing steps written down so that there can be a shared understanding and a shared place to discuss and change
- Change Harvesting. Determining what small, atomic and long-lasting changes can be done to progress toward a constantly shifting goal.
What’s the work that feels like a chore to you? What are your weaknesses?
- Anything that requires repetition. If I have done a thing more than three times in my life I’m already bored of it and tend to get sloppy.
- Estimates. Good estimates are hard and I’m not great at it. I’m often wrong. To mitigate this I try to keep the things I estimate as small as possible.