Imagine yourself along with 3 close friends standing atop the Zhangjiajie glass bridge bungee, China, to do the world’s highest bungeejump at 260m.
Will all of you approach it the same way?
Doubt it.
Person A – A risk taker who likes getting things done
Person B – A planner who like making theroies
Person C – An observer who likes alternatives
Person D – A decision maker who likes problem solving
Is any approach better than the rest? Is there any approach that guarantees a successful or unsuccessful attempt?
No. It just exhibits a learning style. A natural tendency to approach things a certain way that I’m most comfortable in. According to David Kolb’s learning style inventory there are 4 learning styles. Each with their inherent strengths and traps.
As a soft landing, let’s replace the bungee bridge with your work environment. Same people. Different tasks. Will their approach change?
No.
When Phil Knight, creator of Nike, described himself as “I’m easy to talk to and easy to not talk to” it rang a looming bell as a reminder of this dichotomy.
The sea swung in like an iron gate as I realised this was true for me in every aspect of life. In believing with me, living with me, cooking for me and working with me.
Then the bell got louder as I thought this is true of everybody. It’s part of being human. How we create impact along the spectrum despite being ourselves is the test.
To help our team we did company wide workshops to ‘Discover your learning style’. We used David Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory.
Surely you have seen and heard these scenarios at work
What happens when a risk taker who likes getting things done is the boss of a planner who likes making theroies?
What happens in the opposite case?
What happens when a decision maker who likes problem solving is the boss of an observer who likes alternatives?
What happens in the opposite case?
Unhappiness.
Cases like mine pop up. I don’t like working with data, I get lost with things like excel sheets, graphs and heavy ppt’s. While risk taking and doing things are my strengths how can I become more rounded in my work?
Post the discovery its about being equipped to handle the above scenarios and ensuring well roundedness at work.