Working Together: The Analyst & The Creative
The process of introspection of how you get things done improves yourself in many areas of life: work, school, family, personal projects, volunteer activities, and whatever else you have going on in life. This is especially true when working with others on a project. Understanding how you work, the strengths and weaknesses to your approach, plus understanding that if others work differently that it is ok. Diversity in approaches is the way forward.
The Analyst
If you’re like me then you are prone to overthink about processes. You become crippled because you can’t move forward because it may not be the best and most efficient way forward. So instead of starting on a project procrastination seeps in because you are thinking through the process rather than creating. If you’re this type of person then often times you are in danger of crippling creativity and thinking outside the box because the process of creativity doesn’t visibly move the idea forward. But you’re strengths are in the same vein. You’re the one that can efficiently move a project forward, foresee the roadblocks, and develop an implementation strategy for a successful project. The problem is thinking that you’re way is best and the only way to do something.
The Creative
The other type of person is one that jumps and gets started on a project. Throwing out ideas, moving forward on them, restarting, and keeps trying things until something works out. Little thought is given to the how but they are driven by the process of creating, trying out new things regardless if it will work, and the eye is constantly on the end product.
Bringing Both Together
At the end of the day both types of people (and of course many of you will be somewhere between these polar opposites) have their own advantages and disadvantages. If you’re working on a team you need both types of people. One to help guide the process, making how you go about implementing the project more efficient, and thinking through the details. Additionally, you need the creative, the one that will just jump in with a million ideas and hoping that one sticks.
The problem happens when you don’t recognize what type of person that you are + thinking that its your way or the highway. Self-realization in understanding how you work and how you fit into the process is key. By understanding yourself and knowing your strengths and weaknesses you can become a team player to produce a better product.
Its hard to see outside yourself and recognize that people work differently and that’s ok. Different is not negative. Differences coupled with the awareness is the way forward. When different working methods is viewed as a negative then you will crumble from frustration.
I know for me, this is difficult. For myself, the creative, the one who will just jump in with a million ideas, I tend to negatively view as one with no direction, wasting time, and working inefficiently. But by recognizing that a good idea/project can only emerge through the sifting of bad ideas is valuable. We need each other. I need the one that will push me to think outside the box, think of new ideas, and allowing the sky to be the limit in the idea stage.
So what type of person are you? How do you work? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your personality? What areas do you get frustrated in? Identification of these frustrations and analyzing the true and false aspects of each is the only way to move forward and help you create the best thing you can.