Improving Work Relationships
Are you objective, analytical, and logical? Are you a natural team player? Are you lively and entertaining? Are you a natural born leader? The answer to these questions and more may help you to better understand your work style, but more importantly, the work style of your coworkers.
We all have unique personalities and different learning styles. What you appreciate about your work may be different from what others appreciate about their work. What do you think a lot about, value in others, enjoy or dislike? What you have trouble dealing with may be unique to your work style. Knowing and understanding what makes you and your coworkers unique may better strengthen your relationships.
Recently at Premier Care Center, we began a distinctive training style to identify ourselves and our work style. We then share with our coworkers each other‘s work styles in an attempt to strengthen our work relationships. The therapy department took on a fun adventure to better understand our own traits and those of us on our team and how we may improve. We were introduced to a training course called “Birds of Different Feathers”. It is a quick Personal Work Style Self-Assessment. Once everyone has completed the assessment they use the score on the assessment to identify their own ‘Bird Style’. Once you know your bird, you may read the course information that identifies your unique characteristics. Knowing more about yourself is only half the fun. Once everyone shares their own unique ‘Bird Style’ with the group, then we were all able to discuss and learn about each other.
Some don’t like to be micro-managed. Some are natural ‘cheerleaders’ and thrive on the creative energy of groups. Some will respond well when they can be given autonomy and the opportunity to exercise their best professional judgment. Some prefer not to be criticized or embarrassed in front of other people. They are sensitive and care deeply what others think of them.
It was quite enlightening to learn about our teammates. We now use this ‘Bird Style’ terms when we speak to each other and it has given us deeper insight into how better to communicate together. We even presented the course to the Premier Care Center Leadership Team, and they have fully embraced it as well. More recently it was presented to the Ensign Therapy Resources as a culture training piece. So what kind of a bird are you?
Are you an Owl – a data collector? Are you a Dove – a collaborator? Are you a Peacock – an artist/creator? Are you a Hawk – a decision maker? Find out your own unique ‘Bird Style’ and how are you may better influence your communication with your team or coworkers by taking the training on ‘Birds of Different Feathers’.
So what kind of a bird are you?
Assessment: Personal Work Style Assessment (pdf file)
Training: Birds of Different Feathers (pdf file)
Be sure to take the assessment first, then the training.