So far in this series, we have covered imagined scenarios of when your office only had Type 3s and Type 8s and Type 2s and Type 9s in it.
This week, we turn our focus on how the office space would look like if it only had Type 5s and 6s in it.
What Works For Them
The focus of these Types is centered on research, gathering and analysing the information and subsequently using it to solve problems in the workplace.
Both see each other as highly competent problem solvers and respect each other’s privacy and personal boundaries. Type 6s admire the Type 5s’ quiet confidence in their own abilities; and the Type 5s love that the Type 6s’ ability to not only spot gaps in the processes but having the ability to offer solutions to close those gaps.
The 5s’ stoic nature and highly congruent behaviour offers the security and consistency that 6s crave in their teammates. The Type 6s loyal commitment to being the dependable and committed team player helps the 5s in the way that they would not ever be taken by surprise and helps them to conserve energy that would be otherwise expended in anticipation of being put on the spot.
What Doesn’t Work For Them
When 5s keep considering the pros and cons of a project before starting on it and couple that with the 6s’ dwelling in the worst case scenarios, this may cause them to complete their work projects at a slower pace because of their longer decision processing time. This then leads to not only lower productivity levels relative to their competitors, but also may cause them to miss out on work opportunities that may have had a smaller window to act upon.
The 5s may see the 6s need for constant reassurance and bouts of anxiety as irritating and energy sapping. This may then cause the 5s to withdraw into the inner world of their thoughts and engage the ‘unreachable loner’ part of their psyche, which would then trigger the 6s’ fear to think about what they have done wrong in that situation.
This vicious cycle would then lead inaction on both sides: the 5s would have analysis paralysis, while the 6s would immediately go to worst case scenario mode and allow their fears and anxiety to overpower them to a point of not wanting to do anything to ‘further destabilise’ the situation.
The above situation would not be resolved till the 5s are able to come out of their shell to help reassure the 6s that all is well, in order for them to become productive again. However, the likelihood of this happening in a short span of time is highly unlikely. This would then bring the office to a complete standstill.
And so here is what we imagine it would be like when the office is populated by only Type 5s and 6s. Is this somewhere you would be comfortable in working in?
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