What it means
Strengths
- Their ordered communication style ensures that information is shared clearly and efficiently, reducing misunderstandings.
- These teams can quickly process new information and respond immediately. Their ability to pivot without hesitation is a key advantage in high-stress or fast-changing situations.
- OLAS teams avoid the delays that often accompany consensus-building, enabling them to implement new strategies swiftly.
Blind spots
- The speed at which OLAS teams operate can sometimes result in insufficient analysis or consideration of long-term impacts, leading to decisions that solve immediate issues but create future problems. Their bias to action can also mean that creativity–which isn’t always efficient!–is sometimes overlooked.
- Frequent and spontaneous adjustments of plans can undermine consistency and reliability, especially on projects that require long-term development or stability. Rapid changes in direction can also cause whiplash and burnout.
- Because decisions are typically made in a top-down fashion, OLAS teams can alienate team members who feel their opinions are undervalued.
Ways to grow
- Encourage creativity and innovation. The team is too focused on day-to-day execution to take the time for unstructured brainstorming and creative thinking, unless there is an external forcing function.
- Institute checkpoints or review processes before finalizing decisions to ensure that all aspects of a problem have been considered. This can prevent hasty decisions and promote more sustainable solutions, especially in complex or unfamiliar situations.
- Make sure there is enough investment in feedback, coaching, and career growth for team members, in addition to the focus on day-to-day execution.
Coaching your team
Help natural fits spot shared blind spots and recognize when to flex. Give people in tension opportunities to contribute a different approach.
Communicating
Your team’s approach: Ordered
Natural fitAlex R., Jordan M., Morgan L., Casey N., Avery P. These team members have personal preferences that fit with the team’s Ordered Communicating style.
Talking points
“Help those on the team who are less naturally organized by clarifying expectations around structured communications and developing guidelines and templates for how we share information as a team. ”
“Flex into a more organic, free-flowing communication style when we are working on gathering new information or coming up with new ideas. In these cases, starting with quick conversations can save us time and lead to better outcomes.”
Potential tensionJeff B., Taylor S., Riley C., Sam K. These team members have personal preferences that are in tension with the team’s Ordered Communicating style.
Talking points
“Make it easier for yourself to plug into the team’s practices by asking the team to clarify expectations and provide guidelines around structured communications. Ask teammates to share examples of past documents that have been well-received.”
“When we need to uncover new information or share new ideas across the team, your natural bias for free-flowing communication is the better approach. Help our team move faster by making sure we’re not spending time coming up with a model or framework when a quick conversation would suffice.”
Processing
Your team’s approach: Logical
Natural fitJeff B., Alex R., Jordan M., Taylor S., Morgan L., Casey N., Sam K., Avery P. These team members have personal preferences that fit with the team’s Logical Processing style.
Talking points
“Not everyone on the team may share your analysis-first approach to interpreting information. Help the more relationship-driven individuals on our team by sharing with them past examples of how we analyzed information as a team, so they can understand what works best in our context.”
“While it’s great to ground so much of our thinking in rigorous reasoning and analysis, sometimes the most consequential input comes from specific individuals who have unique expertise, context, and influence. Let’s remind ourselves to seek out and incorporate their perspectives when we’re gathering insights.”
Potential tensionRiley C. This person has personal preferences that are in tension with the team’s Logical Processing style.
Talking points
“When you’re interpreting data and information, ask your teammates (or me) for past examples of how we did so as a team, so you can understand the types of analytical approaches that work best in our context. ”
“Your natural tendency to look for and turn to individuals who have unique expertise or context can augment — though it won’t replace — our team’s naturally rigorous analytical approach. Help cover our team’s blind spots by reminding us which individuals have the most influence in each domain and make sure we’re weighing their input appropriately.”
Deciding
Your team’s approach: Authoritative
Natural fitJeff B., Alex R., Jordan M., Taylor S., Riley C., Casey N., Sam K. These team members have personal preferences that fit with the team’s Authoritative Deciding style.
Talking points
“If a naturally consensus-driven teammate is leading a decision, help them avoid spinning their wheels by calibrating them to the team’s expectations around when a sufficient amount of input has been gathered and incorporated. It will likely be less than their natural instincts would suggest.”
“Certain decisions — especially those that will lead to a particularly difficult, time-consuming, or counter-intuitive course of action — benefit from more buy-in among the team. When the team is facing one of these, encourage leadership to spend more time socializing and debating the decision to create broader commitment to the path ahead.”
Potential tensionMorgan L., Avery P. These team members have personal preferences that are in tension with the team’s Authoritative Deciding style.
Talking points
“If you are being asked to lead a decision, ask team leadership to help you weigh feedback and calibrate expectations around when sufficient input has been gathered and incorporated. Don’t be surprised if you find that the team expects you to get less input than you’d assume.”
“Your instinct to build consensus is especially helpful when the team is making decisions that will lead to particularly difficult, time- consuming, or counter-intuitive courses of action. In these situations, encourage team leadership to make more space for discussion to generate greater buy-in from the team for the path ahead.”
Executing
Your team’s approach: Spontaneous
Natural fitJeff B., Alex R., Jordan M., Morgan L., Riley C., Sam K., Avery P. These team members have personal preferences that fit with the team’s Spontaneous Executing style.
Talking points
“Help the more deliberate members of the team identify and prioritize the areas where they most need clarity from a planning and ongoing execution perspective. Then help them work with the rest of the team to get that clarity.”
“When tackling an effort where the consequences of an unexpected outcome (or delay) would be significant, push your team (and yourself) to set aside the natural instinct for lightweight, reactive plans in favor of creating and maintaining a more detailed blueprint for execution.”
Potential tensionTaylor S., Casey N. These team members have personal preferences that are in tension with the team’s Spontaneous Executing style.
Talking points
“Identify and prioritize the most important areas where you need clarity from a planning and ongoing execution perspective. Ask your team to provide that clarity in those places, but trust their more organic tendencies in other areas.”
“The team’s natural tendency for lightweight, reactive plans works less well when the consequences of an unexpected outcome (or delay) would be significant. In these moments, we can benefit from your ability to build and maintain detailed blueprints for execution.”
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