What’s your working style?

We all have different styles of working. Some people are born leaders and love heading a team, coming up with ideas for new projects and keeping everyone inspired until the big launch or presentation, while others are excellent at nurturing relationships, making sure everyone in the office is happy and persuading people to buy products.

Experts say there are five types of working personalities – the Doer, the Lover, the Leader, the Dreamer and the Learner – all operating differently, and each with their strengths and weaknesses. Some focus on detail and making lists, while others specialise in the most obscure things or theories that many of us didn’t even know existed.

“Though we do have the five types, we’re often a mix of two or three of them, and some of them work really well together,” explains international career coach John Lees, author of Just the Job!. “For example, someone who is both a Leader and a Dreamer can be a huge success because they are ultra-visionary and focused. However, a Doer is rarely a Dreamer because the Doer is too detail focused to think outside the box.

“Sometimes, when we get known for being a particular type of worker, it can work both for us and against us. We can become a specialist or it can limit us because our employers think our talents lie in just one area.

“Labelling can happen in other ways, too. If we’re in a meeting and we fix a technical

problem, we get known in the organisation as the guy who’s good at fixing laptops. People get invited to join committees because they once expressed an opinion and they then become regarded as an expert.”

Here John describes the five types of worker and gives his tips for our weaker areas to ensure that we fly as high as we can from nine to five, whatever job we’re in, whether it’s medicine or marketing, finance or fashion.

This person is a safe pair of hands who is reliable and trustworthy and gets the job finished. They meet deadlines and they hit targets. You’ll see the Doers with a notebook in their hand and a few to-do lists on the go. They often have several spreadsheets to track details.

They rarely stay still for long and the highlight of their day is ticking things off their list. They’re taken for granted – employers assume the Doer will be with the company for ever.

What they do: They excel in conference and event management, they check orders meticulously before they are shipped and they make excellent personal assistants.

Weak areas: The doer can over-obsess about every little detail and insist on carrying out every job by the rule book, determined that things are done in a particular order. They tend to be perfectionists and can end up stressed because they push themselves to do everything brilliantly.

Although this makes them perfect for administrative jobs, they’re not good at coping with an emergency and thinking on their feet. They tend to be seen by their managers

as operational people so they can get overlooked when promotions are handed out.

Career tip: Make sure your efforts are noticed and you get credit for your work. In a crisis, ask yourself this question: What is the most important thing that must happen in the next 15 minutes?

The lover goes to work because they like the relationships their jobs bring them, whether they’re in an office or out on the road selling. You’ll hear them saying most of their clients are good friends.

They’re interested in people, they remember birthdays and names and ask caring questions. They tend to be generous and open and they share their ideas. They’re usually the life and soul of an office and they often see their colleagues outside work. They have a gift for conversation and they’re persuasive.

If you want your staff to work late one evening, the Lover of the office will persuade them.

What they do: This person is excellent in the diplomatic service, they can usually sell anything to anyone, they can persuade people to get involved in their projects and they’re brilliant in fundraising for charities.

Weak areas: The lover avoids conflict and difficult conversations and they find it hard to discipline and control people. They’re not as self-reliant as some types and they seek other people’s approval too much. They’re often seen as players rather than leaders, and they shy away from awkward jobs such as making staff redundant.

They try to be everyone’s friend and feel uncomfortable when they have difficult jobs to do, such as dealing with discipline issues.

Career tip: Set some boundaries so you know which relationships are important to you, and learn how to have difficult conversations without damaging a good friendship or working relationship.

The Leader is a positive person who energises their team with their vitality and joie de vivre. They have a vision of what they want to achieve, and this is usually in alignment with the vision and mission statement of the organisation they work for.

They give their team good feedback, they’re excellent listeners and they keep their staff so motivated, they look forward to going to work. They regularly check with others at the same level that they’redoing their job well. Only very good leaders are capable of playing the long game – many run out of steam after motivating people month after month.

What they do: They head up most organisations, they excel in marketing, PR and literary agencies, they lead advertising teams and they pop up in politics.

Weak areas: They sometimes put themselves in their own little bubble where it’s very easy to believe their own PR. Some leaders make all the right noises but they don’t achieve much. If they’re not careful, they’ll be too busy forging ahead with their vision, and when they look round, their team isn’t behind them.

Career tip: Find at least two people from outside your organisation who can give you feedback about  your performance and the way you operate. Stay hungry for new ideas.

This person is unconventional. They think outside the box and they are very good at borrowing ideas from unconventional sources. They’re often struck by inspiration at strange times. They’re hungry for new ideas and information and they’re great at tracking them down. They continually ask themselves if there’s a better way to do things.

What they do: They make excellent coaches and consultants who help businesses reinvent themselves. They’re also found in creative roles such as advertising and marketing campaigns.

Weak areas: They can miss important details and if you give the Dreamer a task they find boring, they will put it off for ever. Because they look only at the big picture, they miss deadlines and they get costings wrong. They sometimes suggest impractical ideas that don’t fit the organisation or agenda.

They get bored easily and don’t see jobs through to completion – some like being involved with a prototype and then they move on to something new. They’re often distracted by their own creativity.

Career tip: When you are about to get involved in a project, be honest with yourself and others about how far you want to go in the process and be clear about when you will be leaving. Get a handle on the human impact from the start.

That way you will know if you are treading on anyone’s toes and you can also avoid

letting people down.

This person is an expert and a font of knowledge in their given area, whether that’s ancient archaeology or the merits of new cancer-fighting drugs. They’re highly valued for their knowledge and expertise and they save companies huge amounts of money and time because they can predict with detail and accuracy of the merits or pitfalls of any given plan.

They’re highly focused people and passionate about their specialist area. They’re trustworthy and at the top of the field in their subject.

What they do: They’re found in engineering, building, computing and scientific roles, and some work with foreign languages as interpreters and translators.

Weaknesses: The learner can be obsessive and not interested in anything outside their specialist area. In turn, if colleagues aren’t interested in the Learner’s field of expertise, they tend to find them dull. The Learner is often seen as an outsider within an organisation – they’re like a consultant who appears on the payroll but isn’t one of the team.  There’s a danger they over specialise in an area that may become outdated, and that’s when they hit a brick wall in their career path.

Career tip: Find out if specialising is a good long-term career strategy – look at recent promotions  within your company and see who’s moving upwards. Keep updating your skills so you  move with the times and don’t get left behind with your outdated knowledge.