How would you describe your team at work?

Are your team members inward idea-processing decision makers, or are they outward idea-processing? Full disclosure here, one of the reasons I love webinars is that outward idea-processing people usually attend them. So you hardly need to say a word if you have a few of them in a webinar.

But trouble can occur when there are abundant outward-processing people in a meeting, and the inward-processing people need help to hang on to their ideas, which can leave the impression that there is consensus when there is not.

The fact is that while some colleagues prefer to process their thoughts and ideas through conversation and group banter (outward processing), others may choose to remain quiet in meetings (inwardly processing) their opinions. So, if management is keen to hear about viable ideas, it helps if they know how their key players communicate once presented with a problem.

A colleague who constantly interrupts others might appear rude or even a bully by others, while the excited offender thinks they are conveying noisy enthusiasm for an idea. The challenge for management is to determine if there is a true consensus or have the noisy outward processing folks shut the inward thinkers down.

The challenge is to figure out which way the majority of the team exchanges ideas and to assure the inward-processing teammates that their opinions matter and that you would like to hear from them.

Team friction can happen when teammates have different ways of processing and expressing information. This dissonance can have a disruptive effect on the productivity of individual members, but it can also disrupt the harmony of the entire team.

An essential interview question candidates should ask managers is how the manager would prefer them to communicate ideas and how the team communicates with each other. It is a question that candidates regularly need to ask in the interview.

Managers should also ask candidates they are considering for a position. Since woe is on you if you end up managing, working for, or with a “do you have a minute” five times a day outward processing teammate, lead, or manager, and you are an inward processing problem solver.

But if your exchanges with a colleague or team lead often drift into what appears to be bullying, please address it with management as soon as possible. Your colleague may be an outward idea-processing person and unaware that quiet thinking is an option to explore.

XAre your team members inward idea-processing decision makers, or are they outward idea-processing?

Full disclosure here, one of the reasons I love webinars is that outward idea-processing people usually attend them. So you hardly need to say a word if you have a few of them in a webinar.

But trouble can occur when there are abundant outward-processing people in a meeting, and the inward-processing people need help to hang on to their ideas, which can leave the impression that there is consensus when there is not.

The fact is that while some colleagues prefer to process their thoughts and ideas through conversation and group banter (outward processing), others may choose to remain quiet in meetings (inwardly processing) their opinions. So, if management is keen to hear about viable ideas, it helps if they know how their key players communicate once presented with a problem.

A colleague who constantly interrupts others might appear rude or even a bully by others, while the excited offender thinks they are conveying noisy enthusiasm for an idea. The challenge for management is to determine if there is a true consensus or have the noisy outward processing folks shut the inward thinkers down.

The challenge is to figure out which way the majority of the team exchanges ideas and to assure the inward-processing teammates that their opinions matter and that you would like to hear from them.

Team friction can happen when teammates have different ways of processing and expressing information. This dissonance can have a disruptive effect on the productivity of individual members, but it can also disrupt the harmony of the entire team.

An essential interview question candidates should ask managers is how the manager would prefer them to communicate ideas and how the team communicates with each other. It is a question that candidates regularly need to ask in the interview.

Managers should also ask candidates they are considering for a position. Since woe is on you if you end up managing, working for, or with a “do you have a minute” five times a day outward processing teammate, lead, or manager, and you are an inward processing problem solver.

But if your exchanges with a colleague or team lead often drift into what appears to be bullying, please address it with management as soon as possible. Your colleague may be an outward idea-processing person and unaware that quiet thinking is an option to explore.