Business Chemistry summary

We all know that person in the office who loves to play it safe. Approach him with a new idea, and he’ll tell you all the reasons why it’s too risky, why it won’t work, and why you’d be better off sticking with the old way of doing things. If you work with someone who’s a stickler for the status quo, you’re probably dealing with a Guardian. 

This working style craves stability and structure, but Guardians are often viewed as a hindrance to progress. 

On every team, there tends to be a person with the uncanny ability to just get stuff done. No matter how big the challenge, this coworker rises to the occasion every time. As great as this all sounds, though, there’s a catch. As much as you appreciate this person for their laser-like focus, you can’t help but feel that she’s, well...kind of a jerk. If this sounds familiar, then you’re working with a Driver. 

A Driver is highly goal-oriented. When she wants to achieve something, she’ll gather all the available data, analyze it, and swiftly determine the most logical way to proceed. She doesn’t waste time, either. When a driver comes to a team meeting, she’ll ask you for the facts, challenge you on anything she thinks you’ve got wrong, and then tell you what the plan is.

What’s your favorite type of person to work with? How about someone who treats you like a friend rather than just a coworker, and who’s never too busy to listen to how you feel or understand your point of view? These caring souls are known as Integrators, and although you might find them a warm and friendly presence on the team, their impact on your team’s work is often less welcome. 

This is because the Integrator makes people and relationships his priority, meaning that tasks and measurable outcomes are often relegated to second place. 

As a child, you were probably told to treat others as you’d like to be treated. Unfortunately, this isn't always good advice. In the real world, people have different personalities, motivations, and preferences, meaning that the communication style that works for you might be mystifying or even downright unbearable for someone else. So forget your childhood lesson – let’s take a look at how each personality type can thrive in the workplace, starting with Pioneers. 

If you’re looking to build a great working relationship with a Pioneer, there’s one word you should try to avoid: no. 

What does hell look like for a Guardian? Let’s imagine a Guardian called Gwendolyn, who, to her surprise, is suddenly asked to head up an exciting new project and given plenty of autonomy to shape it however she sees fit. Although this might sound like a dream opportunity, to Gwendolyn, it’s a nightmare from start to finish. 

To get the best out of a Guardian personality type, it's necessary to give them time, space, and clarity – all things that Gwendolyn’s bosses have denied her. 

Meet Dana, a Driver who is having a very bad day. Not only did her coworkers waste the first ten minutes of their team meeting making pointless small talk, but her boss also then unveiled a terrible new reporting system. 

Her coworkers seemed to love it, but Dana was bitterly disappointed. Not only were there no clear targets for her to hit under the new system, but it also lacked the key performance indicators that would allow her to measure her performance against that of her coworkers. In other words, Dana now feels she has nothing to aim for and no way to tell if she’s outperforming her workmates! 

While our Driver, Dana, would like nothing more than for her coworkers to leave her alone so she can  work undisturbed, working alone is the worst possible scenario for our fourth working style: the Integrator. If you want to make life difficult for an Integrator, denying them the opportunity to be part of a close-knit team is a good way to go about it. 

That’s because Integrators thrive on building great interpersonal relationships. Without them, they quickly lose their motivation.