Learn your Company's Organizational Culture and Personality Style

Just as people have different personality styles, organizations have different styles, too. Organizational culture or style is influenced by many factors — by the person or people who started it, by its current leaders, and by the surrounding geographic and societal conventions, as well as by the nature of the work it does.

But even those employees who like their jobs could end up clashing with your organizational culture. According to the founder of the Center for Values Research, Dr. Charles Hughes, harmonious personal and organization values increase an employee’s desire to stay with an organization, whereas differences in values decrease an employee’s desire to stay.

Determine Your Workplace Culture Personality Type

Therefore, it’s important to take the time to research and identify the personality style that is most advantageous for your organization. So, how do you do that?

First, read the descriptions of each environment and see which one feels like your company’s best fit:

Direct Style

In a Direct environment, you should value individual effort, decisiveness, results, and risk taking
A Direct culture makes decisions quickly, based on gut reactions and instinct

Spirited Style

In a Spirited environment, you should value creativity, innovation, enthusiasm, teamwork, collaboration, and optimism
A Spirited culture makes decisions quickly, based on intuition and the persuasive skills of others

Considerate Style

In a Considerate environment, you value harmony, cooperation, support, teamwork, collaboration, and loyalty
A Considerate culture makes decisions slowly, after collecting input from many people and sources

Systematic Style

In a Systematic environment, you will focus on logic, accuracy, dependability, independence, autonomy, and quality.
A Systematic culture makes decisions slowly, after thorough analysis

What Does your Company Culture/Business Personality Mean?

Did one of the previous four environments stand out as a match? Learn more about what your company culture means for your organization:

Direct Style

If you create a Direct style environment, you will place an emphasis on taking action and achieving results. It will be a competitive environment, with colleagues being almost rivals. However, the rewards for individual effort and accomplishments are great. The organization constantly seeks challenges and values risk-taking. So, in this environment, you would avoid hiring reluctant risk-takers who prefer to avoid conflict.

Spirited Style

If you create a Spirited style culture, you will promote a high energy and nearly frenetic pace. Colleagues are enthusiastic and optimistic, and innovation is highly valued. The atmosphere is extremely social and fun, and group activities outside of work are regular events. Communication is frequent (some would say too frequent — expect many lengthy meetings in a Spirited culture). In addition, the organization may change focus and direction frequently, so avoid hiring workers who get easily frustrated and aren’t adaptable.

Considerate Style

If you promote a Considerate style culture, you will be regarded as a company that offers a supportive environment, both to its staff and to its customers or clients. It offers an opportunity to form collaborative relationships, both within and outside the organization. The atmosphere is generally more relaxed than that in other styles, and there is an emphasis on harmony and getting along with others. In this culture, you need to recruit employees who thrive in a team environment and forsake personal accomplishments and rapid advancement based on individual results.

Systematic Style

If you create a Systematic style culture, you are fostering a stable environment. Your employees will be punctual and dependable and will maintain high standards of performance. The pace will be slower; for example, a Systematic culture relies on logic and data, and therefore decisions require a lengthy analysis. The Systematic culture is detail-oriented and expects precision and accuracy. The only potential downside is it’s basically free from emotions, so hiring employees who need to be in a social group that works closely together, will probably not work well.

Define Your Own Company Culture

Creating and honing a specific personality style for your company will go a long way toward ensuring employee satisfaction, and a distinct cultural brand to attract the right kind of employees.

For Employers