Understanding how your colleagues work leads to better workplace relationships

This post came out from The Straits Times (28 November 2015)
Title - Think it through - Understanding how your colleagues work lead to better workplace relationships

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Analytical Thinking
2. Structural Thinking
3. Social Thinking
4. Conceptual Thinking
5. Behaviours

On Analytical thinking

• Make decisions based on objectivity and facts
• Formulate systems
• Solve problems through careful observation and the use of data
• Learn through mental analysis
• Ask questions like "What is the return on investment?" or "Where is the evidence?"

On Structural thinking

• Be cautious of new ideas
• Be driven by the clock and productivity
• Solve problems using sequential thinking with a methodical approach
• Learn from doing
• Ask questions like "What are the next steps?" or "How do we reach the goal?"

On Social thinking

• Favour working as a team and be encouraging to team mates
• Be relational
• Solve problems by tapping on human resource
• Learn from others
• Ask questions like "Who would this policy impact?" or "How can we build better relationships at work?"

On Conceptual thinking

• Connect with the big picture
• Solve problems by mentally exploring all options
• Learn through experimentation
• Ask questions like "What new ideas can we think of?" or "Why don't we make a decision only after all alternatives are thought through?"

On Behaviours

• How we prefer to interact (expressiveness), how we prefer to assert and the pace we prefer to move things (assertiveness), and how we respond to a change we did not generate (flexibility)

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big