{"id":1634,"date":"2018-02-21T19:41:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T19:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insidejobscoach.com\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2019-03-10T20:41:38","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T20:41:38","slug":"how-do-you-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insidejobscoach.com\/how-do-you-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Susan was so frustrated with her new office manager Jim, she was ready to fire him! She said his habit of waiting until the last minute to begin jobs was driving her crazy. Whenever there was a project with a deadline, Jim didn\u2019t even begin to work on it until the last minute. Somehow he usually managed to get the job done, but it was always in crisis mode, with a huge burst of energy and stress.<\/p>\n

Also, the one-time tasks that didn\u2019t have a deadline, such as cleaning out the supply closet, never got done.<\/p>\n

Susan is the kind of person who likes to tackle a job as soon as she learns about it. She immediately sets out a work schedule, and is able to pace herself throughout the project, so that she eases up to the deadline with everything in order.<\/p>\n

The Deadline-Driven Style<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s no wonder that Jim\u2019s deadline-driven style drove her crazy.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Susan took Jim\u2019s behavior personally and thought it was designed to irritate her. \u00a0 It became a power and control issue between them. She would speak sarcastically to Jim or nag him about how the project was coming, and he would become defensive and work even slower. Obviously, this was unproductive for them both.<\/p>\n

Styles Of Functioning<\/h2>\n

As we talked, Susan realized that people have different styles of functioning. Once she understood that Jim was just doing things the way that worked best for him, she could acknowledge that he worked more efficiently when his deadline was near. She admitted that he always managed to finish the project on time, and that the stress was her own because she mistakenly thought that Jim\u2019s high energy rushing around was an indication that the project was out of control.<\/p>\n

Once she realized it wasn\u2019t personal and that Jim did know what he was doing, she could let go of the power struggle and talk with Jim about their different work styles.<\/p>\n

Together they worked out a way that met both of their needs:<\/p>\n