34 Comments

Having complained about the choice of a recent guest author, I must send compliments on this one. Not too often are there lead stories that I must return to read again and consider apps in my work. Thanks. JJF

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This is an article to be shared. It will be reread to find my archetype and those of our employees. Thank you for getting our week started.

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I’m a pioneer and a royal pain to colleague with because I’m uncompromising to the max of ‘un’, so I founded my own solopreneur company and the universe sent me a thank you note. It had a middle finger drawing in it.

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I’m a giver and in keeping I will share this with my adult children, my friends, and colleagues. Thank you for this article.

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I see a bit of myself in each of these, but Explorer defines who I am today. Thanks for the insightful post.

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I can’t help but wonder whether Bain & Co was motivated to do their study after reading Patrick Lencioni’s book “The 6 Types of Working Genius”. (I think Lencioni worked for Bain a couple decades ago). If you really want to understand your own style and strengths, and that of those you work with, I feel Patrick Lencioni’s books and resources from his company The Table Group, provide incredible insights.

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Artisan with maybe a bit of Striver hiding in the shadows.

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When I was working I was definitely an explorer. Now that I’m retired, I’m dedicated to volunteering at the animal shelter as a “cat lady”. Guess I’ve turned into a giver🐈‍⬛

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I've always been an artisan, although in other archetype studies it's called architect or a similar title. Not surprisingly, I'm a software architect by trade and value autonomy and expertise. None of these titles matter though to corporate entities, possibly middle managers, but it doesn't go beyond that. I've been in the field for about 23 years, been through the dot-com bust and a number of layoffs. It's the bottom line and the size of the money pot. That's all that matters above all else.

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While I straddle a few of the 6, I predominately adhere to a Striver (for better or worse). Really enjoyed this article and plan to use the basis of it in our next firm culture review. I would love to see a follow-up article that discusses interactions and best balances of these 6 archetypes within a productive workplace.

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Great article Jessica! Thank you and thanks Bill for giving Jessica the spotlight today!

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I think I am a burned out Giver who became an Explorer. I still work in mental health and education but I am self-employed and quite autonomous. Even before the pandemic I was working remotely. I still value and enjoy the colleagues I work/interact with and their camaraderie, but I now value freedom over security. For a long time I sacrificed quality of life for job security and put work first. Now I enjoy exploring new opportunities learning new skills and finding the joy again in helping others improve their lives and relationships. My son will be getting his drivers license this spring and while this is bittersweet in many ways, I look forward to another new level of freedom that will give me more time to explore.

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Definitely an Operator.

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I am 76 years old and have been retired for eleven years. I am a giver. I wanted my job to be something that improved the lives of others, so I almost always found myself in a healthcare position. I was in administration for a medical lab, a hospital, and a medical instrument company.

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And here I thought I was the only Explorer around, though I've never put a name what I've done or even realised I was one. I've always wondered why I am like I am and now I know there's an actual term, maybe I can find out why. Time to do some digging.

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Sorry for two comments on this but I started digging an found that Bain has a quiz you can do to find out which type you are. You can find it at https://www.bain.com/insights/what-type-of-worker-are-you-future-of-work-report-interactive/

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