Dreamers, Detailers, and Doers (Which One Are You?)

We had a very enlightening leadership team discussion yesterday.  This is some great leadership development stuff.  As we talked about tasks, responsibilities, and opportunities, Jeff asked us a question: “Are you more of a dreamer, detailer, or doer?”

Here’s how he described it:

  • Dreamer – This is the menu.  You see the big picture.  You love thinking about the big picture, but it’s the details that weigh you down.
  • Detailer – This is the recipe.  You love getting the big picture, but then you like to dissect it and detail out how everything will have to be done.
  • Doer – This is the cook.  You don’t like big pictures and brainstorming meetings drain you.  You want someone to show you the recipe, and you will cook it up.

It was very insightful illustration.  It was so good, I asked him if he came up with it!

On a staff, on a team, in a family, all of these roles are important.  But if you make someone work on a menu when they really just know how to cook, you can frustrate people and not get the best out of them.  Let’s face it – we all love closure, we all love to know we contribute something special.  But if we are working at something that’s difficult for us to do, we can’t be as productive as possible.

That’s not to say that we can be lazy and claim we can’t do something.  A job is a job.  Work is work.  It’s supposed to be hard.  But have you ever wondered if the people around you are frustrated not because they aren’t good at something, but what they’re not good at what they’ve been asked to do.

So which are you?  Rank them.  Are you a dreamer, detailer, or doer first?

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