The Dynamic Dance of Activity and Methods in Action
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I’ve always been intrigued by the push and pull of different Perceptual Styles—how our unique approaches can either complement or clash in the fast-paced world of technology. One such fascinating combo? The interaction between Activity (my Perceptual Style) and Methods.
For someone like me, with an Activity Perceptual Style, I thrive on juggling multiple projects, diving into new ideas, and pivoting on the fly when things get tough. So, when I connect with someone who has the Methods Perceptual Style, it’s easy to see why there’s an immediate attraction to their strengths.
People with the Methods Perceptual Style excel at breaking down big problems into actionable steps. They’re rational and detail-oriented, and when they commit to a plan, they see it through, come hell or high water. That structured approach, which makes me admire their tenacity, can sometimes also feel like a barrier. They may see my drive for spontaneity and my eagerness to jump right in as chaotic. And I admit—I can see their need for structure and “following the rules” as frustratingly rigid.
This tug-of-war of styles came into clear focus for me one hectic day when I was the CIO of a mid-sized company. A candidate for the vacant position of Network Manager, who by all accounts had “aced” the first three interviews was waiting for me to interview her, when the alarms in the server room went off as a pipe had broken in the ceiling and a number of our servers had been damaged by the water.
I asked Sally (the candidate) if she would rather come back another day, but she said that given that she had traveled from the west coast, she would rather wait. So, I handed her a legal pad and a pen and said to her “You are the Network Manager in a medium size company. A pipe has burst, and the server room is flooded. Please detail how you would go about recovering the servers. Understanding that you do not know our configuration, please make whatever assumptions you want to make and provide a solution.
I returned in a little over an hour and she only had written 10-25 lines of action. Two hours later, she only had completed a little over a page and the entries were very obvious: “Order new servers, install new servers, get backup tapes, restore tapes”. Feeling bad that her interview was skewed by the server room events, I asked my network administrator to present to her our computer room set-up (hardware and software) and to discuss our Service Level Agreements and existing procedures.
Sally went to work with the new information and worked through lunch (we had ordered lunch for the new team). By the end of the day, she provided very detailed and valuable processes and procedures based on the information we provided. I believe she would have been an excellent candidate for a lead position in Quality Assurance or writing procedures, jobs we did not have a budget for, so we could not hire her. Our Network Administrator ran into her during a technology conference in Las Vegas and she thanked us for pointing her in the “right” direction, Sally was now the head of a department encompassing Disaster Recovery, Quality Assurance and Testing for a large institution.
Lessons Learned in Working with Different Styles
Reflecting on this, I realize how important it is to value these differences. For Activity types like me, it’s essential to understand the necessity of structure, even when it feels restrictive. The Methods Style’s ability to slow down and stick to proven steps can be the difference between short-term fixes and sustainable solutions. And for those with a Methods Style, I believe it’s valuable to appreciate the energy and flexibility we bring—even if it looks like “chaos” from their perspective.
Whether we’re talking about a technology crisis, boardroom decisions, or just day-to-day office interactions, this blend of perspectives creates a synergy that wouldn’t exist if we all saw the world the same way. Activity and Methods working together? It’s like a complex dance—one where both partners bring their own rhythm, but when it clicks, the result is better than either could achieve alone.
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About Ricardo Vega
Ricardo Vega is the Director of Operations at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. and a certified Perceptual Style Guide. He has over 40 years of experience in technology, product and project delivery, disaster recovery, and team coaching. He specializes in helping entrepreneurs and teams with Product Planning & Delivery, Team Building, and Change Management.
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