Collaboration

There are several learning styles and personality types that help individuals to become more effective and productive in teams. Having done my Pathway to Learning and Personality Spectrum, only three learning styles and three personality types will be discussed in this paper. Strategies for effective communication and collaboration among the selected styles and types will be developed highlighting the impact on teamwork. The three learning styles identified are logical/mathematical, visual/spatial and intrapersonal. As a Logical/Mathematical learner one tends to enjoy discerning relationships and connections; enjoys solving problems and reasoning scientifically. In a team the logical/mathematical person could be the one that writes outlines and develops charts and graphs. This person would be the one analyzing the information, developing systems and find patterns. The visual/spatial learning has some similar qualities to the Logical/Mathematical learning in that they like to use maps, diagrams and pictures when learning. This person would play the role of creating visual materials – preparing presentations and drawing mind maps. The intrapersonal learning on the other hand learns by evaluating own thinking and being aware of and expressing feelings. They take time to understand self in relation to others trying to think and reason on higher levels. Intrapersonal learner visualizes information, like keeping journals and study in quiet places. From the personality spectrum, the three identified personality types are Thinker, Organizer and Giver. The thinker tends to be more objective, theoretical, mathematical and analytical. The Organizer is more systematic, structured and procedural. They take time to plan and love to see order. The giver on the other hand likes close relationships, cultivates potential of self and others. They promote openness and are caring. The strategy for effective communication and collaboration for the Thinker would be to try and minimize repetitive tasks and look for opportunities to work independently. Strategies that allows for new ways of approaching issues and giving time for independent thoughts on new ideas create a more conducive environment. They could be the one giving the directions and setting the environment for a more rational and logical approach. The organizer strategies include looking for well-structured and stable environments – giving them a chance to use a planner to schedule tasks. The giver strategies would be identifying tasks that involve helping others and building relationships. Understanding these learning styles and personality will help team members to leverage on each others strength. It gives way for each group to communication and collaborates effectively to produce the expected results – help teams and organization meet their goals. When team members understand the other members’ personality type and learning style and will be equipped to assign appropriate task and understand how best to communicate. As much as the understanding learning styles and personality type will help teams to communicate and collaborate effectively it is important to note that the effective results may come be achieved immediately or on the first project. I think that the other aspects to understanding these strategies is the fact that team members come from a varying degrees of diversities – that background may actually introduce a diverse in the learning styles and/or personality types. Team members need to learn to adapt and also understand that team members’ learning styles and personality may vary with time. Reference: Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Kravits, S. (2007). Keys to college studying: Becoming an active thinker (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.