How Do Thinking Styles Affect Problem Solving?

Intrinsic Thinkers are typically both risk takers and change oriented. By making sure that recruiting solutions take this into account, it is possible to improve employee performance management best practices and build effective employee retention programs.

In my blog posts about thinking styles, I have described employees with the intrinsic style of thinking as creative individuals who are less collaborative and typically prefer to rely on their own ideas in problem-solving situations. This approach to problem solving can make the Intrinsic Thinker vulnerable to rushing solutions before they fully understand the true nature of the problems they face. Let’s take a closer look at how these traits need to be taken into account in terms of both employee retention programs and employee performance management best practices.

Remember, when Intrinsic Thinkers discuss problems with others, they usually already have a solution in mind. Additionally, they are often poor listeners who are thinking about what they will say next when other people are doing the talking. As a result of these traits, Intrinsic Thinkers often act without knowledge of all of the facts related to the problems they are trying to solve. Overcoming this issue is the key to the effective management of Intrinsic Thinkers and making proper use of their talent as innovators.

In contrasts, Extrinsic Thinkers prefer to solve problems in collaboration with others and generally point out aspects that could result in negative consequences. Because Extrinsic Thinkers usually develop a solid understanding of the true nature of problems they provide an ideal sounding board for Intrinsic Thinkers in problem-solving situations.

As you learned in my blog post regarding Extrinsic Thinkers and Change Management, the appraisal data generated through the deployment of Talent Chaser shows clearly that Intrinsic-Extrinsic problem solving has the potential to keep both participants well motivated and results in a highly effective problem-solving methodology. This having been said, it has to be borne in mind that the dynamic between these two styles of thinking depends on the way the two relate to each other in organizational terms.

Building an effective employee retention program requires that three possible situations be considered:

• Peer-to-Peer Problem Solving – according to the Talent Chaser appraisal data, in this situation the dialogue between the two thinking styles works optimally.
• Supervisor-Subordinate Problem Solving – here, we need to consider two possibilities:
  • Intrinsic Supervisor – a problem can arise whereby the challenges of the Extrinsic Thinker Subordinate are simply ignored. Whether or not this will happen depends on two other subsidiary traits: Empathy andDominance. When an Intrinsic Thinker is either lacking in empathy or overly dominant, true dialogue often fails to develop between them and their subordinates. I will be discussing the implication of these two traits later in this series of blog posts.
  • Extrinsic Supervisor – issues with either empathy or dominance are extremely rare. However, problems can arise where risk aversion and/or change resistance can cause the supervisor to reject the subordinate’s ideas. When this happens consistently, it can lead to a breakdown in dialogue between the two and subordinate de-motivation.

These problems are closely correlated with employee turnover rates. All three Intrinsic-Extrinsic combinations can be made to function well, provided an effort is made to ensure the development of proper dialogue between employees.

My research for Talent Chaser emphasizes the link between motivation and behavior, which can be thoroughly evaluated using the performance profile and which are not covered by a personality test. By getting both existing employees and job applicants to complete the Performance Profile Questionnaire, you can have access to a textual report within Talent Chaser that covers role-related performance and motivational information concerning every employee. With proper training, this information can be used to improve employee motivations throughout the entire organization. The result is much lower employee turnover rates and increased operational performance.

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