Teams are about who is in them: The Imaginist

Forrest ChristianOverachievers Leave a Comment

What does a team do? It depends on who is in it. 

The Imaginist decision maker sees teams as “teams of persons”. You can’t determine what is should be done until you analyze who is going to do it. Work cannot be separated from who does it because, for the Imaginst, it’s all about the person.

Lots of ex-programmers seem to become Imaginist decision-makers. It’s prevalent in successful Agile coaches because it allows for the release of individual capability. 

My high school lab partner is a great example. She has a degree in engineering from General Motors Institute. She was successful, moving forward, but after a while, something was missing. She’s now a “passion expert” and even went on America’s Got Talent as the kissing expert. How does she make a decision? First she looks at who is involved. 

If you are a pragmatic decision-maker (“work is about getting things done and making money!”), these “touchy-feeling hippies” make your skin crawl. But the Imaginist decision-maker is more successful than you are when confronted with novel problems. They can unleash creative forces within themselves and others that other decision methods may lock up more.

I’ve written about the Imaginist decision-maker before at greater length, so I’ll keep this short and suggest you head there for more.

 

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