Working Style Quiz: Find Out How You Work Best

In the workplace, individuals may have different approaches to managing tasks and engaging with others. While there’s no single ‘right’ way to work, understanding how you work best can help you thrive and drive success at work.

If you’re thinking “What is my work style?”, we’ve prepared a multiple -choice quiz to help you discover which approach suits you the most. Jot down your answer for each question and refer to the results to gain valuable insights about yourself. Besides the quiz, you’ll also learn why knowing your working style matters, how to work with different types of work styles and how short courses can support your ongoing professional development.

Working style quiz

1. Which type of tasks feel most rewarding to you?

A) Working with numbers and identifying patterns in data.

B) Developing new products and finding innovative methods to address issues.

C) Conducting independent research and managing personal projects.

D) Contributing to team efforts and facilitating cross-functional collaborations.

2. How would your colleagues usually describe you?

A) Precise, detail-oriented and data-driven.

B) Innovative, imaginative and expressive.

C) Proactive, focused and reliable.

D) Empathetic, cooperative and team-oriented.

3. How do you prefer to start a new project?

A) Gather relevant data and break the project down into logical and actionable steps.

B) Brainstorm a wide range of ideas before settling on a direction.

C) Take ownership from the start and map out what needs to be done.

D) Discuss the project with others and make sure everyone is aligned with shared goals.

4. What helps you stay on track and meet deadlines?

A) A clear and structured timeline.

B) Creative freedom and flexibility.

C) Autonomy and minimal external disruptions.

D) Support from team members and coordinated efforts.

5. How do you typically make decisions at work?

A) Examining data and typically choosing the most logical solution.

B) Exploring various possibilities and often trying unconventional methods.

C) Relying on personal judgment and past experience.

D) Collecting input from others and deciding based on the consensus.

6. When disagreements occur, you tend to:

A) Look at facts and logic to resolve the issue.

B) Reframe the issue from various perspectives to find common ground.

C) Address it privately and efficiently.

D) Engage in dialogue to work towards mutual understanding.

7. What kind of feedback would you appreciate from others?

A) Specific feedback with data-backed examples and actionable suggestions.

B) Encouraging feedback that can spark inspiration.

C) Concise and direct feedback with minimal micromanagement.

D) Supportive and dialogue-based feedback with a focus on what’s best for the team.

Working style quiz results

Mostly A’s: Analytical working style

Your working style may be analytical if you value accuracy, logic and precision. Individuals with this working style usually have a strong passion for working with facts and numbers, enabling them to thrive in structured environments where goals are clearly defined and actionable. Having this working style can also help you deliver measurable results and contribute to an organisation’s informed business decision-making. However, if you’re highly methodical, you may find it challenging to navigate more creative tasks, especially when there’s limited data available to guide your direction.

Mostly B’s: Creative working style

You may have a creative working style if you prefer approaching business challenges with curiosity and a willingness to think outside the box. This often involves exploring diverse possibilities and perspectives to come up with unconventional solutions. You may thrive better in environments that encourage imagination and flexibility, as rigid procedures may feel restrictive to your innovative approaches. Your originality and ability to inspire others can make you a great asset to an organisation, especially within a creative department. At the same time, if your ideas are too visionary, they may sometimes lack the structure needed to be executed practically.

Mostly C’s: Independent working style

You may have an independent working style, which means you often prefer autonomy in accomplishing tasks. If you’re driven by personal growth and achievement, you likely take ownership of your duties and can remain motivated without needing external encouragement. With this working style, organisations can trust you to be reliable and focused with minimal supervision. However, if you’re accustomed to working independently, you may find it challenging to work in group settings, especially when it requires balancing your approach with others’ perspectives.

Mostly D’s: Collaborative working style

Your working style may be collaborative if you enjoy working in environments where communication and cooperation are essential to achieve shared goals. Rather than working independently, you may prefer working while knowing you’re a part of something bigger and your contribution can help move the team forward. As many business operations depend on cross-functional teamwork across diverse departments, your ability to work well with others can play an important role in supporting organisational objectives. However, if you’re more comfortable working in groups, you may find yourself struggling with leading initiatives and making decisions independently, especially when you’re trying to balance too many perspectives.

Benefits of understanding your working style

Image

Understanding your working style can lead to diverse advantages, such as helping you pursue roles where you can thrive, leveraging your strengths, building stronger relationships, enhancing productivity and navigating change effectively. These benefits can support a rewarding career path and develop your long-term professional growth. Learn more below:

Pursue roles where you can thrive

Being familiar with how you work best can help you identify professional roles that align with your strengths. For example, if you’re an analytical thinker, you may gravitate towards data-focused jobs, such as business analyst, data analyst and market research analyst. With a creative working style, you may be suited to roles in marketing, advertising or business development where you’re regularly expected to come up with fresh and innovative ideas to support organisational growth.

If you prefer working independently, remote positions like designer, virtual assistant and freelance writer may provide you with the autonomy and self-direction you need to excel. On the other hand, if you prefer collaborating with others, you may thrive in team-based environments like project management, communications and operations. By using your working style as a guide, you’re more likely to find a career path based on your skills and preferences, which can enhance your work performance and contribute to greater job satisfaction.

Leverage your strengths

When you have a clear understanding of your working style, you may find it easier to tap into your strengths and focus on tasks that motivate you. This self-awareness can help you contribute to work and projects in a way that demonstrates your skills, whether it’s data analysis, creative problem-solving, collaboration or strategy planning.

Consistently applying your strengths effectively can help deliver high-quality results and boost your professional credibility. This may help increase your visibility in the workplace as others recognise the value you bring with your capabilities. With this momentum, you’re more likely to be trusted with more meaningful opportunities that align with your strengths, which can accelerate your career growth and help you progress into roles that are fulfilling and authentic to who you are.

Build stronger relationships

Recognising your working style often gives you insight into how you can engage with others. For example, if you have an independent working style and are involved in a cross-functional project, you can set clear boundaries with team members while still being present during important meetings. This can help them understand your need for autonomy and trust in your reliability without feeling you’re disengaged. If you’re a creative thinker who works better when bouncing off ideas with others, you can proactively schedule check-ins with your team members for better collaboration, which can also build team rapport.

When you have a solid grasp of how you work best, whether you prefer to lead, support or execute, you’ll be better equipped to navigate complex team dynamics. This can help you communicate more effectively, foster stronger relationships with others and reduce the likelihood of conflicts and misunderstandings that can arise from working style differences.

Increase productivity

Working in ways that align with your strengths can help boost your motivation and efficiency, ultimately increasing work productivity. One practical approach to doing this is by structuring your daily schedule according to how and when you work best. For example, if you’re analytically inclined, you may handle data-heavy tasks when your concentration is at its peak. If you’re a collaborative person, you may start the day by exchanging project progress updates with team members to help you stay aligned and motivated. When you customise your workflow to suit your working style, you can focus on producing more meaningful outcomes, leading to greater productivity.

Navigate change effectively

Understanding your working style can help you respond to change with greater ease. When you’re aware of your strengths, you can anticipate what needs to be done and utilise your strengths to make the transition smoother. For instance, an analytical thinker may process new information from changes by breaking it down into smaller, manageable parts. A creative person may come up with various unconventional ideas to restructure processes according to the evolving situation. When you know how you naturally respond to change, you may be able to turn disruptions into opportunities for growth.

How to make the most out of your working style

After identifying which working style suits you best, you can be more intentional at work and focus on responsibilities that are aligned with your natural capabilities. For example, if your strength is in analytical thinking, you can take initiative in data-driven projects. If you’re more creatively inclined, you may lead brainstorming sessions or step into innovation-focused roles. By focusing on what you do best, not only can you boost your confidence and productivity, but you can also contribute more meaningfully to your organisation.

At the same time, being aware of your working style can help you identify and address areas for growth. If you're highly independent, you may want to work on improving your collaboration skills to better navigate team dynamics. If you're more collaborative in nature, developing decision-making capabilities can help you lead with confidence. By tackling these gaps and finding ways to build these skills, you can work towards becoming a more well-rounded professional equipped to handle evolving challenges.

If you’re looking for a quick way to upskill and apply what you learn at work immediately, short courses can be a great option. They provide targeted training to help you refine specific skills, catering to a wide range of business professionals with diverse learning goals.

If you have an analytical working style and are looking to boost your creative thinking skills, Chartered Accountants (CA) ANZ offers an online Creative Problem Solving for Finance Professionals program. This self-paced, three-hour course aims to equip professionals with the expertise and tools to solve finance and business-related challenges using creative, human-centred approaches. Developed by industry experts and tailored for real-world application, this course is open to diverse professionals, not just accountants, and does not require a CA ANZ membership to enrol.

In contrast, if your working style is creative, you might want to consider taking an analytics short course to learn data-driven tools and techniques to translate your visionary plans into reality. You can consider the University of Melbourne’s Data Analytics for Business Professionals. This online short course is designed for professionals who want to develop an analytical mindset and leverage data-driven insights to boost organisational outcomes. Using Excel, mathematics, statistics and data storytelling, this course can teach you how to produce compelling, data-driven business narratives for stakeholders.

If you’re accustomed to working independently and want to work on your teamwork skills, one option to consider is The Team Vitality Masterclass provided by the University of Sydney. This interactive workshop introduces practical strategies for building team cohesion, balancing needs and finding common ground with team members. You’ll gain insights into the best practices for understanding, fostering and improving team vitality.

On the other hand, if you’re used to working in groups but have aspirations to stand out, lead and shape organisational strategy, the University of New South Wales offers an in-person Shaping Strategy to Create Value course. Conducted over three days, this program delivers fresh insights into strategy innovation, customer value proposition and transformation to give you the tools to influence your organisation's future direction. You’ll learn how to apply innovation methodologies to identify strategic opportunities, develop plans and validate initiatives. This can help empower you to make well-informed decisions and strategies that depend on your experience and expertise, rather than solely relying on group input.

How to work with different types of working styles

When collaborating within a team of diverse working styles, it’s important to promote a culture of open communication and embrace each other’s differences. You can also adapt your approach to suit each person’s preferred way of working, offer flexibility in workflows and remind the team to focus on the big picture. Learning how to work with different working styles can help build stronger team dynamics and boost productivity. Explore these strategies below:

Foster open communication

In any workplace, you’ll likely collaborate with people who have different working styles. Building an environment that encourages open communication is essential to facilitate smooth teamwork. When team members share their preferred working styles, it can make it easier for tasks to be assigned according to each person’s strengths.

Open communication also involves asking questions for better clarity. For instance, an analytical individual may question a creative colleague’s visionary concept to examine its feasibility. Instead of interpreting this as criticism, both can collaborate to refine the idea and give it structure. This can help reduce misunderstandings that may affect team productivity.

Embrace differences

It’s important to recognise that everyone has their own effective way of working. Rather than enforcing one type of working style for everyone to follow, teams often thrive when everyone is empowered to leverage their unique strengths. Team members with contrasting working styles can also complement each other. They can learn from one another, with one person’s strength often aligning with another’s area for growth. Encouraging this dynamic not only helps foster mutual development but can also create a more balanced and resilient team.

Adapt your approach

Adjusting your approach according to different working styles can help contribute to smoother collaboration. For example, it can be helpful to provide independent workers with space and autonomy to work towards their goals with minimal disruptions. For collaborative individuals, they may appreciate regular check-ins. If you’re working with analytical thinkers, they likely prefer getting structured and detailed plans with clear, actionable steps. In contrast, creative workers would typically flourish when they’re given the freedom and flexibility to explore new ideas. Adapting your approach can help optimise workflows while making sure everyone is well-supported.

Offer flexibility in workflow

A practical way to engage with diverse working styles is by offering the flexibility to accommodate individual preferences and approaches. Some team members may prefer detailed planning and structured timelines to keep themselves focused. Others may thrive when they’re given more autonomy, allowing them to explore ideas and work at their own pace. By providing flexibility, teams can build an environment where everyone is empowered to contribute in ways that suit them best.

Focus on the big picture

When navigating different working styles, it’s important to focus on the team’s shared goals. Even if each person has a different way to go about it, knowing that everyone is working together to get the job done can help to maintain alignment and team spirit. This can help manage differences among team members and drive progress.

Working styles vs personality traits: what’s the difference?

Working styles describe how individuals approach tasks and interact in professional settings, while personality traits reflect innate characteristics that describe how people tend to think, feel and behave in different situations. While working styles are typically focused on how you handle tasks and the people involved with them, personality traits are broader and influence how you engage with people and navigate your surroundings, both within and outside of your professional life. A common framework to describe personality traits is the Myers-Briggs theory, which delves into 16 different personality types and can serve as a useful guide to understanding yourself better.

While the contexts of working styles and personality traits may differ, they both can greatly influence each other. An introverted person may lean towards an independent working style, while an extroverted person may prefer working in collaborative environments. Understanding both can help you align your job responsibilities with your natural tendencies, while also identifying your areas for growth. For instance, an individual with a spontaneous personality may benefit from learning how to develop a more structured working style to stay organised.

By understanding how working styles and personality traits interact and complement each other, you can make more intentional choices at work, engage better with others and advance your personal and professional development.

Can your working style change?

Yes, your working style can change as you progress in your career and adapt to changes in your environment. As you step into new roles, interact with different teams and accumulate diverse professional experiences, your approach to work may naturally evolve depending on what’s required from you and what would work best at your current career stage. Rather than rigidly sticking to one working style, staying flexible and self-aware allows you to adjust how you can approach different tasks effectively. This adaptability can help maximise outcomes while staying true to your core strengths.

Adapt your working style for success

Understanding your working style can be a valuable step towards supporting your growth. It can offer insights into your strengths and help you identify which areas you can improve on to become a more versatile professional. If you’re looking to upskill quickly, there are plenty of short courses that can support your professional development. Explore a wide range of business short courses offered across Australia today.