In the book "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg, I fell in love with the concept "sit at the table".  This concept essentially encourages you to come confidently to the table in your career.  While the book talks more specifically about women in the workplace, the concept left me wondering, what do we all bring to the table? We each have different personality traits, communication styles, and life experiences that all give us a unique perspective.  For example, from my experience balancing a home, family, and career, I have learned a great deal of time management and multi-tasking over the years.   At Mytech, one of our values is to "Embrace Uniqueness" and we believe that it takes all kinds of people with different personalities to come together and achieve the company’s goals.  One way in which we do this well is with our Make a Difference animal communication profiles – the lion, the monkey, the camel, and the turtle.

Each of these 'communication styles' is vastly different, but each one brings a very valuable perspective to the table. The lions don’t sweat the small stuff and always keep the big picture in mind. They are decisive and guide the others in the direction needed. While at the same table, the monkeys are better in decoding nonverbal cues and subtle emotional feelings. In situations where they see tension escalating, they are able to diffuse it well and maintain harmony. The camels are the planners and being the detail-oriented ones, they work out every plan and accomplish their goals. Lastly, turtles may tend to stay away from the table as they tend to be shy, and are more listeners than talkers.  However because they are such great listeners, when given the opportunity to give their input, it is typically very well thought-out and insightful.

I have seen many different communication styles and personalities in my career,  and each has taught me a great deal.  However, in order for all these unique perspectives to work together to achieve a common goal each of them has to "sit at the table", and have a participatory attitude, seek challenges, take risks, and pursue the goal with intensity.