The Illinois Model

Last week, I published a satirical blog where I put a negative spin on eight (8) stereotypical personalities, behaviors, and traits in the workplace. 

When taken at extremes, each of these eight (8) can be toxic...which is exactly how I portrayed them.

But how can these same stereotypes be reframed as heroic? Let's have a look at the other side of the coin: 


FLASH CARD LEARNER. She owns knowledge and data. Better than mere possession, she actively hunts for it. She knows where to look and how to filter the signal from the noise. I use the saying "connect-the-dots" about finding relationships between things. Our Flash Card Learners are the ones who first collect-the-dots. This woman will bail you out of trouble when you can't keep your facts and figures straight.

ONE TRICK PONY. This guy's got depth. He's an expert in his field, albeit a narrow field. The generalist just can't go as deep into the problem as your One Trick Pony. When there's an issue in his…

I'm a policeman. I'm also no stranger to toxic personalities, traits, and behaviors in the workplace. But the more I interact with those in corporate settings or other organizations and industries, I realize we allhave the same people among us. There's eight (8) stereotypes in particular I'd like to highlight:

FLASH CARD LEARNER. Do not be impressed by the master of memorization. He bathes in facts, acronyms, nomenclature, and jargon. He recites isolated statistics and bits of data without any sense of context. You swear this guy goes home and shuffles a stack of flash cards just to stay on top of his game. You prefer to google the information when you need it. Keep this guy on your team for the local tavern's trivia night.

ONE TRICK PONY. She may embrace the term hyper-specialist. But what we really mean is that she's got one skill, in one area, to solve one problem. The One Trick Pony excels in such a narrow field of expertise, she mind as well stay at home unt…