The 6 Types of Thinkers to Seek for Your Team

For me, one of the worst feelings to have at the office is cerebral loneliness. I need the companionship of strong thinkers to spark my own mind. Brilliant ideas are rarely born in isolation, and successful projects stem from a strong, collective team.

In other words, to do great work, you must surround yourself with great people.

It's an interesting exercise to define what this means for the type of thinkers you want on your team. I find that my best work comes from interaction with people who think differently than I do - and differently from each other. A diversity of mental profiles yields the richest results. Here are six types I always seek. (Sometimes one person can bridge several different modes of this thinking, so six types doesn't always mean six people.) What would you add?

1. The dreamer: This person never ceases imagining what's not, what's next and what's possible. They think big and hopefully, stretching the bounds of what is considered achievable. They never stop asking, "what if?' and supply your team with an electric and optimistic creative energy.

2. The debater: Debaters question your assumptions, call out your leap of faith logic and point out the flaws in the plan. They see problems long before others, and they keep everyone grounded and prepared. Their questioning nature forces you to strengthen the rigor of your arguments.

3. The disruptor: The disruptor challenges the status quo and breaks others out of their mental ruts and insular perspective by bringing fresh and far-ranging perspective. My favorite disruptors are intellectually curious, lateral thinkers who are first to spot latent competitors and untapped opportunities in the market.

4. The driver: Drivers are natural leaders, bringing a crusading, concentrated vision to all work and and supplying forward momentum when everyone else is losing steam or motivation. They are positively relentless in pursuing an idea, galvanizing political support for it and keeping it on track. They can be fantastic advocates for the customer, keeping the team focused on the problem you're here to solve.

5. The detailer: This type digs into every facet of a project. Detailers focus on practicalities and save everyone else from silly mistakes and fatal design flaws because they think through all the angles and implications. They identify what's missing in even the best-laid plans and can diagnose the precise point when something could break or be improved.

6. The doer: The doer is the wonderfully resourceful team member who gets stuff done, no matter what. Doers roll up their sleeves and find the solution. They are great colleagues to those who devise the grand strategy because they get it delivered on time, all the time.

Photo via the Human Capitalist, a blog on human resources. Visit here for an interesting post it featured on employee personality assessment tools.