On LinkedIn, You Are As You Think

Each of us has a characteristic cognitive or thinking style, a preferred mode of encoding, processing, storing, retrieving, and leveraging information that correlates with our personalities, shapes our attitudes, and aligns us with the world. My thinking style is unique to me, as yours is to you. Thinking style is integral to personal style. How we think shows up in our self-expression and forms the basis for how others perceive us. Studies in cognitive psychology suggest a conceptual link between thinking style, critical thinking skills, and creativity and provide ample insights into decision-making behaviors and their impact on learning and performance.?

When applied to LinkedIn, your thinking style encompasses your approach to the work—how you make decisions and solve problems—and how you convert your observations into positive outcomes. Your brand (and all that goes into developing it) is as you think. Your network (and all that goes into assembling it) is as you think. Your LinkedIn thinking style manifests in the depth and breadth of your online presence and the quality of your professional relationships.

Understanding Your Thinking Style

Noted Cornell University professor, psychologist, and psychometrician Robert J. Sternberg (b. 1949) defines thinking style as “the process used to solve a problem or to devise an answer.” His 1988 theory of “mental self-government,” a prelude to The Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI), which he developed with R.K. Wagner (1991), became a benchmark methodology for examining and validating 13 different thinking styles and how people leverage their cognitive abilities to solve problems.?

In their book The Art of Thinking (1991), Robert M. Bramson, Ph.D., and Allen F. Harrison recognized five distinctive thinking styles and their implications in problem-solving, classified and synopsized as follows:?

? Synthesists – creative thinkers, dot connectors, and individualists who do not see the world as cut-and-dried?

? Idealists – collaborative thinkers, dreamers, and solution-driven perfectionists who hold themselves to the highest standards?

? Pragmatists – detail-oriented thinkers, action-takers, and industrious, methodical people-pleasers who adapt well and drive results organically

? Analysts – logical or practical thinkers, detectors, and data-driven, calculated risk-takers who emphasize reasoning and concrete details???

? Realists – reality-based or linear thinkers, quick workers, and results-obsessed challenge-seekers who embrace solution design, engage their senses, and favor predictability

At first glance, you may feel that your thinking style falls within the scope of multiple styles. Research in cognitive science reveals that we do not confine ourselves to a singular thinking style or archetype; depending on the situation, we can readily cross over from one thinking style to another to solve a problem. From a learning standpoint, we acquire wisdom by executing the most appropriate strategy to complete the task and integrate and leverage knowledge to meet future challenges.

Thinking Style and LinkedIn Effectiveness

Social networking for business or career growth is not logical or straightforward. It requires us to go beneath, behind, and between the readily observable and think things through to produce a win. The inner game has become more significant as LinkedIn has become more congested and complicated. To master it, you must become a flexible, agile, and more situationally aware thinker who can neutralize overwhelm, assess risk quickly, tackle multiple tasks simultaneously, and seamlessly adapt to changing circumstances.?

Developing a personal cognitive framework is fundamental for building capacity, establishing trust, and driving results on LinkedIn, where so much is unseen and unnavigable. Macroscopically, you control the frame. From an aesthetic standpoint, you decide how to structure and format your profile to support a personal brand strategy. Interpersonally, you judge your fellow professionals based on their perceived economic value, customize your approach, and set your social engagement protocols.?

LinkedIn is not a one-style-fits-all proposition. Given the vagaries of human relationships—especially those we cultivate for business purposes—you will be forced to adjust your thinking and suspend one style in favor of another when navigating various environments and encounters. Effective LinkedIn use translates to vigilantly managing the conscious experience and harnessing your thinking style to recognize and capitalize on business or career opportunities

If pressed to distill my thinking style, I would consider myself predominantly an idealist with a healthy sprinkle of pragmatist and a pinch of synthesist. I approach the site holistically rather than as a series of tasks to complete or problems to solve. I continuously refresh my algorithm to organize, analyze, synthesize, categorize, and prioritize information from my observations. I let my core values of empathy, humility, and transparency guide my decisions and actions.?

I am effective on LinkedIn because I am decisive and do not second-guess myself. I favor a collaborative approach to cultivating professional relationships. Any exchange that allows me to envision possibilities plays into my sweet spot and motivates me to deepen the connection. My inner pragmatist keeps me in check, while the synthesist in me enables me to flex my creativity and bring my personality to the fore. While analytics have a place on LinkedIn, I do not obsess over data. After all, we dwell in the world as humans, not metrics.

A Parting Thought

Increasingly, my thinking veers away from the strategic and tactical and toward the intuitive and intentional. While strategies and tactics are teachable, I cannot teach you how to understand LinkedIn phenomena on your terms. Only you can accomplish that. But as your philomathic LinkedIn style guide, I can offer food for thought—here and in future editions—and hope you will recognize which thinking style will best serve you in any given scenario as your LinkedIn journey continues.

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A Note from our Sponsor

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