I was standing in line at Costco a couple of weeks ago when I got a LinkedIn notification from someone who wanted to connect (and someone I was excited to connect with). I went to respond but hesitated—after all, it was a Saturday morning, and I wasn’t technically in “work mode”.

This got me thinking about an exchange I had with one of my colleagues recently. She said, “You are a responder,” and while I had never thought about my habit of being responsive in this way before, she was right.

I realized being responsive is one of the qualities that make up what I like to think of as my work style DNA. We all have different styles that are natural to us and influence how we navigate work (and life), and it got me thinking about some other styles that make up my DNA:

I’m a Responder. If you email me, I’ll respond as soon as I can. That could be within two minutes or two hours (I don’t wait to respond). If I will be longer than that, I often let the sender know that my response will be delayed. The same goes for text. If I can’t respond because I’m in a meeting or having quality time with my family, I don’t, but if I can, I will.

I am an Early Arriver. 99% of the time, I arrive at meetings (or dinners or coffee) early. For me, arriving early means being on time. This trait has been so strong that a leader once told me to tone it down because I made others feel uncomfortable. This was valuable feedback! I have improved over the years in managing my response to lateness, but I still need to constantly work on it.

I am an Always-On Supporter. Whether it be for work or family. A client needs to chat with me on the weekend because we couldn’t connect during the week, I’m available. My mom needs some support during the week, I’m available. Even with this, I still find many moments for me, my 5:30 am workout (non-negotiable), walking the dogs with my husband at after work, and/or a hot tub in the evening.

I am a Small-Group Connector. I will take a one-on-one or small group event every day over larger events. As an entrepreneur, I know I need to network, but networking is about building relationships, and I admit that I struggle to make those connections when I’m in a large group. Small group setting, I’m in!

I am an In-Office Enthusiast. I’ve mentioned this in my writing before but it fits here too. I am an in-office person. I can’t wait until we have our own space. While I certainly have learned to appreciate the odd work-from-home day, I would be in office every day if I could. I LOVE IT! And while I can also appreciate all the discussion around the benefits of work-from-home, I don’t think I will ever be convinced that full-time WFH is the way to go.

These are just a few traits that make up my work style DNA, and I’m pretty sure if you were to ask anyone who worked with me, they would agree (and they would most likely say I still have work do to around how I respond to lateness 🙂).

What are some of the traits that make up your work DNA?