Option/Procedure Preference

Options/Procedures

This is about how you prefer to do your work. Do you look for alternatives and new ways of doing things, or do you prefer to follow the established procedures? Do you prefer to create new things, or maintain existing ones?

Options preference people, as the name implies, prefer to keep their options open, sometimes to the point of being reluctant to commit to a decision in case they lose out.

Procedures preference people like to have things settled and know where they stand. They like to complete and finish things.

Identifying the Options/Procedures pattern
Generally the modal operators a person uses will give you a lot of their pattern. Options oriented people use modal operators of possibility (“can”, “could”) while Procedures people use a lot of modal operators of necessity
(“must”, “should”, “ought”, “needed to”).

A good question to elicit someone’s Options/Procedures pattern is “Why did you choose your current job?” (or house, or car, or whatever context you’re eliciting the pattern for).

The Options person will use a lot of values in their explanation. They will talk about what they chose to do and why it was important to them.

The Procedures person will tell a story about how (rather than why) they came to be where they are. They talk about a sequence of events rather than choices, and rarely mention their values.

Someone on the midpoint of the scale may tell you a story about how they got there, but also include references to the values or reasons why they made the choices they did.

Job role examples

Procedures preference people like to have instructions to follow and want to do things the right way. So they suit bureaucratic jobs, production environments, procedure-based areas of law like conveyancing, and professions like piloting where safety procedures are important.

Less obviously, sales people need a strong dose of ‘Procedures’ because success in sales is very largely about following tried and tested procedures, again and again. Franchisees need to be Procedures-oriented because
franchises are all about following the instructions in the franchise manual.
Options preference people are reluctant to follow established procedures – deep down they believe there is always a better way of doing things. They get often get bored before they reach completion.

They are good in roles where creativity is needed – designers and design engineers, management consultants, and entrepreneurs. They would much rather start their own business than buy a franchise.

Some jobs, such as training and teaching, need a balance of Options and Procedures – options to be able to adapt in the moment and come up with creative ways of teaching things, procedures to be able to stick to a successful format or follow statutory procedures where necessary.
Managers also need an Options/Procedures balance to be able to manage staff with either profile.

Influencing and managing
Options preference people: improvements, possibilities, choice, reasons why, these are the options, a couple of alternatives.

Find ways to allow Options preference people to exercise their creativity – get them to look at improvements to procedure or create something new.
Procedures: follow the procedure, first… then… and finally…, the right way, do it by the book, the steps to…, process, methodology.

Procedures preference people do well with clear guidelines where they get to complete the process. Procedures are not just step-by-step sequences – they can also incorporate decision points and loop-backs. The Procedures preference person can cope with this, as long as the directions for what to do in a particular situation are clear.