I used to play a lot of poker. I mean a lot. And one day something just ’switched’ in my brain and I began to start constantly profiling people. Now it’s second nature. Sometimes it’s more of a curse than a gift but it’s interesting to see how poker playing styles can be translated to describe peoples’ personalities in IT. I think a lot of people fall mostly into one of these categories (the category headings are actively used by poker players to characterize their opponents) but many people can be considered a combination of two or more. For example, someone could be characterized as tight-aggressive with loose-passive tendencies. In poker there’s only a couple dominant styles of play but in the IT world I’ve seen all sorts of personalities work.
I didn’t write any of these with anyone in particular in mind but think that most IT workers can be categorized as one of the following:
NIT: Someone who is overly risk adverse (read: this is NOT necessarily portrayed as a bad thing). The Nit is unwilling to do things that make him/her uncomfortable or have the slightest amount of danger or uncertainty associated with them. Nits will be frugal on purchases, eat plain cream cheese, fold all of their clothes perfectly, never gamble, order their steak well-done, and choose the safest 401(k) plan. The NIT is content with the way things are and is OK with TAGs and LAGs fighting to take the majority the glory. The NIT fairs well against all playing types but it is much harder for the NIT to be recognized as a leader.
Weak-tight (WKT): The weak-tight individual worries about everything. Sometimes this individual is so worried about doing something wrong that it hampers their ability to make any progress. Even worse than a LP, the weak-tight individual will not express their opinion unless they are 100% certain it is the correct, because they are too worried about how others will perceive it. The weak-tight style is unfavorable and often gets dominated by TAG and LAG styles.
Loose-passive (LP): When asked, the loose-passive individual is not afraid to voice his opinion and is active in giving suggestions but as soon as opposing aggression is shown towards his ideas he will usually back off and just go with the flow. Even if the LP individual is confident in an idea, he will not assert himself as it is not worth the possibility of upsetting others. The LP is usually a good team player and almost everyone likes him, unfortunately he can often be pushed around by LAGs and TAGs. The loose-passive player occasionally fairs well against the LAG who often makes a fool of himself in front of others.
Tight-aggressive (TAG): An attitude or demeanor that is arguably optimum and one you should shoot for. The TAG chooses his battles wisely and knows when to apply selective aggression. He is well versed in knowledge in many different areas but does not find it necessary to flaunt it. Often times you may wonder about a TAG’s value until a crisis occurs and the TAG saves the day. The TAG’s worse enemy is the LAG who often steals the spot light from under him. While a TAG may want to research something before suggesting it, a LAG will be the first to shotgun ideas, this is frustrating to a TAG who wants to play it safe.
Loose-aggressive (LAG): An attitude or demeanor that is intended to portray one’s self as vocal, confident and assertive. Many argue this style is borderline reckless, unnecessarily risky and has been known to put LAG’s into hard spots at times. The LAG is always willing to gamble and often finds himself in situations over his head. The LAG’s worse enemy is a TAG who knows that it is inevitable that the LAG will mess up one day, and whenever this day may come, the TAG will be the first one to point out his oversights.
In my opinion, life is one big poker game, and conflicting styles and attitudes are what keep it interesting. What category do you fall into?
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