aggressive vs. cautious
Sometimes people like to rush into action while others like to
do thorough research and planning. Both of these
approaches can be valid, but some consideration of the
long-term direction of a group is important.
Jumping into a project can be exciting and generate
initial excitement. Men in particular may enjoy this, and
may seek out haste and urgency. Sometimes there are
opportunities which require quick action.
Projects with excitement but no planning can go badly
if they are lengthy. People get burned-out and the
project descends into chaos. Major mistakes, which
might have been prevented by solid preparation, become
frustrating.
Cautious work, with abundant discussion and documentation,
is necessary for complex activities. The quality of the
individual tasks increases and people are less likely to
feel burned.
Cautious work environments can decrease morale because
results are delayed. Meetings can be unfocused when nothing
is to be delivered in the short-term. Long planning and
refinement stages may also give more opportunities for both
wild ideas and excessive on minor parts of a project.
Sometimes gender contributes to the pace of a project.
Male managers may jump from one rushed project to another,
until their organization is collapsing. Female managers often
support quality and documentation but may shy away from high
impact results. Women often, for example, do not like
technology. (Often high tech solutions are expensive and
more trouble than they are worth, but men are more likely
than women to attempt improvements through technology.)
This is a complex and sensitive topic, but it does seem to
be significant.
