I have completed more personality tests than I can remember. One of the things I have learned about myself over the years is that I am a “how person.” I am inquisitive about how products, people, and processes work. I always have been. In fact, my favorite segments on shows like Sesame Street were about how crayons and other things were made. When I approach a project, typically the first question I ask myself or others is, “How are we going to do this?” I like Gannt charts and workflows. It is no wonder I enjoyed my operations management classes so much in business school. Business school, and subsequently, businesses – including health care, are full of “how people.”

There are two kinds of “how people.”

One kind asks “How?,” waiting for others to answer and stalling progress. I have always been leery of these people because while I can appreciate needing to know details of a process in order to move forward in an orderly and systematic fashion, I also understand that sometimes you simply have to move forward and let the details come together during the process. Fred Lee calls this the “How Trap,” and it was a light bulb moment for me as I recently read his book.

The other kind asks “How?,” to genuinely identify the gaps and then works to fill them, answering the question themselves or collaboratively with others. I like to think I am this kind of “how person,” but I know that is not always the case. I have definitely been the former in many instances.

Are you a “how person?” Next time you ask yourself or someone else “How?,” stop and ask yourself which “how person” you are at that moment.