Inclusive Innovative Decisive Thorough

Introduction

Employee engagement worldwide is heading South.

Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report shows global engagement dropping from 23% in 2023 to 21% in 2024. This is only the second fall in twelve years and is linked to an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity in 2024 alone.

Most employees are not thriving in this picture.
Globally, only 21% feel engaged with their work; 62% report they are “not engaged”; and 17% say they are actively disengaged. Quiet quitting, more sick days, waiting out the week and feeling stuck in roles that drain energy have become common experiences in many organisations.

A clear pattern sits underneath these numbers.
Gallup’s long-term research suggests that about 70% of the difference in engagement between teams links back to the manager. Separate studies show that around one in two employees have left a job at some point in their career to get away from a manager and improve their life, even when they still cared about the work.

This does not place blame on managers.

Managers themselves sit under intense pressure. Manager engagement has dropped to around 27%, and young and female managers show some of the steepest declines. Many feel caught between demands from above, expectations from their teams and little support or training. In that context, both managers and employees experience rising stress, lower well-being and higher turnover.

The hopeful side of this picture is influence.
The same data that highlight the problem also show that engagement improves when people know what is expected of them, receive regular, useful conversations about their work and feel trusted to use their judgement. Research on motivation, including Daniel Pink’s work, points towards three core drivers: meaningful goals, a sense of progress and mastery, and autonomy – genuine freedom to decide how to approach work within clear outcomes.

People join organisations with energy and hope.
They leave managers, systems and cultures that ignore how they work best.

Many organisations have turned to personality tools in search of answers. Personality tends to remain stable across adulthood and does not shift in response to training or new slogans. Labels based on fixed types often leave people feeling boxed in, while expectations around behaviour still change little.

Preferences behave differently.

They respond to awareness, environment and intent. When you understand your preferences, you start to notice how you approach relationships, thinking, decisions and delivery. You also gain language to express the conditions that help you give your best. When managers understand those preferences across a team, they adjust communication, role design and expectations in ways that lift engagement and reduce friction.

Sariio MAPS (Motivations And Preferences Survey) exists for this purpose.
It focuses on four workplace factors:

• Connecting
• Thinking
• Deciding
• Implementing

Connecting and Implementing are the parts of you that others notice first. They shape how you come across in meetings, conversations and day-to-day delivery. Thinking and Deciding sit more in the background. They influence how you process information, weigh options and form judgments before you act or speak.

This report acts as a mirror.

It reflects how you tend to relate to others, organise your thinking, make decisions, and deliver work. It links these patterns with Daniel Pink’s ideas on autonomy, mastery and purpose, and with Alfred Adler’s focus on contribution and social interest – the belief that work matters when it supports something beyond the self.

If you manage others, this report offers a practical framework for understanding what drives different people, so you can work with their preferences rather than push against them.
If you are not a manager, it gives you clear language to express how you prefer to work and what helps you contribute at your best.

The purpose is straightforward: more transparent communication, better alignment and healthier working relationships.

Sariio MAPS gives you the insight to play to your preferences – so that work feels more sustainable, and you feel more engaged and aligned with the contribution you want to make.

Your Sariio MAPS Reflection At A Glance

Your profile brings together Inclusive in Connecting, Innovative in Thinking, Decisive in Deciding and Thorough in Implementing.

You focus on people, ideas, fast decisions and high standards. You bring others in, explore better ways of doing things, choose a route and then push work towards a strong finish.

You look for shared purpose, scope for improvement, clear calls and reliable delivery. You dislike exclusion, stale habits, endless debate and sloppy output. You prefer open discussion, practical options, firm decisions and work that stands up under scrutiny.

Others often experience you as warm and open in meetings and serious and exacting in execution. Your pattern usually feels like “include, explore, decide, then finish properly”.

The upside is engagement, momentum and quality.
The risk, if you do not manage it, is tension between your speed and your depth, and friction with more Cautious, Methodical, Analytical, Pragmatic and Driven colleagues at other poles.

How You Tend To Show Up At Work

What others see: Connecting and Implementing

In everyday work, people mostly notice your Inclusive and Thorough preferences.

To others, you often appear approachable, fair and conscientious. You notice who speaks, who stays quiet and who seems on the edge. You invite contributions, share context and try to keep everyone involved.

In delivery, you bring detail and care. You want to understand the brief, check facts and make sure the finished work holds up. You spot errors, gaps and loose ends. You push output towards a standard you feel proud of.

Under pressure, these visible patterns intensify. You spend more time smoothing tense exchanges and more time checking and refining work. Some colleagues value this and see you as the person who keeps standards high without shutting people out. Others may react differently:

• Driven colleagues may experience you as slow or demanding.

• Pragmatic colleagues may feel you push depth beyond what the situation needs.

• Cautious colleagues may feel you open the circle before reliability is clear.

• Other Inclusive colleagues may feel stressed by the level of scrutiny that comes alongside your warmth.

If you ignore these reactions, you risk being seen as “kind but hard work when deadlines bite”.

What others do not see immediately: Thinking and Deciding

Behind this visible presence sit your Innovative and Decisive preferences. They shape how you process information and reach decisions before anyone sees your actions.

Your thinking searches for better routes. You look at current processes, structures and products and ask where they could shift for more impact or less friction. You enjoy rethinking problems and linking ideas from different places.

Your decisions move quickly. You prefer closure to long loops of analysis. You weigh the main points, scan likely outcomes and then choose a direction. You are comfortable taking responsibility for calls, especially when others circle the issue.

From the outside, people may mainly see your inclusion and your thoroughness. They may miss how much creative thinking and rapid judgement sit underneath. In reality, you combine relationship focus, inventive thinking, fast calls and detailed follow-through.

The risk is that you decide at speed, then uncover detailed issues later through your Thorough side. Others then experience “fast decision, then heavy checking and rework”.

Deep Dive Into Your Preferences

Inclusive (Connecting)

You approach relationships with a strong focus on inclusion and belonging. You notice who is present, who talks, who stays quiet and who may feel on the edge. You draw people in and want them to feel that they count.

At your best, this builds trust and engagement. People feel seen and more likely to contribute. You bridge gaps between teams and levels and help groups act more like a unit.

Under stress, this preference strengthens. You spend more time listening, explaining and checking how others are coping. You try to protect people from careless behaviour and decisions that ignore their reality.

You feel more engaged when people treat each other with respect, when leaders think about impact on people and when outcomes do not depend on fear or exclusion.

Where this pattern may hold you back

With Inclusive and Thorough together, you often mix warmth and high standards.

• You offer support and access to others, yet you may be direct and almost blunt when offering feedback.

• Other Inclusive colleagues may feel surprised by the level of detail in your feedback.

• Cautious colleagues may feel you include people before they prove reliability.

• Driven colleagues may feel you hold back tough messages until late, then raise high demands close to deadlines.

You also risk softening feedback so much that the message does not land. Behaviour stays the same, and you carry frustration.

You need clearer lines:

• Which issues require simple, direct language.

• Where you support and where you expect others to step up.

• What you will take on and what you will hand back.

Inclusion without boundaries turns into over-responsibility and quiet resentment.

Innovative (Thinking)

You think in options and improvements. You look at how things work and ask where they could shift for a better impact. You dislike routine for its own sake and feel drawn towards changes that bring real value.

At your best, this fuels useful progress. You see openings where others see fixed walls. You suggest new routes, designs or sequences that make work lighter, smarter or more effective.

When pressure rises, your Innovative preference works harder. You look for quicker, better ways to reach important outcomes and for ideas that fit tighter constraints.

You feel more engaged when curiosity is welcomed, when ideas receive a fair hearing and when there is some appetite to change how things work.

Where this pattern may hold you back

With Innovative, Decisive and Thorough together, you set a tough bar for change.

• You generate options, move quickly to a choice and then apply deep scrutiny in delivery.

• Methodical colleagues may feel unsettled if you adjust the route after processes are set.

• Pragmatic colleagues may feel you design solutions that are more detailed than the context needs.

• Other Innovative colleagues, who are bold and take risks, may feel you slow down their momentum with “too many” questions.

You also risk sharing ideas only once they feel well-formed. By then, others may feel there is little room to shape the approach and may give surface agreement rather than genuine buy-in.

You need two gears:

• An exploration gear for rough ideas, where you share early thoughts and invite input.

• A decision gear, where you choose and then apply your Thorough standards more slowly and deliberately.

If you move straight to high-commitment ideas plus detail, others experience pressure and effort more than creativity.

Decisive (Deciding)

You prefer decisions that move things forward. You dislike spending long periods in analysis and feel uneasy when essential issues remain unresolved. You would rather choose and adjust than wait for full certainty.

At your best, this brings momentum. You listen, weigh the main points and then say “this is the direction”. You help groups avoid circular debate and repeated revisiting of the same ground. You give people something to organise around.

Under stress, this preference speeds up. You push harder for closure, shorten discussions and show less patience with further analysis.

You feel more engaged when decision rights are clear, when decisions stick and when people commit once a route is set.

Where this pattern may hold you back

With Decisive beside Thorough, you live with a strong inner pull.

• Your Decisive side wants quick calls.

• Your Thorough side wants strong detail and checks.

From the outside, this can look like “fast decision, then heavy scrutiny”.

• Analytical and Prudent colleagues may feel you decide before understanding the risk and detail.

• Driven colleagues may feel that you slow execution with checks after you have called the route.

• Pragmatic colleagues may feel you create extra work by tightening standards at the last minute.

If you do much of your weighing in your own head, people see only firm calls, not the detailed demands. They may see your decisions as personal preferences rather than reasoned judgement.

You need to adjust decision speed to risk and make your reasoning more visible:

• “Here is what I have looked at.”

• “Here is why I am comfortable deciding now.”

• “Here is when we will review and adjust if needed.”

That protects both pace and trust.

Thorough (Implementing)

You approach delivery with depth and precision. You want work that stands up to scrutiny. You notice errors, gaps and inconsistencies and feel responsible for the quality of the final result.

At your best, this protects standards and reputation. You catch problems early, improve documents and products through careful review and give others confidence in your output.

When pressure rises, your Thorough preference tightens. You check again, resist shortcuts and challenge changes that threaten quality. You struggle when pushed to release work that feels unfinished or unsafe.

You feel more engaged when quality receives real backing, when timelines allow proper time for work, and when leaders value accuracy, not only speed.

Where this pattern may hold you back

With Thorough beside Decisive, you often experience tension between speed and depth.

• You choose a direction quickly, then your standard for detail slows delivery.

• Driven colleagues may feel pulled between your fast calls and your slower checks.

• Pragmatic colleagues may feel you invest more effort than some tasks justify.

• Other Thorough colleagues may feel pressure when your standard rises late in the process.

If every task is held to the same high bar, you overload yourself and others. High-stakes work then competes with low-risk work for attention.

You need to sort work into levels:

• Must be right.

• Needs to be solid.

• Fine as a rough version.

If most tasks sit in the first group, you become the bottleneck and carry the strain that the system should share.

Conditions And Triggers

What energises you

You draw energy from environments where:

• People feel included and have a voice.

• Ideas and challenges receive interest.

• Decisions land in good time.

• Quality and professionalism matter.

You respond well to roles that involve:

• Coordination and collaboration.

• Improving how things work.

• Taking timely decisions.

• Delivering outputs where detail counts.

You like knowing:

• The purpose and success measures.

• The main constraints and risks.

• Who decides what and by when.

• Where standards are high and where they flex.

You feel more engaged when you see that your inclusion lifts trust, your ideas move things forward, your decisions unlock momentum and your thoroughness protects reputation.

Autonomy matters in how you structure work, sequence tasks and decide where to invest deeper effort.

Patterns to watch

Several patterns deserve close attention.

Decide fast, refine hard.
You make decisions quickly, then discover issues in detail and try to correct them as you move. Others experience rework and pressure.

Soft tone, strong inner bar.
You describe expectations in warm, measured language, then judge work against a high standard in your head. People feel surprised by the gap.

Too much depth on low-risk work.
You invest serious effort in pieces that do not carry the same consequences. High-stakes work receives less space than it needs.

Taking responsibility for both pace and quality alone.
You act as both accelerator and brake. Others see outcomes but not the strain.

You do not need to drop speed or standards.
You do need to move more of your trade-offs into open conversation and match your standards to the importance of the work.

Working Better With Others

How to work well with your manager

You work best with managers who recognise that you bring inclusion, flexible thinking, quick decision-making and strong standards. They involve you in shaping direction and rely on you to see work through.

You benefit from clear, grounded briefs. You need:

• Defined outcomes and priorities.

• Context and reasons behind the work.

• Key constraints, risks and deadlines.

• Clarity on where quality is critical and where speed matters more.

Once those elements are clear, you explore options, propose a route, decide and then deliver to an agreed standard.

You add strong value when your manager involves you:

• Early in scoping and planning.

• In setting realistic standards and timelines.

• In leading delivery on tasks that need both pace and care.

You appreciate managers who back decisions once made, protect quality where it matters and do not reopen issues without strong reason.

Where this pattern may hold you back with your manager

If you keep stretching to protect both pace and quality without naming the strain, your manager assumes expectations fit.

• You extend your day to keep both speed and detail high.

• You trim your standard in some areas without saying so.

• You hold yourself responsible for gaps in the system.

Managers with Driven preferences push for more, faster.
Managers with Pragmatic preferences push for lighter standards.
Managers with Analytical or Prudent preferences push for more data.

If you respond each time with extra effort instead of clear trade-offs, you become the invisible buffer.

You need to say things such as:

• “With this timeline, this is the depth we will reach.”

• “If we want this level of quality, we need more time or a smaller scope.”

• “Here is the risk of moving this fast. Are you comfortable with that?”

That shifts responsibility from your shoulders to shared decision-making.

How others can get the best from you

Colleagues gain more from you when they understand that you bring balanced interaction, inventive thinking, quick decisions and detailed delivery.

They support you when they:

• Share context, not only tasks.

• Involve you early, not only at sign-off.

• Respect decision points and avoid constant reopening.

• Match the effort to the standards you have agreed to.

You help them when you:

• Explain your decisions briefly before you push for action.

• Signal when you are still exploring versus when you have decided.

• Name where you will apply more depth and where you will move lighter.

• Ask for input on impact and risk rather than assuming a shared appetite.

Where this pattern may hold you back with colleagues

Colleagues at other poles notice friction.

• Cautious colleagues may feel exposed by your openness and pace.

• Analytical and Prudent colleagues may feel you’re closing decisions before you’ve explored enough data or risk.

• Methodical colleagues may feel unsettled if you change the route after deciding.

• Pragmatic colleagues may feel you drive standards beyond what is needed.

• Driven colleagues may feel that you slow execution with checks after fast calls.

If you respond by pushing harder, resistance shifts underground.
If you withdraw, your influence drops and frustration rises.

You need more explicit, direct conversations:

• “Here is why I think we should decide now.”

• “Here is where I believe we must protect quality.”

• “Here is what your preferred pace or standard gives us and what it risks.”

That keeps you in the role of partner rather than either critic or enforcer.

Everyday Checklist: How To Explain Your Preferences

Use these suggestions as prompts to start conversations, so you play to your preferences with your manager and colleagues rather than working to someone else’s default style.

What to say to your manager

• I do my best work when the outcome, priorities and standards are clear. Once those are set, I like to agree on the route, decide and then deliver in a structured way.

• At the start of a project, a short run-through of background, key risks, milestones and non-negotiables helps me match decision speed and depth to what matters most.

• I prefer clear decision points. Long debates drain energy. It helps when we agree on who decides and by when, so I know when to shift from discussion into action.

• I move towards closure on decisions, then take quality seriously. It helps if we agree where a complete, thorough approach is required and where a quicker, lighter approach is acceptable.

• When priorities or scope change, a brief explanation of why, what moves up or down the list and what “good enough” now means helps me adjust without losing track.

• If you need a faster turnaround, it helps to agree on what to drop or simplify and where you are comfortable with more risk, rather than expecting the same level of detail in less time.

What to say to your colleagues

• I try to keep conversations constructive, especially when there is tension. If I push for a decision, it is to avoid circling the same topic, not to shut people down.

• At the beginning of a project, I like us to agree who is doing what, by when and to what standard. Even a simple outline helps me stay organised and complete things properly.

• If I ask for more detail or flag minor issues, it is to keep our work accurate and avoid rework later, not to criticise anyone’s effort.

• I prefer to finish what we start. If the scope or deadlines change, it helps to reset what “done” and “good enough” mean, so I know where to focus.

• If my pace around decisions or my attention to detail feels strong at times, please let me know. I am open to adjusting as long as we stay clear on the outcomes and standards we still need to meet.

How this helps you play to your preferences

• You receive clearer briefs, decision points and quality expectations that align with your Inclusive, Innovative, Decisive and Thorough style.

• Your manager and colleagues understand that your questions and your push for closure support quality, risk management and momentum, rather than impatience or perfectionism.

• You focus effort on the right work, protect standards where they matter and help the team move from talk into well-finished delivery.

Sariio MAPS: Liberating Conversations

Playing to Your Preferences

Sariio MAPS enables you to express how you prefer to work. It helps you put into words how you like to be briefed, how you prefer to collaborate and what supports you in doing your best work.

Share this with your manager and colleagues so they understand how to work with you, not against you. That means fewer imposed ways of working based on someone else’s preferences and more space to play to your own, while still meeting the demands of the role.

Used this way, Sariio MAPS becomes a practical tool for direct conversations, a better fit between you and your role and a more sustainable, motivating work experience.