It is $10:00text{ AM}$. You sent a detailed review to your colleague, who read it and remained silent for the rest of the day. Is their silence an objection? A busy schedule? Or do they prefer to think before responding?
In the absence of an answer, assumptions begin. And wrong assumptions create hesitation: you stop offering direct feedback, delay urgent matters, or choose the most convoluted communication channel. Over the months, these small hesitations accumulate to build a complex work culture that nobody consciously chose.
A working style card—a one-page document you write yourself—saves months of guesswork and error, clearly explaining to your team how you work best.

Where Did the Idea Come From?

The practice began when a CEO drafted a one-page personal “user manual” to explain to his team how to work with him without wasting time. The tool gained broader recognition when developed by Claire Hughes Johnson (management consultant and former Stripe executive), who created a similar document upon transitioning into a leadership role. Her logic was practical: “People learn your working style by accident, and by the time they learn it, it’s already too late.”
It is important to clarify: the card is an organizational management practice rather than the result of a peer-reviewed scientific experiment. There is no single study measuring the impact of the card itself, but the objective it serves—clarity of expectations and psychological safety—is grounded in robust scientific research.

Why Does Clarity of Working Style Matter?

In Project Aristotle, a two-year research project conducted by Google encompassing $180$ teams, researchers found that individual skill composition did not predict team performance. What predicted performance was how team members worked together.
Topping the list of defining factors were: psychological safety (the feeling that you can ask a question or admit a mistake without embarrassment) and the clarity of roles and expectations.
The card alone does not create psychological safety, but it eliminates the ambiguity that drains a team’s mental energy. It also differs fundamentally from personality tests (such as the MBTI); a personality test places a rigid, external template on you that is often used as an excuse (“that’s just how I am”), whereas a working style card is a behavioral description written and owned by you, remaining open to adjustment and negotiation.

What Should You Include in Your Card?

Six questions are enough. Answer each in just two lines:
How do I prefer to receive information? Do you prefer pre-reading or direct verbal discussion?
When am I at peak focus? Define your golden cognitive window and the most suitable times for meetings.
How do I receive feedback? Do you prefer it direct and immediate, written, or in a one-on-one session?
What is usually misunderstood about me? The most valuable question. Is your silence read as an objection? Or your speed as impatience?
Which channel for which request? What do you prefer via email, and what do you accept via instant message?
What drains my energy? Sudden shifts in priorities? Back-to-back meetings? Requests lacking context?
In Gulf and Saudi work environments that bring together diverse nationalities and professional cultures, the fourth and fifth questions carry exceptional importance. Much of the daily friction is not a disagreement over work goals, but a misinterpretation of behavior: what is considered assertiveness and directness in one professional culture may be read as coldness in another.

What This Cannot Resolve

A working style card improves communication, but it is not a silver bullet:
It does not solve poor organizational planning or a workload that exceeds the hours in a day.
It does not exempt management from setting clear priorities and responsibilities.
It fails if used as a “list of demands” imposed on others rather than a tool for dialogue.
If your manager sends urgent tasks at late hours, the card will not automatically prevent them, but it provides you with an objective foundation for conversation: “In my working style card, I noted that fragmented focus disrupts my output. How can we coordinate urgent communication channels?”
🎯 Weekly Exercise: Draft your card today and share it with a close colleague or your manager. Ask them: “Is there a behavior in my working style you wish you had known about earlier?” Adjust your points based on their response.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this document for managers only?
No. It started in leadership roles because a manager’s communication has a broader impact, but it benefits every individual within a team.
Doesn’t this seem self-centered?
It depends on your phrasing. A document that describes your behavior and invites you to understand others’ behavior is a healthy exchange. One that dictates rigid terms creates friction that teams avoid.
What is the ideal length, and when should it be updated?
Just one page. Update it when changing your role, moving to a new team, or once a year.

Conclusion

Guesswork in professional communication is costly, while clarity protects your mental energy. Your working style will eventually become known through trial and error, but you have the power to condense those months into a single page.
🌙 Tonight’s Action Step: Answer only the fourth question (“What is usually misunderstood about me?”) in a side note on your phone, and prepare to share it in your next meeting.