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Just as people have different personality styles, organizations have different styles, too. An organization’s style or culture is influenced by many factors — by the person or people who started it, by its current leaders, and by the surrounding geographic and societal conventions, as well as by the nature of the work it does.

But even those employees who like their jobs could end up clashing with your organizational culture. According to the founder of the Center for Values Research, Dr. Charles Hughes, harmonious personal and organization values increase an employee’s desire to stay with an organization, whereas differences in values decrease an employee’s desire to stay.

Therefore, it’s important to take the time to research and identify the personality style that is most advantageous for your organization. So, how do you do that? Here are three questions to help you identify your organization’s “personality.”

• In a Direct environment, the answers should be decisiveness, results, and risk taking
• In a Spirited environment, you should answer creativity, innovation, enthusiasm, and optimism
• In a Considerate environment, you value harmony, cooperation, support, and loyalty
• In a Systematic environment, you will focus on logic, accuracy, dependability, and quality.

• A Direct environment values individual effort
• A Spirited environment values teamwork and collaboration
• Considerate environment values teamwork and collaboration
• A Systematic environment values independence and autonomy

• A Direct culture makes decisions quickly, based on gut reactions and instinct
• A Spirited culture makes decisions quickly, based on intuition and the persuasive skills of others
• A Considerate culture makes decisions slowly, after collecting input from many people and sources
• A Systematic culture makes decisions slowly, after thorough analysis

If you create a Direct style environment, you will place an emphasis on taking action and achieving results. It will be a competitive environment, with colleagues being almost rivals. However, the rewards for individual effort and accomplishments are great. The organization constantly seeks challenges and values risk taking. So, in this environment, you would avoid hiring reluctant risk-takers who prefer to avoid conflict.

If you create a Spirited style culture, you will promote a high energy and nearly frenetic pace. Colleagues are enthusiastic and optimistic, and innovation is highly valued. The atmosphere is extremely social and fun, and group activities outside of work are regular events. Communication is frequent (some would say too frequent — expect many lengthy meetings in a Spirited culture). In addition, the organization may change focus and direction frequently, so avoid hiring workers who get easily frustrated and aren’t adaptable.

If you promote a Considerate style culture, you will be regarded as a company that offers a supportive environment, both to its staff and to its customers or clients. It offers an opportunity to form collaborative relationships, both within and outside the organization. The atmosphere is generally more relaxed than that in other styles, and there is an emphasis on harmony and getting along with others. In this culture, you need to recruit employees who thrive in a team environment and forsake personal accomplishments and rapid advancement based on individual results.

If you create a Systematic style culture, you are fostering a stable environment. Your employees will be punctual and dependable, and will maintain high standards of performance. The pace will be slower; for example, decisions are made after lengthy analysis, and are based on logic and data. The Systematic culture is detail-oriented and expects precision and accuracy. The only potential downside is it’s basically free from emotions, so hiring employees who need to be in a social group that works closely together, will probably not work well.