Doer Life Language

Key Qualities

Practical / Diligent / Detailed

Four Keys To Success

Answer their filter question → Meet their need → Encourage their passion → Validate their character strength

Answer their Filter Question

Are you doing your share?

Doers like to stay busy, but they also want others to do their share.

Meet their Need

Action & Appreciation

Doers like for others to notice and appreciate their hard work, diligence and often sacrifice. And they want others to actively carry their load.

Encourage their Driving Passion

To Finish

Doers love projects they can complete and check off their list. This desire to finish makes them conscientious and valuable to any organization.

Validate their Key Character Strength

Trustworthiness

This quality is the confidence one can have in the ability of Doer to do what they say they will do.

Key Qualities To Develop

Delegation

This is the ability to share the completion of a task and entrust it to another. Doers would rather do it themselves. To delegate, one must be willing to embrace that there are more ways than just “the Doer” way to accomplish the same job or task.

Look Ahead

Doers can be so caught up in completing their immediate project that they may overlook the big picture or the more important. They need to learn to look beyond the immediate and see the important.

Language In Icons

Mover

Holding a Hammer

Doers tend to hammer on tasks until they have completed them. Because Doers speak an action-oriented language, they are ready, willing, able and delighted to jump in to help whenever and wherever they observe a practical need.

Hand

Practical-Kinetic Intelligence

The hand is symbolic of hands-on work. Doers can be successful at most things, but they are generally quite gifted at hands-on work and activities, whether that work is writing, building, cleaning, etc. or being diligent and focused on relationships.

List

Short-Range Goals

The to-do list, more than any other symbol, describes how Doers like to manage their lives. The Doer doesn’t just make lists, they live by them. It is the way they stay ordered. Other Life Languages may make lists, but they either lose them or forget to use them. Doers hold on to their lists and typically use them effectively to stay organized. Doers prefer short-range goals that can be accomplished in a day, a week or a weekend. They need to see quick results.

Ticked Checkbox

Desire to Finish

The completed check box shows the immense satisfaction Doers derive from checking items off of their list. Doers love to finish what they start and love to see reminders of success and progress as they move projects and tasks to completion.

Eye

Eye for Detail

The eye represents the Doer’s eye for detail. They seem to observe the practical, the details, and the physical needs around them that others may not even notice or be aware of. They notice things that need to be done, things that are out of place, and things that are missing or need work. Noticing what needs to be done is how they fill up their to do list.

Clock

Sensitive to Time

The Doer Life Language tends to be very sensitive to time. They like to keep things moving and on time. They seem to have an internal clock that tells them whether or not things are going to be done on time and to know when they are running out of time.

Stairs

Sequential Success

Every Life Language can be successful and every Language reaches success differently. The Doer Life Language achieves success simply by doing the next step, one step at a time, rising steadily to success and thriving on routine, predictability and understood expectations.

Distress Flares

Martyr, Accuse, Grumble

Positive Character Qualities

Attentiveness
Dependability
Diligence
Obedience
Orderliness
Punctuality
Trustworthiness

Cues: How To Recognize a Doer

Visual Cues

Limited décor, very organized, meticulous order. May use calendars and lists. Office may have check in/out station, dry erase boards with lists. Lives by lists!

Verbal Cues

Very professional. May say, “What can I do for you?” When you ask how they are, they will start listing a million things. Listen for action words: “If it needs to be done, just do it.” Have a tendency to become defensive quickly.

Non-Verbal Cues

May take notes while listening to you. Multi-taskers! Moves in sharp, crisp movement. May look at their watch a lot.

Motivation Guide

How To Affirm

“This could save you time.” “I can tell you run a sharp office.” “Of all of our workers, you do an incredible job.” “Here is how what you do is making a difference in making us successful.”

How To Frustrate

Taking more time than you said you would. Wasting time on non-business discussion. Not doing what you promise.

How To Motivate

Talk in A, B, C or 1, 2, 3 with a Doer (step-by-step communication). Be willing to help make them successful. Bring a plan with details. Provide clear steps and details for action items.

Needs

Be respectful of their time. Needs appreciation and action. Doers can resist change — don’t rock the boat.

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