Tania, I've been wanting to add my two cents but haven't had the chance
- and now that I have a moment I see you were able to read my mind, so
it really doesn't matter anyway.

However, since I've got a minute or two ... the article, at the end, did
note the need for both types, and that finding a way to manage both
types is the key challenge.   The "bursty" employee can be quite
threatening to more traditionally "busy" employees on a team or in a
general work environment.  And ignoring that cultural rift can certainly
spell disaster.  

The only way to effectively merge the two is with exemplary leadership
(part of the, IMO necessary, hierarchy).  I have found in my experience
of having the opportunity to manage both "types" that both have their
place but can be equally distrustful of each other's approach.  And so
it was up to me to educate the team on the pros and cons of each, the
need for each, and to manage to the strengths of each team member in a
way that was the least threatening to the overall objectives.  

I've had to counsel "bursty" folks on the need to be a "team player",
minding certain team constraints - and usually found that they were
creative enough to come up with ways to do so that maximized their team
relationships without sacrificing their natural tendencies toward work
and productivity.  And on the flip side, I've had to counsel "busy"
folks on their over-reliance on the "established", and to look to their
other team members for inspiration.

As for myself, personally, my natural tendency is to be bursty.
However, in a law firm environment, that isn't always seen as a
positive, at least not for the non-lawyers.  Face time is a must (and
yes, sometimes just for the face time itself) and incremental progress
is typically more accepted than is a radical burst of change.

Okay, back to the grind for me ...

Julie

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