Great leaders don't assume that their way of working is best for everyone.

Employees differ on whether they are segmenters or integrators.

Segmenters prefer to keep work and life separate.

Integrators prefer to mix work and life tasks together.

Many leaders erroneously assume that their employees should structure work in the same way they do if they want to be successful. The truth is that employees’ ideal work styles and preferences differ. In our research, we find that great leaders recognize these differences and use them to maximize their team’s results. Weaker leaders are more stubborn, coaxing followers to adopt their ways of working without considering whether that’s actually what’s best. One key way that employees differ is with regard to whether they are segmenters or integrators. Before we outline how leaders take these preferences into account, it’s important to define these terms.

What are segmenters and integrators?

First, what are segmenters? Segmenters prefer to separate their work and life, while minimizing cross-domain interruptions (i.e., life tasks interrupting work, or vice versa). Segmenters like to work for a set number of hours and then move on to tackle life tasks and responsibilities. For example, a segmenter might block time from 7am-9am to get their kids ready and off to school, block 9am-5pm to work, and then close their laptop at 5pm to focus on........

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