4. Work effectively with others' styles.
Recognizing and responding to different styles will earn you the endorsement of others who will find you to be tactful and reasonable. If you respond only to your own comfort and needs, others will find you difficult, inflexible, and argumentative.
Practicing versatility: By being aware of and adapting your behavior to others' social styles, you can facilitate more comfortable interactions. For example, when working with:
* Drivers: Ask questions about specifics and stick to "what" questions. Don't waste time trying to build the relationship, but get right to the task at hand. When discussing issues, support the position, not the person. Be specific on areas of disagreement: remember that Drivers want to move into action quickly, and getting them to slow down and listen to others will be a challenge.
* Expressives: Discuss future goals and possibilities, and not present realities and details. Explore mutually stimulating ideas and look for areas of agreement. Avoid arguing: Expressives like to win competitive verbal exchanges. Take the initiative in handling details. Be cautious in planning: expressives sometimes enthusiastically accept more than they can handle.
* Amiables: Demonstrate an interest in the person. Establish a cooperative environment and communicate patiently: draw out personal opinions. If agreement is easily reached, gently and non-confrontationally explore areas of possible future disagreement. Express gratitude for the Amiable's contribution.
* Analytics: Demonstrate through action, not words. Do not overstate or oversell; stick with facts and logical, proven conclusions. Take time to remain persistent and don't expect quick implementation. Praise the Analytic's strategy and planning.
Help others: You can improve interactions with others by helping them to perform in ways that challenge them. For example:
* Amiables resist initiating activity. Facilitate the Amiable's growth action by encouraging her to initiate activity in supportive and encouraging ways. An Amiable will not initiate if she feels she will bother or anger someone else, but will initiate if she feels she is being of helpful service.
* Analytics resist declaring their thoughts. Facilitate the Analytic's growth by encouraging him to declare hunches and by not highlighting or criticizing when hunches are not right.
* Drivers resist slowing down to listen to others. Encourage Drivers to slow down and listen by highlighting how listening to others improves results.