Tweet

Behavioral Styles and Communication patterns

Written by: Alvah Parker

Article Overview: Each of us has a different way of communicating to others. It isn’t just your words that deliver your message. In fact the words may be least important. Your tone of voice and body language are a big part of communicating. It is your behavioral style that others interpret and make decisions on. How do you find out about your style?

Behavioral Styles and Communication patterns

Behavioral Styles and Communication patterns

“I respect your work but we have very different styles,” the manager told her employee. That difference the manager claimed made it difficult if not impossible to work together.

Has this ever happened to you? Maybe you yourself sensed it. Somehow your manager expected you to work in a way that was very different from your natural way of working and you had difficulty understanding and executing. Working for that person was frustrating and exhausting.

Each of us has a different way of communicating to others. It isn’t just your words that deliver your message. In fact the words may be least important. Your tone of voice and body language are a big part of communicating.

In the case I sited the employee was someone who was careful about what she was doing. She always did a good job. She listened well and could get all the pieces of the project together. Her pace was steady and determined.

The manager was very goal oriented and wanted to reach the goal quickly. Her actions and decisions were made precisely and swiftly.

The manager wanted immediate action and then some indication from the employee that she was making progress quickly. There was definitely a clash. Both felt angry and frustrated.

Why did the manager ever hire this employee? She didn’t! It happened by accident when the manager was transferred into an already established group.

What could this manager do? Perhaps she needed to realize that a good team needs a variety of styles to get the job done. Rather than be frustrated by an employee who is different, a good manager needs to know how to build on the strengths of that person.

So in this case the manager might use that employee’s steady persistence to do research, insure that quality work was being produced and monitor the time line to insure that all the work needed for a project was done on time. This employee would be great for pulling the loose ends together! The manager also needed to adjust her own communication style so that this employee felt comfortable working with her.

In general managers tend to hire people who have a behavioral style similar to their own. People are more comfortable with people who are like themselves. They feel they “understand” them.

If managers always hire a clone of themselves, problems will eventually arise. Instead of having a mix of strengths, they will have duplicate strengths and glaring deficiencies. Hiring someone who has complementary abilities and style will be much more beneficial to the office and team.

How can you identify the behavioral style of a person? One way is to become aware of your own behavioral style. Whether you are a manager or an employee it is important to know yourself and how you work best.

Many companies today use an assessment to determine the behavioral style of employees. They realize that it is important to have a variety of styles within their company and departments. They may actually target a particular behavioral style for a particular job so that the team has the variety necessary.

The DISC Behavioral Style Assessment is just such a tool. It identifies the various styles as being made of 4 Core factors: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. Most people are a combination of several of these.

Once you learn about your behavioral style you are better able to identify the style of others and to communicate with the other person in a way that he or she can best hear what you are saying. Imagine how much more efficiently your office would run if you were able to delegate a job once and be thoroughly understood so that the job gets completed exactly as you want it done!

Take Action:

1. Using the list below see if you can determine what your dominant behavioral style is. Remember very few people are just one of these factors. Most of us are a combination but usually one style is dominant.

Dominance – How you handle problems and challenges. Core D’s are results oriented, high risk takers and extroverted
Influence – How you handle people and influence others. Core I’s need to interact and verbalize, are extroverted and optimistic.
Steadiness – How you handle a change and how you pace yourself. Core S’s are patient, friendly and introverted.
Compliance – How you handle rules and procedures set by others, Core C’s like data, have high standards and are precise

2. Look at the people you work with. Are their behavioral styles the same as yours or different from yours? How hard or easy is it for you to work with them?

Related Articles
  Case History - How Not to Hire Salespeople
  How To Communicate Better With A Business Partner
  Top 5 Reasons Why the OMG Sales Assessment is More Predictive
  People Like To Do Business With People Who Are Like Them - Part 1
  What Sales Leaders Don't Know about Ego and Empathy

Article Tags: behavioral style, behavioral styles, body language, communication patterns, decisions, tone of voice



Related Forum Posts
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Re: Some coffee fans get grim delight in Starbucks woes - As a non-coffee drinker, it's a little difficult for me to comment on. However, I don't really see how the world needs another "over priced coffee shop" and it could probably do with a few less (since they do little but exploit the behavioural patterns of its consumers any ways).
Business Coaching Internship Review - I joined in during the first phase of the internship and at this point we are committed to doing research and development of RSC Business Group operating in Toronto. RSC Business Group already has products and services in Coaching Small businesses in Los Angeles but we didn't want to assume that the same products were wanted and needed in the Toronto market. Our goal at this point is to commit to interviewing 1000 business owners to capture this data. Through the teleconference internship I've been involved in we've been focusing on Communication Skills and on active listening which are practiced when we conduct our interviews and Coach our clients when they come on board. This is a lot harder than it sounds! Part of the internship is also creating the Toronto RSC Business Group's departments, job descriptions, Marketing and Communication plans etc that a business owner would create for their own company. This trains us in the way we would coach a company as well. The internship is phased in two parts and there is compensation plan involved as well for the clients you personally bring in. These clients are coached directly by Robert Chun as you begin but you are given a chance to learn his techniques. I haven't gone through this experience yet though. It's hard to explain Robert Chun's method of Coaching as it happens at a psychological level in his ability to listen and question the person being coached into the next steps they need to take. The Teleconferences are 2 hours long but it's very interactive. If you have a desire to explore this area of Business I'd recommend contacting Vwodek listed above and get invited to a Coaching Conference call. You can decided then if it's for you. Note: it is a commitment but the skills you walk away with whether you plan on working with RSC Business Group or not is invaluable.
Re: 10 ideas to make you money in 2010 - Hi Yinka, Don't do too much to slow down "global warming" just now... The recent hot air blowing around in Copenhagen must have disrupted weather patterns in the northern hemisphere because it has been brass monkey weather up here ever since. I wouldn't be surprised if climatologists begin dusting off their 1970s reports on the "new ice age"...
Franchise Support. What is it to you? - I do a lot of due diligence on franchises that we work with. Most of the time I call up existing franchisees and act like I am interested in buying a franchise in their system. I ask a ton of questions just like any normal buyer, they do not know that I am an experienced franchise consultant. My question for this forum is: What do you consider support from the franchisor? Is it: - Communication? - Brand growth? - Advertising? - Assistance? - Or something else? The reason I ask this is that some franchisees tell me that they don't get enough support from the franchisor and when I ask them what support they would want, they don't have an answer outside of "helping me get more business". So I thought I would throw this out to the group and ask you what you consider would be support to a franchisee. .


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Work Life Balance: Adding White Space

You Have A Website What Now

Join Conversations Politely, Part 1

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.