ADVANCE YOUR BUSINESS | CREATING CONNECTION AND CLARITY FOR LEADERS AND TEAMS
  • Home
  • For Leaders
    • Leadership Retreat
    • Leadership Mentoring
    • Leadership Training
  • For Teams
    • Team Retreat
    • Workshop Facilitation
    • Workflow Mapping
    • Inter-Agency Partnerships
  • Outcomes and Insights
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • For Leaders
    • Leadership Retreat
    • Leadership Mentoring
    • Leadership Training
  • For Teams
    • Team Retreat
    • Workshop Facilitation
    • Workflow Mapping
    • Inter-Agency Partnerships
  • Outcomes and Insights
  • About Me
  • Contact Me

What behavioural style are you?

2/12/2022

 
Differing behavioural styles across people inform our ways of communicating
​It was wonderful to work with a leadership team last week and be reminded how vital behavioural styles are in assisting people to communicate more effectively.
Because people …
  • Think differently
  • Decide differently
  • Work at a slower or faster pace
  • Handle emotions differently
  • Deal with conflicting opinions differently …
 We need to be aware of, and learn about, our own behavioural style and the styles of those with whom we work.
 
Behavioural styles, also known as People styles and Social styles, are a key ingredient to quality communication between people and within a team.  Playing to your strengths, through knowing your own style, is helpful in a team where many styles will be represented.  We need all styles at work so enjoy being your style, rather than wishing you were a different style.  All styles lead - just in different ways.
 
There are a range of ways to determine your behavioural style which is how you are perceived as behaving by other people.  A behavioural style represents a pattern of observable behaviours that will be similar across people from the same style.  [Note – there are also sub-styles, that give even greater understanding, however this is beyond the scope of this blog]. 
 
My preferred model is that developed by Bolton and Bolton (People Styles at Work and Beyond, Amacom, 2009).  Their model looks at behaviour on two continuums – assertiveness (seen by others as forceful or directive) and responsiveness (seen by others as showing emotions and demonstrating awareness of the feelings of others).  Refer to their book or this article hcleadershipessentials.com/blogs/leadership/the-people-styles-model-for-gaining-selfawareness-as-a-leader for guidance to work out your style – my recommendation is that you check this with others who know you well!  My experience is that people often do not see themselves as others see them.
 
The four behavioural styles are driver, expressive, amiable and analytical.  Each style is a quadrant and your style is related to the degree to which others perceive you as being assertive and responsive.  When I work with leadership teams, we openly discuss the style of each person as a means of understanding how every person will communicate and work best in the team.
 
In my experience the real benefit comes from being more self-aware (essential in a leader) and understanding your own behavioural style and that of those you work with, meet with, manage and lead.  Once you know your patterns of behaviour, you can subtly modify these to achieve optimum communication and relationships.  For example, as an expressive, simply slowing down any conversation with an analytical or amiable person will assist them in understanding what I am saying or asking for.  If I am working with a person who is more analytical, I will need to give more details, as this is what they need.
 
Developing the capacity to work with those who have different behavioural styles is an essential component of leadership and optimal communication.  Enjoy discovering the styles or re-visiting them.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Jill Nicholson

    Archives

    August 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    August 2021
    June 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    May 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    May 2019

    Categories

    All
    Above The Line
    Behaviour
    Below The Line
    Briefing
    Case Study
    Facilitator
    Leadership
    Listening
    Management
    Mentoring
    Person Centered Care
    Reflection
    Service Integration
    Teamwork
    Vision
    Workshop

Advance Your Business
Jill Nicholson
​Tel 0432 418 084
Email [email protected]
​
Queensland Office PO Box 204 Magnetic Island QLD 4819
Victoria Office PO Box 149 Mt Martha VIC 3934
​Website developed by Grey and Grey
HOME
FOR LEADERS
FOR TEAMS
OUTCOMES AND INSIGHTS
ABOUT ME
​CONTACT ME
Aboriginal Flag
Torres Strait Islander flag
gay pride flag
​We Acknowledge the Original Custodians of the Land and Waters, and we pay our respects to their Cultures, their Communities and their Elders past, present and emerging.