The Controller
From original Beauty of Styles video by Effectiveness Institute founder, Tom Champoux
Let me tell you about the Controller style — their primary focus in life is creating results. Talk fast, walk fast, want it done fast, what’s taking you so long!? They like conflict. At least in the eyes of the three other styles. In fact, they create conflict all the time. They come into your space “What are you doing? Quit looking at me, What’s taking you so long?” People say why do they do that? They’ll say it’s not about YOU…I LIKE YOU…it’s just that if I put tension in your life, I know that people don’t like tension, they will work to remove tension and while they’re working to remove tension…ta dahhh, they produce results!
Everything they do is about producing results. So they’re real CONFUSED when people see them as cold, distant, aloof, uncaring, insensitive. Aw no, I don’t think that’s true at all. Let’s get after it. For each style, I’ll tell you about a couple of strengths. So, they use conflict to produce results. They can see the implication, application, ramification and facts and ideas really quickly. They go warp speed…the more pressure, the faster they go. Do you see the beauty of this though? They also have the ability to see around the corner…to see into the future. People ask how can you do that? and they say, Oh I just do. No style can explain their magic, they just do it.
The Controller style is really easy to frustrate. Know how you do it? Simply, speak…very…slowly… It drives them absolutely nuts. They…have…been…known…to …interrupt…and…complete…your…sentences…for you. You ever see that happen in a team meeting? Someone says …well…I…was…thinking… and the Controller says NO, we’re not going there. But, you don’t even know what I’m saying… Yes I do… And then they tell you. So they get accused of being cold, callous, uncaring. But they are anything but.
Listen to me, listen to me carefully. (Controllers, skip ahead to the next paragraph). On the INSIDE, Controllers are cream puffs. Absolutely the softest touch out there. They even say dumb things like this: You may not appreciate this now, but FIVE YEARS from now (remember their future orientation?…) Some day you may be training someone new and you’ll say “the person who taught this to me, I was so mad at her I didn’t talk to her for a long time” — It’s great if you like me, but I don’t care if you don’t like me…that’s not the thing, we gotta get results.
So, strength #1 is the ability to see the big picture. Strength #2 is that in the DECISION MAKING process, they separate facts and the feelings, and throw the feelings away and make the decision. Not in RELATIONSHIPS, but in Decision Making they separate the facts and feelings and throw the feelings away. Dollars are low, # people is high, demand for service is low, Joe and Sue, thanks for your service, goodbye. People say how could you do that, how could you let them go…they look you in the eye and say: do you want to go in their place? So, once again they get accused of being cold and callous. They’re anything but.
Now what happens next is…you know the two people they let go? One of the reasons Controllers get such great results is that they know so many people. So, they go to the phone and call up a supplier, a vendor, a competitor. How’s it going? A little tough right now but we’re going to make it. We’re running lean and mean for a while so I’ve got a couple of good ones I had to let go so you should call them…yeah, tonight. .. yeah, here are their home numbers, give them a call tonight. They come in the next day, ya’ll aren’t going to believe this… I got a call last night. And got a new job, even better than what I had here. Who got them the job? The Controller. Who does the Controller tell? No one. Not one word. In fact they’ll never mention it. What’s the complement? Results! So they come in the next day, “good I’m glad you got a job…shoo, go, okay everybody, back to work” So once again they come across as cold and callous…but they’re softies. Real soft on the inside but they won’t tell you. If I tell you, how can I scare you?
Okay, listen to me very carefully. You will not find a nicer human being than a Controller. And any team that doesn’t have a Controller is doomed to failure over the long run. You gotta have a Controller. They lean over the prow of the boat and drag us kicking and screaming with them. You gotta have one.