People tend to get more energy from certain behaviors and work activities than others. Subsequently, they tend to give effort and energy to the activities where they get the most energy. It can be helpful to think of these things as behaviors or activities that either drain or charge our “internal battery.”
Right of Midlines Styles
- Give energy to INITIATING ideas and plans.
- Receive energy from INITIATING ideas and plans.
The Controller and Persuader give and get energy from INITIATING. You can hear this when they are brainstorming (which they enjoy) and say things like. “We are going to start working on this and at the same time work on that, and two weeks later, we will…”
Because they can easily give energy to implementing, it drains them to do repetitive tasks or work only on one project for longer stretches of time.
Some clues:
- Speaking quickly
- Making statements
- Talking about the big picture
Ways to be more flexible with Controllers and Persuaders
Focus on increasing expressive behavior:
- Get to the point more quickly
- Build on their ideas
- Share your thoughts rather than only reacting to theirs
- Look for ways to create options for their ideas
- Be willing to express disagreement
Style flexibility means being willing to change your behavior to create a better relationship with someone. It does not require a change of who you ARE; it is a change in what you DO. When you increase your Style Flexibility, two things happen:
- You experience a higher level of understanding and tolerance for a person of a different Behavior Style.
- You improve your ability to build trust and respect.
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