I was once fortunate enough to watch a rainbow appear.
It grew and shimmered, and as we drove toward it, its color, hue and impact changed.
People and rainbows have much in common.
Both have many aspects, are structured in shape and can be complex because they’re filled with nuances and variations.
Photo by Shutterstock and a version of this article was originally published through Forbes Coaches Council.
Have you ever tried to catch a rainbow or been mystified by surprising changes in people? Would you agree that it’s your perspective, knowledge and skill that impacts your experience with others?
I am not a scientist, and I can’t help you catch a rainbow, but people and personalities is my area of passion and strength. So, let’s look at this complex world and discover tools to strengthen your people and communication skills.
Social Styles
Personality assessments can be traced back to Plato. There are many different variations, including Myers-Briggs, True Colorus, Enneagram or assessments based on the studies of Karl Jung. All seek to categorize character traits so as to better understand both ourselves and the people around us.
My go-to resource is the Merrill-Reid Method, which focuses on our social traits. Knowing what our dominant trait is and how to interact with staff, prospects and clients who may or may not be similar gives us an advantage in the business world. Here’s how it works.
Using the Merrill-Reid Method to understand personalities, there are four major types we can identify to help us understand the core characteristics of our prospects. It’s rare to be 100% one personality — most people are a mix. But people tend to default to one core type.
• Analytic
• Driver
• Expressive
• Amiable
We encounter all these social styles in our interactions. If we only worked with people whose primary position was similar to our own, we would miss 75% of our communication and influencing opportunities. Imagine the impact you could have on your team and operations if you were to use the best levers to reach people’s core communication style. Learning and applying this knowledge of how people think, what they need and how to work with their style will put you on the fast track to success in business.
The Analytic
Analytics are polite yet reserved. They are patient, ask many questions and are highly detailed. They opt for facts and statistics and are slow decision makers — they can get stuck without all the pertinent facts. They like to feel like they are right, are sticklers for managing time and are bottom-line driven.
The Driver
Drivers are “do-it” people. They’re quick to act, have a lot of energy and know what they want and how to get it. They prefer to work independently and like to focus on the positive. They are not conflict-averse (they’ll look you straight in the eye) and can be brusque and tactless at times. When it comes to drivers, be prepared for language that is direct and concise. They look for immediate results.
The Expressive
Expressives are good communicators and storytellers. They tend to be warm and enthusiastic and make decisions based on hunches. They focus more on generalities than facts and figures and may exaggerate or leave out details. They tend to be animated with their voice and hand gestures and enjoy being with people. As natural relationship builders, prepare for them to be quite talkative and ask you personal questions.
The Amiable
Amiables are diplomatic, social, patient and emotionally expressive. They need to build rapport early but will avoid direct eye contact with you. Like Expressives, they can be animated, and they want to build a relationship. They are known to be highly sensitive, soft-spoken and have the skill of and blending well into many situations.
Your Influencing Toolkit
Knowing your dominant style gives you perspective on yourself and your ability to see and understand other’s styles.
Can you identify your predominant social style? Chart your strengths on the following key items:
• Are you a quick decision maker or a slow decision maker?
• Do you ask people what to do or tell them what to do?
• Are you animated in conversation or reserved?
• Are you fact-focused or comfortable with generalizations?
• Are you an independent worker or do you prefer group and teamwork?
• Are you results-focused or do you like to have options and choices?
Given these social styles, what do you notice about others and their methods, behaviors and preferences? What’s their type? Now, how will you communicate with them?
As a leader, whether you’re communicating with a client, prospect or colleague, knowing and understanding their dominant style adds high-caliber communication skills to your toolkit. Think about it: Have you ever had a conversation with someone and felt understood, like the other person really got you?
By understanding people’s personalities and social styles, you’re creating a valuable experience because you’re communicating with them in their way, validating them, their wants and needs, and powerfully impacting your relationship.
Meet Coach Christine
Christine coaches with ROI top-of-mind and clients have seen upward of 200% ROI. Many companies who leverage her coaching produce quick and long-lasting results transforming people, processes and culture, impacting their bottom line.
Her time with clients generates powerful results in:
- Business and Personal Development
- Communication and Relationships
- Sales and Sales Leadership
Watching and learning at the feet of titans of Canada’s Wall Street and other business leaders, Coach Christine was influenced by their success and built a corporate career and coaching business founded on proven business practices.
She is an award-winning business woman and contributor to Forbes publications; is an accredited coach with the ICF; a practitioner of Conscious Business practices; is certified by the IMPACT: Coaching with ROI program; holds her First and Second Degree Reiki and has studied Aboriginal healing for over 20 years. Christine loves the adventure of travel and has a knock-out collection of snazzy women’s shoes.
When you want more, are ready to bust obstacles and build your juicy, big life, contact me, Coach Christine Culbertson.
