Social styles theory was developed by dorothy and robert bolton in the early 1980s. How to grow your sales with social styles strategic. They are energetic and focus on people and generating ideas more than on tasks or results. There are four customer social styles composed of specific traits 1. What youll find today is that youll have a tendency to fall into one of the four social styles. Feb 03, 2010 this video explains the social style model and discusses each of the four social styles. With disc you get a score in each style, where as with social styles there is only one score and a measure of flex which is a percentage specifying your ability to adjust to different styles. Social styles versatile communication wilson learning. The four different personality types constantly learning. Social style managers who consistently accomplish a lot are notably inconsistent in their manner of attacking problems and approaching situations. Ive heard of these 4 personality types before when someone mentioned driver in a coaching call a reference to me, idk but i didnt know what it was so looked it up. When salespeople can understand the customers social style and adapt their sales approach accordingly, they can increase their chances of a successful sales outcome. People low on the responsiveness scale tend to exert high selfcontrol over their emotional displays, and those high on the responsiveness spectrum are more emotionally expressive. Best results if others rate your observable behaviors.
There is just observation and then a choice on how you want to interact with the different styles. John, director missouri training institute robert j. Determine your combination of score to identify your social style. Tend to direct the actions of others whether or not they are the leader. You need to learn how to control yourself in the way you interact with others that reflects the. I spoke to four of my colleagues who each fall into one category and asked them how they like to. Every individual is totally unique and the best sales people are able to adapt their approach to enhance their communication and consequently their leverage based on the prospect or the customer they are interacting with.
Youre obviously looking for my social styles personality test and luckily you found it. The social style model uses a chart like this below to illustrate the differing styles. They are individuals who turn disaster into humor, they prevent dull moments, and they are very generous people. They tend to appear communicative and approachable. The other element of social style is versatility which is your ability to adapt your style according to who you are. According to psychologists merrill and reid, there are four social styles. It is doubtful that all people of a particular behavioral style exhibit all of the characteristics portrayed. Social styles and effective performance joyce yen coleen carrigan.
Whereas some styles, the expressive and the driver styles tend to be more tell. Tracom created the social style model based on the four unique styles, with each having different ways of using time and predictable ways of interacting and making decisions. Agile coaching working with the 4 social styles agile. In an effort to understand the world of celebrity, we use four huge public figures to test the theory of the 4 personality types. Like many useful inventions, the social styles model was discovered by accident. Although every customer is different, most can be grouped into one of four groups. Social styles theory was developed by dorothy and robert bolton in the early. Working styles provides proven skills for identifying social style, recognizing each style s strengths, and developing interpersonal.
This results in a model that has four quadrants which identify four social styles. According to merrill and reid, there are four social styles. Typically they have a gogetitdone or whateverittakes personality. How you modify your social style depends on both the others social style and the situation. And to do this effectively you need to communicate in a way that works for them which is where understanding social styles can help. Understanding customer personality styles analytical, driver, amiable, and expressive will quickly tell you just how and what to say to each customer. People styles allow us to predict, usually with a high degree of accuracy, how a per. There has been much commentary and various use of this model. In the variety i am familiar with the styles were named driving, expressive, amiable and analytical. If you are interested in reading more about the research done by. Social styles is the name of a particular psychometric instrument that helps people to better understand and work with others through appreciation of their basic decision making and control needs. Social style theory is based on work originated by david merrill, who used factor analysis to identify two scales, assertiveness and responsiveness. Analyticalthis behavioral style is noted for the ability to gather. Lets say you are shopping for a new shirt for a job interview, a special occasion, or some other reason.
Customer personality styles analytical, driver, amiable. The social style model was developed by the tracom. Jun 16, 2010 in an effort to understand the world of celebrity, we use four huge public figures to test the theory of the 4 personality types. They can seem very dominant and are quick to take action. Consider each of the following questions separately and circle the one letter a, b, c, or d that corresponds to. Analytical driver red blue university college dublin. In short, everyone can be categorized into one of four social styles buckets. Aug 20, 2015 adapting your selling style to the four social styles s4. A social style is a particular pattern of actions which others can observe and agree upon for describing a persons behavior. Aug 23, 2010 can you spot which character is playing which social style. The vertical dimension is the reserved verses outgoing dimension with the top being controlled behavior and the bottom being expressive behavior.
Dimensions of social style tm lfpws is based on the social style model, with its four distinct interactive styles. Jul 01, 2006 there are four major behavioral styles. Driver expressive amiable analytical these styles are defined by two behavioral variables or dimensions. Social styles and effective performance uw advance. Create a well defined timebox for free expression and brainstorming. People with an expressive social style tend to be more willing to make their feelings known to others.
Merrill and reid believe that a persons social style is a way of coping with others. Each has its own unique language, thought processes and approach to business. The negative is they can sometimes come across as stubborn or arrogant. They identified four communication styles and the fact that most people have a preference for one of them. Roll in a white board and encourage the analytical to structure and detail high level talks. No design or tech skills are necessary its free, easy, and awesome. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. You need to know your own social style and the social styles of others. Printable version of post people styles what they are we are all similar, but we are also all different. Hope everyone had a chance to fill out their personal styles inventory. Social style theory is based on work originated by david merrill, who used. They are intuitive, charismatic, assertive, responsive, enthusiastic, creative, nurturing and engaging. To find out your social persona, pick the wordphrase that best describes you in each question.
I dont have the luxury of time nor the brain power to perform a mbti psychometric assessment of each team member in realtime. Drivers and expressives tend to be more tell oriented, while amiables and analyticals are more ask oriented. You need to learn how to control yourself in the way you interact with others that reflects the others persons preferred way of working. Individuals in this quadrant are generally described as being charming, outgoing, enthusiastic, persuasive, funloving, and spontaneous. Like many useful inventions, the social styles model was discovered by. Sometimes the personality type can come across as brash, running over others in order to get things accomplished. Wilson learnings social style model defines four primary communication stylesdriver, expressive, amiable, and analytical. People become most comfortable with that style, in themselves and others. Ask the amiable if the decisions we are making map out well to our core values. Please note that i am using an extreme simplification of each particular style. They can appear to react impulsively and openly show both positive and negative feelings.
There are two variables to identify any personality. Ok, so theres lots of stuff available to help you design your training using honey and mumford learning styles and personally i think that is a great model to use as a template for your training design. The four terms driver, expressive, amiable, and analytical were originally coined by dr. The social style model was developed by the tracom group. These individuals tend to make a lot of statements versus influencing through asking questions. There are a lot of quizzes to help people discover which of the personality. Understanding your communication style michael page. Customers can be divided into four personality types.
A highlevel summary of the main characteristics for each of the four people styles. Youve probably heard of social style, but might not know exactly what it is. Analytical blue driver red amiable green expressionist yellow. The model is made up of four styles driver, expressive, amiable and analytical. Below is information about how salespeople can adapt their sales approach to each style. Some years ago while participating in a workshop with several psychologists, i uncovered an idea about a possible pattern of behavior that seems to have some merit, but ive found no clinical studies available. Personality influencing the way to address challenges. There is not so much written about the use of the social styles model in training design and training delivery. Using social styles to avoid conflict in the workplace hrzone. The expressive personality falls in the quadrant formed by the boundaries of extrovertfeeler. Perhaps your social personality or persona has something to do with it. Assertiveness responsiveness driver expressive amiable analytical so what. Define social styles become aware of both our own styles and others apply style information to.
Improve interpersonal communication develop strong team dynamics. It had to do with going beyond anticipating the primary fallback behavior likely to occur based on the behavior style of. The social styles model the social styles model is a simple, practical tool for understanding these differences and for working well with others who are very different from you, so that everyones strengths are respected and used well. Using social styles to avoid conflict in the workplace. Although we might complete a mbti assessment at some point during the project, at first i rely solely on four high level social styles. Read on to find out which of the four styles below you fall into.
The four social styles and how you should negotiate with them. Drivers and expressives tend to be more tell oriented, while. Social styles the social styles instrument is designed to help people understand themselves and others better, communicate more effectively, and to develop positive relationships with coworkers. There are no strong, weak, effective, or ineffective styles. It is a helpful introduction to understanding social style, the worlds bestknown interpersonal. Some imitations, dont stress the most important idea of the model versatility.
Driver expressive analytical amiable as we begin to discuss the different styles, it is important to keep in mind that the behaviors represented are neutral. Dec 03, 2012 the social style model uses a chart like this below to illustrate the differing styles. We call the expressive the social specialist because they love to have fun. Social style theory is based on work originated by david merrill, who used factor analysis to identify two scales, identified as assertiveness and responsiveness. Can you spot which character is playing which social style. What they are and why they matter if you work with people andor manage people that you find difficult to deal with, keep reading. Offer to the driver a chance to lead when defining clear options. Social styles of communication university of missouri. Conflict arises where there is a failure to understand the power of social styles. By combining the two scales, the social styles model creates four unique behavioral characteristics driver, expressive, amiable, and analytical. In the social styles model there are four basic styles, or preferred ways of interacting with others. Aug, 2009 26 thoughts on the driver personality type johnkooz august, 2009 at 8. When two people communicate using different styles, they share information, ideas and thoughts in a way that the other person finds hard to process.
In a social environment, they like others to be genuine and friendly. Social styles thedevco training design training delivery. When interpersonal skills take off, results soar wilson. Analytical expressive amiable driver the four social styles. Examples of the driver personality type include henry ford i and charles lindbergh. Social style summary missouri training institute 35 analytical amiable driver expressive primary asset systematic supportive controlling energizing under stress avoiding acquiescing autocratic attacking.
Well, if you think driver, analytical, expressive and amiable are types of screw drivers then read on. Watch this 3 minute video which describes the social style model. This results in a model that has four quadrants which identify the four social styles. The social styles of salespeople red cap sales coaching. The key to utilizing the social styles information is better understanding both your behavior tendencies as well as those you interact with. Activity communication style selfassessment whats your style. A categorization of the way an individual interacts interpersonally with others. Amiable style analytical style driving style expressive style positive. Working with the 4 personality types social styles. The social styles behavioral model allows us to see ourselves and others from a perspective of differing dynamics. Are you a driver, expressive, analytical or amiable. Workplace personality test east atlanta animal clinic. The four social styles are the driving style, the expressive style, the amiable style, and the analytical style.
As the model shows, the four styles vary in terms of behaviors reflecting the dimensions of assertiveness tell versus responsiveness ask and task versus people orientation. Expressives are motivated by recognition, approval and prestige. Social styles versatile communication wilson learning worldwide. An analytical or driver, amiable, or expressive in one situation may need something different in another situation. They are typically described by others as personable, talkative and sometimes opinionated. Count up the responses to the four specific working styles. The best sales professionals recognize which personality they are dealing with and adapt their approaches and communication styles accordingly.