Understanding the Four Behavioral Styles

Below you will learn more about the four behavioral styles: Dominance, Influencing, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Learn the goals and fears of each style, what they tend to overuse and how each style can be more effective.

DOMINANCE – Focuses on Controlling the Environment

Goals

• Wants to get results
• Likes “do it and do it now” approaches
• Wants to be in charge
• Likes new opportunities and challenges
• Wants opportunity for advancement
• Likes initiating change and taking risks

Fears/Avoids

• Being taken advantage of
• Losing control over the environment
• Boredom
• Being tied to routine
• Appearing weak or soft

To Be More Effective

• Develop more patience with other people
• Learn to negotiate with others
• Develop greater awareness of other people’s needs
• Verbalize reasons for conclusions.

Overuses

• Creating challenges
• Moving people and situations around in his/her favor
• Change for the sake of doing something new

INFLUENCING – Focuses Energies on Others

Goals

• Wants to be involved with people
• Wants to have fun while getting things done
• Likes to help people talk things out
• Wants freedom from following through on details
• Making a favorable impression

Fears/Avoids

• Being blamed for things going wrong
• Having people be upset with him/her
• Not being liked
• Public humiliation

To be More Effective

• Become more objective in making decisions
• Develop more organized, systematic approaches to tasks
• Improve follow-through by paying attention to key details
• Learn to be direct and firm when confronting others
• Gain more control over use of time

Overuses

• Emotional expressions or outbursts — others may feel attacked
• Verbalizing thoughts and feelings
• Humor, playfulness
• Meetings, discussions

STEADINESS – Focuses on Cooperating with Others

Goals

• Likes to be involved with people
• Wants everyone to do their share
• Likes things to run smoothly
• Wants stability and security
• Wants conflict-free environment
• Enjoys being a good listener
• Calming excited people

Fears/Avoids

• Situations where nobody knows what is happening
• Confusion and instability
• Lack of clarity on expectations
• Situations requiring aggressive confrontations

To be More Effective

• Learn to handle change better
• Become more assertive
• Increase his/her comfort with handling conflict
• Vary routines occasionally
• Become more receptive to short-cut methods
• Speak up when concerned or upset

Overuses

• Modesty
• Accommodation to others
• Predictability

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS – Focuses on the “Right” or “Correct” Way

Goals

• Wants specific criteria for performance
• Likes accuracy
• Likes setting and meeting high standards
• Wants opportunities to analyze and assess
• Likes logical, systematic approaches to work

Fears/Avoids

• Unjustified personal criticism
• Criticism of what he/she has done
• Changes and surprises that may affect his/her performance
• Spontaneous displays of feelings
• Situations that require talking about his/her personal life

To be More Effective

• Develop more comfort with emotionally charged situations
• Determine potential payoff before investing time analyzing a task
• Learn to value informal interactions with others
• Adjust his/her standards to the needs of the environment
• Practice confronting directly rather than making indirect comments

Overuses

• Analysis
• Criticism of performance — both of self and others
• Defensiveness when questioned about his/her performance
• Logical approaches to people and situations