Dominance Style

People of the Dominance Style like to control their environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish desired results. They enjoy moving people around in their favor.

They are direct, forceful, impatient, and opinionated. They enjoy being in charge, making decisions, solving problems, and getting things done. They tend to thrive on power, prestige, and authority, and they can be extremely demanding. They also fear being taken advantage of by losing control of a situation.

You can download excellent presentation slides on Management Skills and Personal Development HERE.

When people of this style are negatively motivated, they can become defiant. They don't like being told what to do, and win lose challenges can be dangerous. They would quickly become bored with a routine that was basically the same from day to day, particularly if it didn't allow them to make decisions that would hinder their desire to be in control. For example, giving them work that involves dealing with lots of detail would be tedious and demotivating for High D's.

To create the right motivational environment for such people:

- Be clear, direct, and to the point when you interact.
- Avoid being too personal or talking too much about non-work items.
- Let them know what you expect of them. If you must direct them, provide choices that give them the opportunity to make decisions to satisfy their need to be "in control.
- Accept their need for variety and change. When possible, provide new challenges, as well as opportunities to direct the efforts of others.
- The High D person is motivated by personal control through direct communication. Compliment them for results they achieve.
- They are "bottom line" oriented. Ask them about their career plans and timetables for achieving success. Show how they can get results by helping you get results.

Influence Style

People with this style try to shape the environment by influencing or persuading others to see things their way. They really enjoy being involved with people and getting recognition for their accomplishments. They fear rejection or loss of social approval. They may have a dislike for handling complex details or working as "lone rangers". They prefer to deal with people rather than things.

This highly social individual loves opportunities to verbalize thoughts, feelings, and ideas. So provide opportunities for them to do this when possible. When it's deserved, praise their work enthusiastically and publicly.

When you negatively motivate people of this style, they can be indiscriminately impulsive. When this happens, they may speak first and think later with little regard for what they say and who might hear it. This can be in the form of complaining to no one in particular while hanging around the coffee pot. Because they want to be liked, being silent or tight-lipped with them will make them afraid you're rejecting them.

Such people run well with new ideas. Take advantage of the strong communication skills that this style possesses by allowing them to be the liaison with other departments when there's a companywide initiative that suits their talents.

They can also be among your best promoters for new ideas or for creating excitement for company social functions such as holiday parties. Because of their desire to be involved with other people and in different projects simultaneously, this style could benefit by receiving time and priority support from you as their coach.

You'll need to communicate more with people of this style, and it'll often involve social interaction. To that end:

- Give them lots of your time.
- Compliment them.
- Ask about things going on in their lives outside of work.
- Let them share with you their goals at work and elsewhere.
- Link your objectives to their dreams and goals.

Steadiness Style

The Steadiness behavioral type focuses on cooperating with others to carry out the task. These people are very much team players and cooperative group workers. They take pride in being reliable and trustworthy employees.

They tend to be patient, loyal, and resistant to sudden changes in their environment. They respond positively to group achievement recognition, sincere appreciation and predictable situations. When they get negatively motivated ? which is often caused by sudden, unplanned changes that they see as high risk ? they can become stubborn or stern, moods usually expressed in the form of passive resistance.

This type of behavioral style responds very well to an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competition. Show sincere appreciation when it's earned. Communicate in an indirect, casual style. Recognize and praise contributions to the team. Schedule regular performance reviews.

To create a positive climate for people using the Steadiness Style:

- Acknowledge that their efforts help others.
- Provide opportunities for them to cooperate with others on the team to achieve desired results.
- Provide specific direction and offer assurances when necessary.
- When implementing change, be sure to lay out a systematic, step-by-step procedure and draw out their concerns and worries about the situation. They need to feel secure.
- Assure them that you've thought things through before initiating changes. Give them a plan to deal with problems when they occur.

You can download excellent presentation slides on Management Skills and personal development HERE.

Conscientiousness Style

This style emphasizes working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy. People of this behavioral style appreciate opportunities for thorough, careful planning. They are critical thinkers who are sticklers for detail, They prefer to spend time analyzing a situation and, like the steadiness style, are slow to accept sudden changes. They like following procedures and standards- preferably their own.

When they are negatively motivated they may become cynical or overly critical. They will normally respond well to logical, well-thought-out, planned options. Be realistic and avoid exaggeration in discussion with them. They respond favorably to exact descriptions and performance objectives, scheduled performance appraisals, and specific feedback on their performance.

Your conversations with them will take longer because they'll probably have several questions. They'll also want to verify the quality and reliability of information you give them. Even when given all the facts, they are inclined to analyze an issue and decide for themselves. Compliment them for the quality work they do, as well as he logical approach they take to doing it.

One of their greatest fears is criticism of their work or efforts, provide them with:

- Opportunities to demonstrate their expertise.
- Plenty of details.
- Enough time to prepare for meetings properly?especially if they have an item on the agenda to present.
- Situations where their systematic approach will contribute to long-term success.

Source of Reference:
Jack Cullen and Len D’Innocenzo, The Agile Manager's Guide to Coaching to Maximize Performance, Velocity Business Publishing. You can obtain this fine book here