Exam 5: Gaining and Using Sustainable, Ethical Power and Influence

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• The Social Styles Model is a theory that can be used to understand the behavior and preferences of people. The model assumes that: 1) we all have predictable and taken-for-granted ways of behaving, including how we make decisions, interact with others, and resolve conflicts; 2) if we understand our preferred styles as well as the preferred styles of the others, we can avoid some of the problems that arise from the misunderstandings, conflicts, and frustrations that can occur when people with different styles interact; and 3) we are more likely to influence others if we build relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.
• The Social Styles Model measures people on two dimensions: 1) Assertive/probing (whether a person pushes his/her own ideas or draws ideas out from others); and 2) High responsiveness/low responsiveness (whether a person prefers to be rational, objective and task-focused, or emotionally expressive, intuitive, and relationship-focused.
• Based on a person’s preferences, they are characterized as an analytic, a driver, an amiable, or and expressive. All four types have different preferences for receiving and working with information, and all four are most effectively influenced in different ways. By knowing a person’s preferred style, you can select and use an influence strategy that is most likely to gain the support of that person. By knowing your own style, you can leverage your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, and better understand how you may be perceived by others.
General Characteristics of Each Social Style
$\begin{array}{ll}\hline \text { Amiable } & \text { Expressive } \\\hline \text {Emphasizes facts, data, and procedures }& \text {Emphasizes goals and bottom-line results }\\\text {Well organized }& \text {Decisive and direct }\\\text {Systematic, logical objective }& \text { Encourages risk taking}\\\text {Careful, detailed, disciplined }& \text { Competitive}\\\text {Conservative }& \text {Impatient }\\\text { Reserved}& \text {Uses report talk (facts and information) }\\\text {Uses report talk (facts and information) }& \text {Fast-tallsing and may interrupt }\\\text {Asks questions }& \text {Focuses on content not style }\\\text { Chooses words carefully}& \text {Uses bold gestures and direct eye contact }\\\text {Focuses on content not style }& \text { Leans forward and may be loud}\\\text { Uses limited gestures and facial}& \text { May not praise others}\\\text { expressions }\\\text {Uses deliberate and slow decision }& \text { May be formal}\\\text {making }\\\text {May need to be right }& \text { May not want to be told what to do}\\\end{array}$
$\begin{array}{ll}\hline \text { Amiable } & \text { Expressive } \\\hline \text { Emphasizes collaboration } & \text { Emphasizes positive vision of the future } \\\text { Good listener and agreeable } & \text { Enthusiastic, energetic, can-do attitude } \\\text { Uses rapport talk (building } & \text { Uses rapport talk (building relationships) }\\\text { relationships) }\\\text { Tries to see others' perspectives } & \text { Likes to think out loud } \\\text { Empathetic } & \text { Optimistic, dramatic, and spontaneous } \\\text { Asks questions } & \text { Encourages inovation and risk taking } \\\text { Wants to include everyone } & \text { Social, playful, and comfortable }\\ \text { Prefers consensus}&\text { with most people}\\ \text { Likes routine}&\text {Leans forward, uses bold eye contact }\\ \text { Often quiet, slow, and steady}&\text {Uses animated gestures/facial expressions }\\ \text {Easygoing and modest }&\text { Fast-tallsing}\\ \text {Uses open, unhurried gestures }&\text {Expresses emotions and concern }\\ \text {May not give direct statements/opinions }&\text {Likes to be center of attention }\\ \text {May avoid malking big decisions }&\text { May speak in generalities}\\&\text {May not seek out data to back up intuition }\\\end{array}$