TEAM BUILDING I PERSONAL STYLE TRAINING

OBJECTIVES
To understand the concept of personal styles
To know how to recognize personal styles
To learn how to flex our style temporarily to improve communications
effectiveness with other styles
To understand the effects of stress on personal styles

Differences in People

If you were to look at a bin of lemons you would not find two alike. You
could roll the lemons, squeeze the lemons, inspect the lemons. There
would not be two alike. Just as lemons are different, so are people.

Each of us has a way of interacting with others. This comes from our trying
out different ways of relating to others early in our lives then repeating
those that seem best to us. In time these behaviors become habits, which
make us comfortable whenever we relate to other people. These habits
become our Personal Styles. Personal Styles or Social Styles as they
are sometimes called are based on Behavior.

To make our relationships more comfortable and more productive

sometimes we must flex our own personal style. We do this in the spirit of
acceptance, respect and graciousness. This doesnt mean you have to
change your style.

Type of Personal Styles

DRIVER
A take-charge person, exerts strong influence to get things done, focuses on
results.
EXPRESSIVE
A social specialist, expresses opinions and emotions easily; prefers strong
interaction with people.
ANALYTICAL
Likes to be well organized and thought out; prefers specific project and
activities; enjoys putting structure to ideas.
AMIABLE
Adaptive specialist, high concern for good relationships, seeks stability and
predictability, wants to be part of larger picture.
There is no perfect personal style one style is not better than another.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Personal Styles

Driver (strengths) - determined, requiring, thorough, decisive, efficient,

direct
Driver (weaknesses) dominating, unsympathetic, demanding, critical,
impatient

Expressive (strengths) personable, stimulating, enthusiastic, innovative

Expressive (weaknesses) opinionated, undependable, reactionary

Analytical (strengths) industrious, persistent, serious, orderly, methodical

Analytical (weaknesses) indecisive, uncommunicative, critical

Amiable (strengths) - cooperative, supportive, dependable, helpful

Amiable (weaknesses) conforming, uncommitted, hides true feelings

Interaction With Others

Whenever we meet another person, there is a mutual feeling of tension

or stress. In business, if this relationship tension is high, it gets in the
way. It can cause needless distress and interfere with our getting our
work done, our task, including the quality of our work. Unless we are
able to solve our relationship problems, it isnt likely that we will reach full
effectiveness in solving our task or work problems.

Our attempts at solving task problems often get bogged down by

relationship problems. It is, therefore, increasingly necessary to solve
relationship problems, before attempting to solve the task problems.

Relating this concept, we can use the analogy of a bicycle. The back
wheel is the drive wheel. It makes the bicycle go. Think of the back
wheel as business expertise, computer skills, SPC, product knowledge
the things we need to solve task problems. Without the back wheel,
we dont go anywhere.

Interaction With Others (Continued)

The front wheel, on the other hand, steers and directs the back
wheel power where it has to go. If the back wheel is task
knowledge, the front wheel is relationship knowledge, people
knowledge.

The front wheel steers our back wheel power skills through the
maze of potential relationship problems. Without good front
wheel skills, we cannot maximize the effectiveness of our back
wheel skills.

Knowing and understanding the different personal styles can help

us work more smoothly and productively with others. It also helps
us to recognize when a person is under stress.

Interaction With Others (Continued)

It is helpful to understand there are individuals more task-oriented
than people-oriented more focused on the job at hand than on
relationships with coworkers
An individual may be more of a thinker than a doer; thinkers are
reflective about their work whereas doers are more likely to discuss
their work openly.
Even though everyone is both task and people oriented, both a thinker
and a doer, every individual strikes his or her own balance between
these choices. This gives every team member a distinctive profile.
Understanding and Accepting people as different from you in the
first step towards becoming a strong team member.

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole
which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, the other
pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot
arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer
delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which
it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been
made to be.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water
bearer one day by the stream, I am ashamed of myself, and I want to
apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this
crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.
Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you dont get full
value from your efforts.

The Cracked Pot (Continued)

The bearer said to the pot, Did you notice that there were flowers only on
your side of the path, but not on the other pots side? Thats because I
have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your
side on the path. Every day as we walk back, youve watered them. For
two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the
table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this
beauty to grace the house.
Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. Were all cracked pots.
But its the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so
interesting and rewarding. Youve just got to take each person for what
they are, and look for the good in them. Blessed are the flexible, for they
shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different
people in your life!

TEAM BUILDING I PERSONAL STYLES QUIZ

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