People Styles at Work... and beyond
This approach to understanding people is distinguished from many others in that it focuses
on behaviour rather than personality. Behaviour is what a person does. When using this
model, you concentrate on what you see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.
How fast does the person walk? How much does he gesture? How loudly does he speak?
How much inflection does he use? How much facial animation does he show? As you’ll soon
see, that kind of data is sufficient for understanding how to improve your relationships with
all sorts of people. By contrast, one’s personality includes inner characteristics like beliefs,
thoughts, motives, values, attitudes, feelings, etc. as well as behaviours.
Behavioural scientists and leadership researchers found that assertiveness and
responsiveness are two clusters of behaviour that are especially important in determining a
person’s style. In fact, by concentrating on just these two clusters of behaviour, you can
improve your understanding of and relationship with nearly everyone you meet.
There are some large patterns of continuity in people’s lives. For example, research indicates
that the two dimensions of people styles—one’s typical level of assertiveness and
responsiveness (emotiveness)—are remarkably constant throughout one’s life. Psychologists
Paul Costa Jr. and Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging reviewed large-scale,
long-term studies in which researchers followed subjects throughout the many stages of
adult life. A major finding was that “the assertive nineteen-year-old is the assertive fortyyear-old is the assertive eighty-year-old.” Researchers also found that across a person’s
lifetime his degree of emotiveness is very stable.
Since you can’t change your dominant style, you’d be wise to accept and celebrate it. And
because other people can’t change their dominant style, you’ll interact more effectively with
them when you respect and get in sync with their natural style.
The following are some important points to note before completing the self-assessment
inventory:
 There are four people styles, none of which is better or worse than any of the other
styles;
 The population is evenly divided among the styles;
 Although each person is unique, people of the same style are similar in important
ways;
 Each style has potential strengths and weaknesses that aren’t shared by the other
styles;
 No style is more or less likely to be a predictor of success or failure;
 The behavioural patterns of each style tend to trigger tension in people of the other
styles;
 Getting in sync with the style-based behaviours of the person you are with helps
reduce interpersonal tension, thereby fostering well-functioning and productive
relationships.
1
Self-assessment inventory
Your people style is based on other people’s perceptions of you, not on how you see
yourself –
 Therefore, in filling out the inventory, read each item from the standpoint of the way
you think other people see you;
 Discipline yourself to be as objective as possible. Select those items that, to the best
of your knowledge, reflect the way other people experience you;
 This inventory consists of eighteen pairs of statements. Choose the statement in
each pair that you think most accurately expresses how other people see you;
 Force yourself to make a choice between each of the paired statements;
 Remember, there are no good or bad styles; there are only differences among
people.
Each inventory item has a word in it that suggests a comparison: more, less, fewer, softer,
slower, and so forth. You may wonder, “More than what?” “Slower than what?” In each
case, think in terms of “more than” or “slower than” half of the population (the majority of
people).
Indicate your choice by drawing an X in the box to the left of the statement in each pair that
best describes how you think others see you. In the following example, if you think “less use
of hands when talking” is a more accurate statement of how you come across than “more
use of hands when talking,” mark an X in the box in front of the first statement.
X
Less use of hands when talking
More use of hands when talking
1.
More likely to lean back when stating opinions
More likely to be erect or lean forward when stating opinions
2.
Less use of hands when talking
More use of hands when talking
3.
Demonstrates less energy
Demonstrates more energy
4.
More controlled body movement
More flowing body movement
5.
Less forceful gestures
More forceful gestures
6.
Less facial expressiveness
More facial expressiveness
2
7.
Softer voice
Louder voice
8.
Appears more serious
Appears more fun-loving
9.
More likely to ask questions
More likely to make statements
10.
Less inflection in voice
More inflection in voice
11.
Less apt to exert pressure for action
More apt to exert pressure for action
12.
Less apt to show feelings
More apt to show feelings
13.
More tentative when expressing opinions
Less tentative when expressing opinions
14.
More task-oriented conversations
More people-oriented conversations
15.
Slower to resolve problem situations
Quicker to resolve problem situations
16.
More oriented toward facts and logic
More oriented toward feelings and opinions
17.
Slower-paced
Faster-paced
18.
Less likely to use small-talk or tell anecdotes
More likely to use small-talk or tell anecdotes
TOTAL SCORES
(Simply add-up how many boxes in each column you checked)
3
Here’s what the totals mean. In the column farthest to the left, you tallied the less assertive
(left-of-the-line) behaviours that characterize you. The column next to it is where you
tallied behaviours that are more assertive (right-of-the-line). Place a checkmark in the box
below that represents the higher of these two scores:
less assertive (left-of-the-line)
more assertive (right-of-the-line)
The column farthest to the right is where you tallied the more emotionally responsive
(below-the-line) behaviours that characterize you. The column just to the left of it is where
you tallied the less emotionally responsive (above-the-line) behaviours. Check the box
below which represents the higher of these two scores:
less responsive (above-the-line)
more responsive (below-the-line)
If your




highest scores are:
Less assertive and less responsive: You think others perceive you as an Analytical.
More assertive and less responsive: You think others perceive you as a Driver.
Less assertive and more responsive: You think others perceive you as an Amiable.
More assertive and more responsive: You think others perceive you as an Expressive.
Finally, place an X in the quadrant of the grid that represents this self-assessment of your
people style.
ANALYTICAL
DRIVER


Less assertiveness
and
less responsiveness
More assertiveness
and
less responsiveness
AMIABLE
EXPRESSIVE


Less assertiveness
and
more responsiveness
More assertiveness
and
more responsiveness
This self-assessment inventory and all of the above text is taken from:
People
Styles
at
Work
(second edition, 2009).
and
Beyond
by
Robert
4
Bolton
and
Dorothy
Grover
Bolton