I completed Social Style Certification yesterday (July 1st 2013) with TRACOM (the IP owners) UK partner ACCELERATE UK.
Social Style is a 360 (mulit-rater) or self perception tool that focuses on the behaviour that you exhibit, rather than the personality (such as MBTI and DISC).
The advantage of Social Style is that it is a 360 and therefore gives you feedback on you rather than just self assessment.
I can work with the instrument in English & Spanish directly and can link into y broader network for clients that require feedback in another language.
I will be using it in my training and coaching work and see it being particularly valuable in leadership, B2B sales and team development.
The instrument has been developed over the last 50 years and shows peoples preferences on two scale: Assertiveness and Responsiveness. This provides, four key sets of “observable” behavioural styles:
Brief descriptions of Social Style types:
Analytical Style people value facts above all, and may appear uncommunicative, cool and independent. They have a strong time discipline coupled with a slow pace to action. They value accuracy, competency and logic over opinions, often avoiding risk in favor of cautious, deliberate decisions. Analyticals are usually cooperative, providing they have some freedom to organize their own efforts. Power often arises suspicion in Analyticals, but if they come to see it as necessary for achieving goals and objectives, they may seek power themselves. In relationships, Analyticals are initially more careful and reserved, but once trust is earned they can become dedicated and loyal.
Amiable Style people are people-oriented, and care more about close relationships than results or influence. They usually appear warm, friendly and cooperative. Amiables tend to move slowly with a low time discipline, minimizing risk and often using personal opinions to arrive at decisions. Belonging to a group is a primary need, and Amiables may make every effort to gain acceptance. They typically seek to uncover common ground, preferring to achieve objectives through understanding and mutual respect rather than force and authority. When managed by force without relationship, Amiables appear to cooperate initially but will likely lack commitment to the objectives and may later resist implementation.
Expressive Style people are motivated by recognition, approval and prestige. They tend to appear communicative and approachable, often sharing their feelings and thoughts. They move quickly, continually excited about the next big idea, but they often don’t commit to specific plans or see things through to completion. Expressives enjoy taking risks. When making decisions, they tend to place more stock in the opinions of prominent or successful people than in logic or research. Though they consider relationships important, the Expressive’s competitive nature leads them to seek quieter friends who are supportive of their dreams and ideas, often making relationships shallow or short-lived.
Driving Style people want to know the estimated outcome of each option. They are willing to accept risks, but want to move quickly and have the final say. In relationships, they may appear uncommunicative, independent and competitive. Driving styles tend to focus on efficiency or productivity rather than devoting time and attention to casual relationships. They seldom see a need to share personal motives or feelings. Driving styles are results-oriented, tending to initiate action and give clear direction. They seek control over their environment.
If you would like to discuss how SOCIAL STYLE can help improve your leadership, team and B2B performance either as part of a training programme or coaching process please reach out!
