Adapting Your Leadership Style The Four Behavior Styles
Adapting Your Leadership Style The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Supplemental Self-Study Presentation
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Overview
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Introduction A Day in the Life of a Manager—Who Do You Want to Be? Read the scenarios, below and on the next slide, and think about the differences between the two managers. Scenario 1 A nursing manager describes her role as manager versus being a public health nurse as follows: “I used to help people. I used to be respected by my peers for my skill and compassion. I was loved by my clients and their families as I drove from home to home, doing good works. Now look at me! My desk is a giant pile of paperwork. I referee skirmishes of every sort—from serious work issues to petty gripes. I carry messages back and forth between the nurses and upper management, and sometimes it feels like both groups try to kill the messenger. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Introduction Part 2 A Day in the Life of a Manager—Who Do You Want to Be? (continued) Scenario 2 The director of services at a major hotel chain describes her success in leading others as follows: “The only reason a leader is around is to help people do what they do best. I look for employees’ gifts by learning what attracts them and what they do outside of work. ” Her employees value her leadership ability as well. One employee said, “She made me into an artist. She brought out things in me I didn't even know I had, but that she had seen. ” Another employee describes her as different from your typical executive. “On the first day I met her she asked, ‘What kind of boss do you need me to be to make your job easier? ’ No one had ever said that to me. ” The Difference? The difference between these two managers is that the manager in scenario 2’s perspective is that her job is to adjust her style to make each employee successful. This program will help you learn how to do the same thing.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Module 1: Managing with Style
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Qualities of an Effective Leader Model the behaviors you want to see in others. • Demonstrate integrity and credibility at all times. • Take action when it matters. – Stand up for yourself and for others. – Show commitment versus compliance. • Treat every employee as an individual. Communicate with passion and conviction. • Make your message optimistic, yet realistic. • Use stories and action-oriented language. – Make your story clearly relate to the point you wish to make. – Choose a story your audience can easily identify with. – Limit the length. Provide enough detail to be interesting and meaningful, but not too much to be boring. • Use inclusive language: “we” versus “I. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Qualities of an Effective Leader Part 2 Engage and involve others. • Appeal to common beliefs and values. – Share organization, department, and team visions. – Acknowledge that similar values may be expressed in different ways. • Share power, information, and responsibility. • Encourage celebration of milestones, interim accomplishments, and partial wins. • Recognize effort and initiative as well as tangible success. • Foster collaboration. – Notice and reward cooperation among employees. – Develop team goals that require people to exchange diverse ideas and resources. – Encourage your staff to make connections with other individuals and groups in the organization.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Making the Shift from Individual to Leadership Work Style A mental shift is necessary to be successful in management. The focus must be about helping other people succeed, and in the process, you will succeed as well. Review all the ways you can make a mental shift from an individual performance perspective to a management perspective. Individual Perspective Management Perspective • Expert and specialist • Generalist • Task focus • People focus • Low need for interaction to be successful • High need for interaction to be successful • Responsible for own work • Responsible for the work of others • Functional focus • Organizational focus
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Making the Shift from Individual to Leadership Work Style Part 2 Continuing the look at all the ways you can make a mental shift from an individual performance perspective to a management perspective: Individual Perspective • Slow decision making • Dealing with issues outside area of expertise not a priority Delegation skills less important Success primarily based on execution of projects • • • Okay to be a maverick Management Perspective • Decisions based on judgment, incomplete data • Dealing with others outside immediate area is necessary • Delegation skills fundamental to success • Success based on compatibility with superior • Choose behaviors that support your team
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Why Does Style Matter? Understanding the Four Behavior Styles As most experienced leaders know, people come in all shapes and sizes, and what works for one employee in terms of communicating, motivating, giving feedback, etc. , doesn’t have the same results with another employee. Review each quadrant and select the description that best fits your own style. In addition, think about the style that seems the least like yourself. Becoming familiar with these behavior styles and recognizing your own allows you to adjust your behavior to meet others’ needs. It will take the most effort to relate to employees who demonstrate the style you least identify with. The Four Behavior Styles • • Relator “Let’s work together. ” Stable, dependable, orderly Slow down and build step-by-step. • • Thinker “Let’s do it right. ” Cautious, perfectionist, critical, systematic • Slow down and be right. • • • Socializer “Let’s do something creative. ” Enthusiastic, expressive, optimistic Speed up and have fun. Director “Just do it!” Decisive, strong-willed, independent Speed up and talk business.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Understanding the Four Behavior Styles Consider these continuums which highlight the essential differences among the four styles. Focus on Relationships Relator Socializer Take Time Go Fast Director Thinker Focus on Tasks
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You How to Relate to Each Style Review the descriptions of the styles below. Focus in particular on how to adjust your demeanor and communication to best relate to each style. Relator Socializer Relators like to work with groups and build relationships. Security is important to them and they like consistency and focusing on areas of specialization. You should: • Be sincere and personable. • Take an interest in him or her as a person. • Be patient in drawing them out. • Use open-ended questions. • Present new ideas in a non-threatening manner. • Give plenty of time to adjust. • Clearly define individual goals and roles. • Offer and provide personal support. • Focus on the benefit of their contribution to the group. Socializers like recognition and pride themselves on being popular. They like to talk and dislike details and being told what to do. You should: • Create a positive, friendly environment. • Give them plenty of opportunities to verbalize their ideas. • Engage them with stimulating and fun activities. • Reinforce conversations with written documentation. • Foster a democratic relationship. • Incorporate incentives for taking risks. • Encourage their “out-of-the-box” thinking.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You How to Relate to Each Style Part 2 Review the descriptions of the styles below. Focus in particular on how to adjust your demeanor and communication to best relate to each style. Thinker Director Thinkers know there’s a place for everything and everything should be in its place. Correctness and exactness are highly valued. You should: • Take time to prepare your case in advance • Make an appointment. • Provide both the pros and cons of your plan. • Support your ideas with volumes of data. • Assure that you’ve eliminated all surprises. • Provide a detailed plan with a precise explanation of how it fits in the big picture. • Stay focused on the issue when disagreeing. • Be prepared to provide many explanations with patience and persistence. Directors must be in charge. They pride themselves on achievement and focus on results. The bigger the challenge, the better they feel. You should: • Provide direct answers. • Get to the point. • Be brief. • Stick to business. • Show your plan will get results, solve problems, and allow this individual to be in charge. • Identify ways in which your idea will benefit the Director. • Ask questions that focus on “what, ” not “how. ” • Avoid direct disagreement.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. Which style likes creativity and taking risks? A. Relator B. Socializer C. Thinker D. Director
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Module 2: The Communication Factor
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Ways Humans Connect The more closely managers connect with their employees, the better able they will be to recognize individual behavior patterns and adapt to them. Keep in mind that people connect more strongly through nonverbal communication than through words. Nonverbal Messages Volume • Loudness has become synonymous with vulgarity and unruliness. • Soft volume has come to mean shyness, nervousness, and even incompetence. • Stay away from either extreme.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Ways Humans Connect Part 2 Nonverbal Messages (continued) Pitch • Lower pitch sounds more confident, authoritative, and credible. • Higher pitch sounds give the impression of being nervous, immature, lacking in confidence, or even slightly emotional and hysterical. Rate • A slower rate of speech conveys seriousness, authority, and thoughtful deliberation. It also implies well-chosen words and underscores the importance of the message and gives the listener time to contemplate what’s being said and attach the appropriate significance to it.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Ways Humans Connect Part 3 Nonverbal Messages (continued) Connecting • Moving closer – Show interest by moving closer to the other person or by standing up. – On the other hand, be respectful of personal space—it varies from person to person. • Using eye contact – Eye contact can be the most powerful tool for building rapport, but beware of continuing to stare after someone has broken eye contact—it may be considered defiant and rude. – Generally, make direct eye contact and break after a few seconds. – Beware of cultural variations. • Nodding – Nod to indicate you’re listening, i. e. , “I understand, ” “Keep going. ” – Nodding may be misinterpreted as agreement; make sure you clearly express your opinion.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Ways Humans Connect Part 4 Practice Mirroring is the art of matching the other person’s delivery style, voice volume and tone, and emotion and body language as you talk. One of the quickest ways to build rapport and connect with others is to mirror the other person’s body language. By matching body language, you can ease the stress in a conversation and make the other person feel more comfortable. When this is done skillfully, the other person will notice. He or she just gets a feeling that the two of you are “on the same page. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Skills to Improve Understanding A key goal of connecting with others is to increase understanding. There are two aspects to this. 1) Sharing your thinking process with others—reflection, and 2) Making others’ thinking process more visible to you—inquiry. Reflection allows you to uncover your hidden assumptions and make your thinking process more visible to others. Review the chart below that describes various ways to engage in reflection as well as statements and questions to use when interacting with others. Steps for Reflection Sample Statements/Questions State your assumptions. “Here’s what I think…” Explain your assumptions. “I assumed that…” Make your reasoning explicit. “I reached this conclusion because…” Test your conclusions. “What do you think about what I just said? ” “Do you see any gaps in my reasoning? ” Ask for input. “What can you add? ” “Do you see it differently? ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Skills to Improve Understanding Part 2 Inquiry allows you to discover others’ hidden assumptions and ask them to make their thinking process visible. Review the chart below that describes various ways to engage in inquiry as well as questions to ask when interacting with others. Steps for Inquiry Determine their data; use nonthreatening language. Uncover their reasoning. Sample Questions “What causes you to say that? ” “What went in to your decision? ” “Can you help me understand your thinking? ” Do NOT ask, “What’s your proof? ” “How does that relate to your concerns? ” “What is the significance of that? ” “What was your next thought/assumption? ” Explain your reasons for inquiring. “I’m asking about your assumptions because…” “What would happen if…? ” Test their conclusions. “Can you describe an example? ” “How would that affect…? ” Check your understanding. “Am I correct that you’re saying…”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Another way to connect with others is to switch your conversations to a listener-centered orientation. You will immediately have more meaningful and more productive conversations. Becoming Listener-Centered Who is your listener? • Consider these variables. Is the listener… – Big picture-oriented or detail oriented? – Extremely busy or do they have time to talk? – Familiar with the subject or do they need explanation?
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Part 2 Becoming Listener-Centered (continued) The “Charging Rhino” Syndrome A common mistake many new managers (and some veterans) make, especially when they’re excited about a new project, is to forge ahead and ignore the listeners’ signals that they’re not in sync. This can destroy an opportunity to build buy-in and generate goodwill, both of which are necessary to make the project a success. • Symptoms – Is oblivious to the listener's frame of mind; doesn't consider the needs of the listener – Ignores or doesn't see indications of confusion, existing knowledge, or disagreement in the listener – Sticks to original plan no matter what
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Part 3 Becoming Listener-Centered (continued) The “Charging Rhino” Syndrome (continued) • Cures – Listen! – Check for the listener's frame of mind at intervals (not just at the end). – Provide more basic explanation if necessary. – Skip ahead if the listener knows more than you expected. • If you’re on the receiving end of a “charging rhino” – Use body language to signal an interruption—raise hand, shake head, stand up. – Interrupt politely. Escalate if necessary. “Ron, Stop. I’m not following you. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Part 4 Think Partnership • Include others. – Maintain constant dialogue. – Select key people from each team for accountability. – Establish and distribute procedures. • Make it clear to employees that they are a priority. • Avoid appearing to reward friendship, clout, or poor planning. • The better you know your employees, the better you can anticipate their needs without having to make exceptions. • Constantly educate your employees so they understand your capabilities and limitations. • Set up a system to get constant feedback from employees—and act on it. • Be a good employee yourself—give others the benefit of the doubt, understand their constraints, make your needs known clearly and early.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Part 5 Invest in Your “Goodwill Bank” • Deposits are behaviors that build relationships. – Get to know people personally. – Understand their problems and help them reach their goals. – Recognize their successes. – Share articles or any other useful information to them. – Make sure your proposals support their interests and the common goals of the organization. – Tell why you need their skills, experience, personality, etc. to get the project accomplished. – Share the glory.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Adjust Your Communication Style to Empower Employees Part 6 Invest in Your “Goodwill Bank” (continued) • Withdrawals are behaviors that take away from a good working relationship. – Withholding information – Taking credit without acknowledging others – Not getting to know employees as individuals
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Communicating with Your Boss Adapt to Your Boss’s Behavior Just as you should tailor your style to meet your employees’ needs, you should do the same with your boss. (As a boss, he or she should be doing the same thing for you, although you can’t count on it. ) • Understand the way he or she thinks and operates. Modify your style to fit your boss’s, not vice versa. • Talk to others who have worked with your boss to get information about his or her style, concerns, goals, etc. • If your boss’s communication style is different from your own, focus on the content of the message, not the delivery. Resist temptation to respond emotionally.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Communicating with Your Boss Part 2 When You and Your Boss Disagree • Pick your battles carefully. Stand up when it counts, for example, issues affecting your integrity and credibility. • When you need to confront your boss, keep your cool. Try using a neutral statement such as, “I have a different perspective. ” – Restate your boss’s perspective before you share your point of view. – Avoid polarizing statements such as always, never, should, can’t, etc. that can paint you and your boss into corners. • If you feel you can never disagree with your boss, consider whether or not you want to work in an environment where you can’t speak honestly.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Influencing Language Framing Your Message Have you ever seen the same picture in two different frames? Did you dislike it in one frame? Like it in the other? A different “frame” can improve the way your reader responds to your message. A Positive Frame • Says what can be done, not just what can't be done • Tells the reader what to start doing, not just what to stop doing • Gives the message in the best possible light
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Influencing Language Part 2 Framing Your Message (continued) It’s Not What You Say; It’s How You Say It When you’re in a position of authority, you can delegate others to carry out your ideas; however, the results will be more successful and long-lasting if you obtain their buy-in and commitment to the task or project. Use the direct or indirect approach for influencing depending on the situation. • Direct approach – Focuses on the bottom line; provides a summary, recommendation, or conclusion – Use for good news, routine or familiar information, reports and resumes • Indirect approach – Starts with an introduction or premise and builds to a decision, summary, recommendation, or conclusion – Use for bad news, complex or unfamiliar information, and controversial messages
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. What is the best strategy for communicating when you disagree with your boss? A. Just go along with your boss and don’t mention your difference of opinion. B. Tell your boss in no uncertain terms why he/she is wrong. C. Keep calm and use neutral language, such as “I have a different perspective. ” D. Confront your boss every time you disagree so your boss knows you have a spine.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Module 3: Supportive Leadership
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Motivational Factor One of your main goals as a manager is to create an environment that is motivating to your employees. People are generally motivated in one of two ways: intrinsically or extrinsically. Intrinsic Motivation People who are intrinsically motivated tend to enjoy their jobs more, have more loyalty, and be more productive than those that must be continually motivated extrinsically. • To encourage intrinsic motivation: – Make the job meaningful—relate individual responsibilities to organizational goals/vision. – Allow them to have choice—specify the outcome, but not necessarily the process. – Make sure they feel competent to do the job— provide mentoring and training.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Motivational Factor Part 2 Extrinsic Motivation Those who need incentives and rewards to keep them focused and motivated to perform are considered to be extrinsically motivated. • Motivate employees extrinsically with: – Money – Benefits – Recognition – Education – Fairness – Support People often wonder whether they should provide cash or non-cash rewards. Cash can be very motivating, however, that motivation lasts for only a short period and over time people feel entitled to receive that cash—as though it is automatically deserved without any extra effort or output. So, be sure to also consider some of the other options in the list above.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Motivational Factor Part 3 The chart below describes various ways to motivate each style. Relator Values: Relationships Socializer Values: Status Needs: To be liked Needs: To be appreciated Do • Be sincere • Listen • Slow down • Set goals Do • Be enthusiastic • Show flexibility • Let them talk • Recognize their importance Don’t • Force a decision • Ignore feelings • Be too formal • Exhibit threatening behavior Don’t • Force cooperation • Ignore ideas • Demonstrate rigid thinking • Be unwilling to try new ideas
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Motivational Factor Part 4 The chart below describes various ways to motivate each style. Thinker Values: Credibility Director Values: Success Needs: To be right Needs: To be in control Do • Know your stuff • Go step by step • Clarify often • Take notes Do • Get to the point • Be businesslike • Focus on specific tasks • Support their goals Don’t • Be inconsistent • Show lack of attention to detail • Be disorganized • Be overly emotional Don’t • Appear wishy-washy • Appear unprepared • Spend too much time on one issue • Be overly emotional
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You The Motivational Factor Part 5 Motivating “Borrowed” People • Motivating “borrowed” people (employees who don’t report to you) can be difficult. Follow the guidelines listed below. Most important, communicate frequently with the employees and their boss(es). • Aim for voluntary participation in the project. • Define responsibilities and expectations. – Power: Who’s in charge of what? – Task: Who’s doing what? – Political: What’s in it for us/me? – Group identification: Who is “us” and who isn’t “us”? • Foster an “ambassador” mentality—employees represent their functional area on the team and represent the team to their functional areas.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Conducting One-on-Ones One-on-ones are an important tool for developing and maintaining rapport and for knowing your employees as individuals. Make them informal and frequent (every two weeks is ideal for most situations). • Offer more positive feedback than negative. • Use the ACT format. – Action-oriented: based on observable behaviors, not intangible attitudes – Concise: focus on one (or two at most) issue at a time – Timely: cover issues as soon as reasonable after they occur
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Conducting One-on-Ones Part 2 • Include two-way questions. – “What can I do to make your job easier? ” – “What is getting in the way of you accomplishing your job? ” • Seek feedback on your feedback. Think about the last three times you gave feedback and answer these questions: – What prompted you at that time? Did you check your facts? What was the substance of the feedback? Was there any concrete action as a result? – Ask the employee to write down his/her answers to the same questions.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Conducting One-on-Ones Part 3 Preferred Approach for Each Style You will be much more effective in your one-on-one sessions if you tailor your approach to meet the preferences of individual employees. Follow these general guidelines for each style: • Relator: Indirect and considerate; support their feelings • Socializer: Direct and elaborate; support their ideas • Thinker: Indirect and detailed; support their thoughts • Director: Direct and succinct; support their goals
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Positive Feedback Often, it takes only a few seconds and a little effort to give someone positive feedback. Make the effort at least once a day. • No news isn’t always good news. The absence of praise can mean criticism to some people. • Distinguish between praise and flattery. – Flattery focuses on what someone has no control over and did nothing to earn. Example: “You’re so tall; you strike an imposing figure as a leader. ” – Praise focuses on commendable character, performance, or behavior. Example: “You analyzed our situation and developed a unique strategy to build market share. Your plan is highly creative. ” • Praise with no expectations. – Get in the habit of praising people when you don’t want anything in return.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Positive Feedback Part 2 • Follow with a question. – To lessen the awkward moment when your compliment makes someone stammer and stutter, simply follow your compliment with a question. The other person can focus on answering your question without having to handle a response to the praise. Example: “Great job handling the customer. Have you worked with her before? ” • Use third-party praise occasionally. – Third-party pass-ons build morale because they are even more believable when delivered as “fact” to someone else. Example: Jim isn’t present at a staff meeting and you say, “Jim’s taking care of a crisis with a customer. He’s really skilled at calming down upset customers. ” • Award your superiors with praise. – Superiors seldom hear praise. If you mean it, say it.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Negative Feedback Examine Your Motives First • Will the feedback make you look better? • Will you enjoy or dread giving this feedback? • Do you want to demoralize the other person? • Do you want to condemn or guide? • Do you want resolution or more conflict? • Is the issue a personal matter with you? • Is the issue a professional matter? • Do you criticize habitually? • Are you open or manipulative in your comments? • Are you in a bad mood? • Are you the best person to give the feedback? • Are you doing this for someone else?
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Negative Feedback Part 2 Process for Giving Negative Feedback • Start with a question. It helps reduce defensiveness in the employee. – Use something like, “Can I get your input on something? ” Or “Can you give me a few minutes of your time? ” – Avoid “trapping” questions that put the employee on the defensive. Communicate facts as you understand them. Instead of “Have you had any trouble with customers this week? ” say, “Were you aware that we’ve had three complaints about you this week from customers? ” • Focus on problem solving. Remember, the purpose of feedback is to stimulate thinking and formulate options. – Ask questions that lead individuals down new paths of investigation, rather than criticizing people and closing doors. – Provide specific examples.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Negative Feedback Part 3 Process for Giving Negative Feedback (continued) • Separate fact from opinion. – Wrong way: “Jan, you’re lazy. ” – Right way: “Jan, you’ve processed only 28 applications this month. The departmental average is 45 per month. ” – If “facts” are coming from a third party, verify the validity of them. • Focus on one performance issue at a time. – Your goal should be to communicate your observations in such a way that the person benefits and can use your comments for long-term improvement. • End the session with encouragement. – Stress cooperation and mutual goals rather than conflict, blame, and defeat. Communicate your confidence that the person can change or improve.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Negative Feedback Part 4 Do’s • Remember no one’s perfect, so don’t be overly critical. • Listen without interruption. Allow them to vent frustration and anger. • Convey the appropriate degree of importance. – Some issues are annoyances that need to be dealt with; others are so critical an employee could lose their job— be sure the employee understands the importance of the particular issue you’re discussing. • Remind them of their strengths.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Giving Negative Feedback Part 5 Don’ts • Delay addressing a performance issue. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. • Be surprised if the employee becomes upset. Many employees get defensive when criticized, even if you deliver it gently. • Let the conversation drift from your main purpose. Employees may bring up other issues as a way to deflect from this one. If these other issues are valid, set up another meeting to discuss them, but stick to the original focus. • Dwell on performance issues once they’re corrected.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings So far, we have focused mainly on adjusting your style to individual differences. However, you probably lead meetings frequently, and the ability to adjust to an entire group is also critical to your career success. Use the questions on this slide to help you begin thinking about issues that relate to groups. Pre-Meeting Checklist • Have you determined the number and type of people to be included? • Did you choose your physical setting based on your participants? • Have you considered what level of formality or informality is appropriate to the group? • Have you taken time to evaluate the likelihood of dissension or agreement? • Are you aware of the power issues within the group? • Are you aware of any hidden agendas? • Have you considered the dynamics of the group?
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 2 The Four Most Important Outcomes for Meetings You will know a meeting has been successful if there was: • Clear results • Efficient use of people’s time • Even participation • A sense of accomplishment Five Critical Opening Elements One of the best ways to ensure that a meeting ends successfully is to start it successfully: • Announce the purpose of the meeting. • Review the agenda. • Assign roles. • Clarify expectations. • Set ground rules.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 3 Post the ground rules for meetings in every room where you meet. Make them big, bold, and bright and refer to them often. Typical Ground Rules • • Come prepared Start/end on time One person speaks at a time Stay on task Be honest and open Participate fully Respect other viewpoints
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 4 Ensuring Participation Supportive leadership includes making sure participation is even and inclusive at meetings. • Make it risk-free. – Use positive and encouraging remarks. – Avoid criticism—even a hint of it. – Example: “Way to think ‘out-of-the-box’!” • Help people participate. – Ask for input from “experts. ” – Encourage idea sharing. – Probe for additional information or explanation. – Example: “I like that idea. Give us a little more information. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 5 Ensuring Participation (continued) • Praise and encourage often. – Let people know their comments and ideas are helpful. – Allow discussion that includes “out-of-the-box” thinking. – Example: “Since we’ve got an open forum here, feel free to tell us your opinions. ” • Keep side conversations to a minimum. – Interrupt with grace. – Target others in the group. – Assign long-winded talkers a recording role. – Summarize rambling remarks and transition to a new topic or person.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 6 Ensuring Participation (continued) • Handle uncomfortable silences. – Check out what is happening. – Help the group review what’s happened so far. – Give the group a chance to decide what's next. – Offer a suggestion if none is forthcoming from the group. – Example: “We’ve made progress on the first part of the problem. Should we move forward? ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 7 Guiding Discussion Supportive leadership means guiding discussions so the group stays on track and discusses relevant issues. • Restate key points. – Avoid information loss by repeating, recording, and reiterating. – Example: “So far, here’s what’s been said. . . Did I miss anything? ” • Make needed connections. – Build bridges by finding mutual areas of interest. – Example: “Both of you agree on points one and two. How can we find common ground on point three? ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Facilitating Productive Meetings Part 8 Guiding Discussion (continued) • Get back on track. – Review notes and discussion thus far. – Note when the group is off track, and let the group decide if they want to pursue side issues. – Examples: • “This is off-track from our original agenda. Do you want to pursue this topic now or at the next meeting? ” • “That’s an interesting point, but not relevant right now. I’ll be happy to put it on the next agenda. ” • “Let’s go back to the three areas we were focusing on. ” • “We’re off topic. Let’s get back to our original mission. ” • “Is this a topic we want to discuss right now? ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Meeting Agenda and Responsibilities Planner Consider using a planner like the one shown below to help you to organize your meeting. Date: Time (start/finish): Location: Meeting called by: Type of meeting: Facilitator: Note taker: Timekeeper: Attendees: Please read: Please bring: Agenda Topics Topic Employee Time allotted Other Information Observers: Resource persons: Special notes:
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Test Your Knowledge Read the question, then click on the answer. Which of the following would you offer to appeal to an employee’s intrinsic motivation? A. Meaningfulness B. Recognition C. Rewards D. Education
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Review
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Read the case study and answer the questions that follow in order to put your skills into practice. Organization: Headquarters of a national insurance company People: Juanita, department manager; Mike and Tess, customer care coordinators. Situation: Juanita, Mike, and Tess work in an ultra busy office where deadlines are crucial. They are overworked and understaffed. Mike is struggling to meet his deadlines, although on the plus side he receives very high marks from customers and colleagues for his interactions with them, and is almost always optimistic in every situation. Tess handles the deadlines—unless something unexpected comes up, which is happening more frequently. Juanita decides to meet with Mike and Tess individually, to see what she can do to help them through this stressful time.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 2 Juanita: “Mike, I appreciate the attention you give customers and your ability to keep them happy. However, you need to meet your deadlines. Try spending a little less time with customers. ” Mike: “But that’s the interesting part of my job. I really enjoy coming up with unexpected ways to solve their problems. ” Juanita: “That’s great. But your top priority still needs to be meeting those deadlines. ” Mike: “I don’t know why that’s more important than making our customers happy. ” Juanita: “Because I’m getting pressure from upstairs. It’s just the way it is. I can’t change it, but I do want to help you be as successful as possible. That’s why I suggested spending less time with customers. ” Mike: “What if I spend even more time with customers? I mean, what if I handle other people’s customer problems and they handle some of my paperwork? ” Juanita: “I don’t see how that will work. Nobody else in the company does it that way. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 3 Juanita hopes for a more positive outcome when she meets with Tess. Juanita: “Tess, thanks for making time in your schedule to meet with me. I know you’re busy; in fact, that’s why I wanted to meet. I want to discuss how I can help you make sure you meet your deadlines during this extra busy time. ” Tess: “Give me more time! Extend the deadlines!” Juanita: “Unfortunately, that’s not an option. But let me share some observations. ” Juanita continues: “I noticed that you tend to get stressed out when things don’t go smoothly, and it seems to paralyze you instead of focusing you to work faster. That’s a problem because we’re facing lots of out-of-the-ordinary situations at the moment. I think you would be better off accepting this as the new normal and not letting it bother you. ” Tess: “What does that really mean? And how do you know I could work faster? I think I’m working as fast as I can—unless you want me to sacrifice quality and accuracy. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Apply What You’ve Learned Part 4 Juanita: “No, of course I don’t want that. ” Tess: “And how do you know anyway? Where’s your proof that I get slower? ” Juanita: “Well, you used to meet every deadline and now I hear you complaining a lot about striving to meet your deadlines. ” Tess: “But I have been meeting them. ” Juanita: “Hang on. Somehow I got off track because I’m trying to figure out how to help you and we just seem to be disagreeing over differing perceptions. ” Juanita continues: “So let me go back to my original intention. I want to make things easier for you if possible. You’re a valuable employee and I want to minimize your frustration during this demanding time. ” Tess: “Thanks. I appreciate that. Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you if I think of how you can help. ”
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Questions to Consider 1. What style is Mike? What style is Tess? What evidence supports your answers? 2. How can Juanita adjust her style with Mike and Tess to maximize her effectiveness when communicating with them? 3. Think about the skills to improve understanding: reflection and inquiry. Did Juanita exhibit these behaviors? If not, what did she do wrong and what could she do differently next time? 4. Juanita gave feedback to Tess. What did she do well, not so well, and how could she improve for the future? Review the ideas and suggested answers provided on the following slides.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers 1. What style is Mike? What style is Tess? What evidence supports your answers? • Mike is a Socializer. The evidence: He‘s optimistic and likes to interact with people and be creative (“I really enjoy coming up with unexpected ways to solve their problems”). He thinks people are more important than deadlines (“I don’t know why [meeting deadlines is]. . . more important than making our customers happy”). • Tess is a Thinker. The evidence: She likes order and stability (“Tess handles the deadlines —unless something unexpected comes up”). She wants evidence and data to support your ideas and opinions. She needs time to think (“Let me think about it. . . ”).
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers Part 2 2. How can Juanita adjust her style with Mike and Tess to maximize her effectiveness when communicating with them? • With Mike, Juanita needs to show support for his ideas. She expressed her appreciation for his customer service skills, but she dismissed his idea of helping more customers, leaving him feeling unappreciated and unmotivated. • With Tess, Juanita needs to offer her ideas and feedback in a precise way, backed up with factual evidence. She was too direct with Tess, she needs to be patient and allow Tess time to process the information.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers Part 3 3. Think about the skills to improve understanding: reflection and inquiry. Did Juanita exhibit these behaviors? If not, what did she do wrong and what could she do differently next time? • This area was perhaps Juanita’s biggest downfall. Although she went into each meeting with positive intentions to help, she wasn’t listener-centered and ended up sounding like she was criticizing Mike and Tess instead of supporting them. When she asked how she could help, she seemed to ignore their answers. She didn’t appear to try to understand their point of view and instead pushed her own perspective on them. • The main thing she should do differently is to ask more questions and listen carefully.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You CASE STUDY—Suggested Answers Part 4 4. Juanita gave feedback to Tess. What did she do well, not so well, and how could she improve for the future? • Juanita did a good job of ending on a positive, encouraging note. • Juanita had a positive motive for giving feedback, but she didn’t come prepared with details and data to support her suggestions for performance improvement. She was direct with Tess, saying “. . . accept this as the new normal and not let it bother you” which isn’t helpful to a Thinker and in fact even frustrates them. Tess asked for proof for Juanita’s opinion that Tess got slower under stress and Juanita didn’t have any. • The feedback probably would have gone better if Juanita had sought to understand Tess’ thought process and strategies she uses when stressed at work. This would have opened dialog about the obstacles Tess perceives and they could have discussed possible options for dealing with them.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Congratulations! By now you should be able to: • Identify the qualities of an effective leader. • Make the mental shift from individual productivity to influencing others. • Recognize style differences in others and cater to their preferences. • Build rapport using verbal and nonverbal messages. • Conduct constructive one-on-ones. • Give positive and negative feedback to different styles. • Develop individual motivation approaches for employees. • Facilitate a meeting effectively.
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You Appendix
Adapting Your Leadership Style: The Four Behavior Styles and How to Make Them Work for You © 2012 HRDQ. All rights reserved. Published by HRDQ and the HRDQ logo are registered trademarks of Organization Design and Development, Inc. This publication is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Reproducible Content End User License Agreement (EULA). For specific details, visit www. hrdq. com/legal. For more information about this publication or to order additional copies, please contact the HRDQ Customer Service Team by phone at 610 -279 -2002 or by email at custserv@hrdq. com. For more information about HRDQ products, visit www. hrdq. com. ISBN 978 -1 -58854 -422 -3 Title slide image: EDHAR/Shutterstock. com. Images used under license from Shutterstock. com. Microsoft®, Word®, Power. Point®, and Outlook® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 2750 E 1 AYS EN-01 -NV-18
- Slides: 71