People Styles at Work ... And Beyond

People Problems

Everyone thinks, makes decisions, handles emotions, manages stress and deals with conflict differently. That is to be expected. However, some individual behavioral patterns can make it more difficult to build rapport, persuade others and communicate.

“Understanding Yourself and Others”

Humans divide into four different “people styles.” No single style is superior or inferior, and no style predicts success or failure. Using the “people styles model” allows you to consider probabilities; people are usually predictable, but not always. This model is based on industrial psychologist David Merrill’s research about behavioral differences in the early 1960s.

Observing individual degrees of assertiveness and responsiveness is useful for identifying people’s styles because these traits are pervasive and enduring.

Assertive Characteristics

Assertiveness is how much other people are likely to see someone’s behavior “as being forceful or directive.” Think of assertiveness as a continuum – half the population will be less assertive and half the population will be more assertive. While you may associate assertiveness with aggression...