Behavioral Styles, and These Can Have an

¶ … behavioral styles, and these can have an impact on a workplace. They have been outlined on a grid of responsiveness vs. assertiveness. A low assertiveness/high responsiveness person is "analytical"; a high assertive/high responsive person is a "driver"; a high assertive/low responsive is euphemistically known as "expressive" while low assertive/low responsive dubbed "amiable" (Levit, 2013). As a manager, these different styles are going to be seen in the workplace.

They explain how people will behave in the workplace, so it is important to be aware of these behavioral differences, and what they mean for the individual in question. They provide a framework for understanding individual behavior, and allow the manager to have a sense of what to expect from someone. These behavioral styles are also important in that the manager can have a better sense of how to motivate people, if they understand their basic behavioral styles, and the manager might also need this information when conducting conflict resolution. 2.

In a small company, employees are more likely to deal with each other frequently. A small company usually requires more teamwork, because jobs are less specialized -- people have to pitch in where needed more often, and this brings people into more frequent contact with each other (Root, 2014). Thus, it might be expected that in a small company, personality and behavioral styles are more important. People are more likely to get into conflict, and because the company is small that conflict could manifest on a daily basis.

It is therefore important that managers are aware of the behavioral styles, and how those might turn into conflict. When you are dealing with your fellow employees, it is important to consider that those relationships are an ongoing thing, and therefore it is better to be aware of the differences, and work with those. Or, alternately, in a small company it might be that the manager wants to fill jobs with people who have similar styles, as a means of minimizing conflict.

In smaller companies, a cultural fit is almost as important as technical ability in finding new hires. Some larger companies, like Google or Zappos have made cultural fit an important element in their hiring. When you are dealing with others in a small company where people are responsive, the last thing you need are amiable but ineffective people, are the expressive people who talk a lot but do nothing -- you need responsive people.

So companies always should focus on cultural fit, especially in a small company where people work closely all the time. 3. It can be challenging dealing with a customer who is of a different communication style. I would classify myself as low assertiveness/high responsiveness. The responsiveness is obviously good for customer service, and because of that I am adept at dealing with most customer types pretty well. I have held jobs where I was favored by some very difficult customers, because they liked my calm ability to handle difficult demands.

But at the same time, I do not deal well with the high assertive/low responsive type. I see this type as being rude and ill-formed, talking before thinking, and I do not deal well with that sort of thing. At the risk of putting too many metaphors in the blender, I can't talk a drama queen down from the cliff. This definitely poses some.