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Meet the Team Member - Party Animal Pete
As mentioned in the last issue of 5MI, this edition sees the start of a new series looking at different Insight team members (see description). Our characters are designed to portray different styles of behaviour, based on Robert Bolton and Dorothy Grover Bolton’s book, ‘People Styles at Work’.
The style
This book maps out four inter-personal styles, which will vary according to a person’s relative assertiveness and responsiveness. The four broad categories of team members are: Expressers, Relaters, Analysers and Drivers. Over the next few issues, we will be looking at a couple of examples from each of these groups. Please remember that each broad group has its own strengths and weaknesses and no style should be seen as superior to any of the others. If they can work well together, the best teams will have representatives of all four styles.
This month, we are looking at Party Animal Pete, who is an example of an Expresser. Expressers are faster paced but people-focused. They tend to be visionary and creative, and animated when they speak. They must be careful not to overpower others.
The substance
Pete is spontaneous, fun and great company. He’s outgoing and the life and soul of the party. He’s full of ideas and enthusiasm and tends to take a lead in meetings. On a good day, people get caught up in his enthusiasm, and this is great for morale.
However, there are times when not everybody is on his wavelength. Some of the problems with Pete are that:
- He doesn\'t realise that some people find him rather overpowering
- Other people can think that he’s all talk and no action
- There is a danger that he isn’t always taken seriously, and this could clearly be a limiting factor in his career
How can Pete flex his natural style so that he brings more of his colleagues along with him, whilst making sure that his natural creativity and enthusiasm isn’t wasted?
The solution
The main answer is that Pete just needs to be aware of his potential to overpower and out-talk everybody:
- He needs to pause for breath and make sure that he lets others get a word in edgeways.
- He needs to bring others into the conversation, to encourage them to speak up, and to make sure that he actually listens to them. This will take both practice and patience.
- He needs to appreciate that even his quieter and more serious colleagues have something valuable to contribute.
Party Animal Pete should adopt the motto of remembering that you have ‘two ears but only one mouth’ – and you should therefore spend twice as much time listening as talking!
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