PeopleSmart in Business eBook - The Platinum Rule

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Four: Creating Personal Power Through Behavioral Adaptability
the other person’s preference. At the same time, it means maintaining
your own identity and good sense. You modify your spots.
So does that mean that Cautious Th inkers prefer the company of
Cautious Th inkers and that the other types prefer people who share
their type? Yes and no. Two clichés apply. Birds of a feather fl ock together,
and Opposites attract. Dominant Directors may personally admire
other Dominant Directors like themselves for their accomplishments
and success rates, but prefer to be more guarded with them at
work in order to maintain their own power and authority.
Cautious Th inkers may appreciate Interacting Socializers for their
joy of life, but steer clear of them at work because of their imprecision.
Interacting Socializers may enjoy Cautious Th inkers for their command
of matters of interest to them, but may stay aloof at work because
of the Cautious Th inkers’ desired perfectionism. Steady Relaters
and Dominant Directors may also admire each other’s qualities or feel
alienated by them. So what’s a person to do?
Remember that the willingness to try behaviors not necessarily
characteristic of your type is called behavioral adaptability. It is not
the same as your behavioral type. No members of any type corner
the market on adaptability. No style is naturally more adaptable than
another. In other words, Steady Relaters as a group are no more adaptable
than Interacting Socializers, Dominant Directors, or Cautious
Th inkers (and vice versa).
Your adaptability level aff ects the way other people perceive you.
Raise your adaptability and you’ll discover trust and credibility go up;
lower it, and they go down. Behavioral adaptability means adjusting
your behavior to allow others to be more at ease, encouraged, and successful
in your relationship.