PeopleSmart in Business eBook - The Platinum Rule

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Th e dimensions that determine type—Direct/Indirect and Guarded/Open—have
their own innate strengths and weaknesses. In fact,
the strengths are closely allied to the weaknesses—the strengths taken
to an extreme. Th e Direct-Guarded type can become overbearing
when he pushes persistence too hard. Similarly, the Direct-Open
type may turn manipulative; the Indirect-Open type, wishy-washy; or
the Indirect-Guarded type, unreachable. Th ese and other positive or
negative characteristics shade the actions of all four types. Individuals
representing all four may have the same assignment, but use diff erent
approaches. If a monthly report is due, one type may keep a dayby-day
journal (Indirect-Guarded), another may delegate the work
(Direct-Guarded), another may prefer completing it with a co-worker
(Indirect-Open), and yet another may prefer to pull an all- nighter to
complete it at the last minute (Direct-Open).
By now, you know how to recognize the four core types by observing
environmental clues and external behaviors. Th e four combinations
we’ve just discussed—Direct/Guarded, or Dominant Director;
Direct/Open, or Interacting Socializer; Indirect/Open, or Steady Relater;
and Indirect/Guarded, or Cautious Th inker—all behave diff erently
from each other in various situations. Whether at home, work,
a social activity, or in a romantic encounter, they all naturally act
true to their own type. It’s their attempts to fi ll their type’s needs
and expectations. By acting themselves, they show their true core
behavioral colors.
In the next chapter, Adaptability, you’ll read about getting along
with all the behavioral types in their natural, and less natural, life environments.
You’ll learn how to have more productive relationships
with people of all types.
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