PeopleSmart in Business eBook - The Platinum Rule

Which style is most adaptable?
No one style is naturally more adaptable than another. For a given
situation, the strategic adjustments each behavioral style makes will
vary. Th e decision to employ specifi c techniques of behavioral adaptability
is made on a case-by-case basis. You can choose to be adaptable
with one person and not with another. You can also choose to be
quite adaptable with one person today and less with that same person
tomorrow. Behavioral adaptability concerns the way you manage your
own communication and behaviors. It also involves how you manage
the requirements that exist for a task or situation—whether other
people are involved or not.
For example, when an Interacting Socializer works with a Cautious
Th inker on a common task, one of the ways she can practice behavioral
adaptability is by talking less, listening more, and focusing on
the critical facts. Behavioral adaptability means adjusting your own
behavior to make other people feel more at ease with you and the situation.
You practice adaptability every time you slow down for a Cautious
Th inker or Steady Relater—or when you move a bit faster for
an Interacting Socializer or a Dominant Director. Adaptability occurs
when the Dominant Director or the Cautious Th inker takes the time
to listen to a human interest or family story told by an Interacting Socializer
or a Steady Relater.
The Adaptability Recipe
Adaptability is a phenomenon that has many characteristics. In fact,
formal research studies in which we have been involved have identifi
ed at least 10 such attributes of people who are highly adaptable and
10 characteristics of those who have lower adaptability—a total of 20
traits in all. Of course, no person is likely to be either totally adaptable
or non-adaptable. Instead, each of us possesses:
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