Managing Sticky Situations at Work

Chapter 2Personality OverlayAtthisstageweunderstandtheSIJRModel,andwehaveobservedhow it works. We are now ready to apply it to sticky situations. Holdon! If we faced cardboard people every day, who always acted the sameway, we could apply the SIJR Model right now. Unfortunately (somemay say fortunately) people are different. These differences requirethat we not only understand what to say and how to say it, but alsoto whom we are saying it.Crowley and Elster in Working with YouIs Killing Me handle thisproblem nicely. They describe seven different personalities and suggestideas about what to do when faced with these different people. 1According to the first of the Three C’s we cannot change the otherperson. We must, therefore, adjust our style whenever we face a differentpersonality. Crowley and Elster come from this orientation. Theysuggest ideas about how to ‘‘unhook’’ from the bad place these personalitiesput us in and regain control. 2PERSONALITY OVERLAY DEFINEDThe Three C’s comprise the foundation to the SIJR Model, and theDecision Points provide the framework. The Personality Overlay