Social Styles from Wilson Learning–Leading provider of Social Style Training & Developement

In every organization, there is a hidden diversity—the diversity of Social Styles. Leveraging Social Style differences can lead to more effective collaboration, improved relationships, and greater productivity and business results. Recognizing others’ Social Style preferences and adjusting to them results in more efficient communication, and increases one’s ability to persuade and influence others. Wilson Learning’s program, Building Relationship Versatility: Social Styles at Work (BRV), provides participants with results-oriented Versatility skills that enable them to work more effectively with others. Individuals learn how to build productive relationships, handle conflict, and create more focused and productive teams. Improving Versatility reduces tension in relationships and enables people to focus efficiently on the task and work to be done

Social Styles and the Wilson Learning Social Style Profile are tools that help people understand their own preferences, see how other people perceive them in the workplace, and learn skills to adapt to others’ Social Styles. Wilson Learning has accumulated research data from over seven million people; this data demonstrates that measurements of the three principal dimensions of Social Style—assertiveness, responsiveness, and Versatility—hold up across cultures and sales audiences worldwide.

Assertiveness: The way in which a person is perceived as attempting to influence the thoughts and actions of others. People differ in how they attempt to influence others; some tend to be more “Ask Assertive” while others tend to be more “Tell Assertive.”

Responsiveness: The way in which a person is perceived as expressing feelings in communicating with others. Some people tend to prefer focusing initial communications on tasks (task-directed), while others prefer to focus on the people working on the task (people-directed).

Versatility: The ability to adapt one’s behavior to the concerns and expectations of others in order to create productive relationships; the key skill emerging from the BRV program. People who are more versatile are better able to communicate with others, have more success, and are more productive.

The four Social Styles—Analytical, Driver, Amiable, and Expressive—can be clearly and consistently identified within and across multiple cultures.

For more than 25 years Wilson Learning has offered its Social Style model as a way of examining business behaviors. Since its inception, seven million respondents from six continents, 30 countries, and 15 different language and culture groups have completed the Social Style Profile instrument that is part of Social Style training.

Without exception, a person’s Social Style has been found to be a meaningful and practical tool for understanding and improving cross-cultural business relationships. Social Style technology enhances working relationships and speeds the way toward cohesive, goal-oriented interactions. Individuals move beyond interpersonal differences more quickly and set their sights on end results more rapidly.

More about our Social Style Technology

Social Style is based on observations of individual behaviors within the context of interpersonal business relationships. Individuals’ knowledge of Social Style, both their own and that of other team members, helps them communicate more effectively with others and interpret business actions that they observe. Wilson Learning’s measures of the two principal dimensions of Social Style—assertiveness and responsiveness—have been found to be independent, allowing the construction of a matrix that can be used to categorize perceptions that people have of themselves and others. The “social” aspects of style have to do with perceptions originating within the context of interpersonal communication. The repetitive pattern of communication that a person uses to communicate to and with others constitutes his or her “style.”

Within and across multiple cultures, each style represents a discernible pattern of assertiveness and responsiveness when observed by others. Regardless of cultural differences, these similar patterns of behavior are observable wherever people communicate with one another. While the distribution of the four styles may be affected by culture, there is clear empirical evidence that within any one culture or any one language system there are four Social Styles that can be measured by perceptions of assertiveness and responsiveness.

Versatility

Versatility is the ability to adapt one’s behavior to the concerns and expectations of others in order to create productive relationships. A highly versatile individual is adaptable to people with other Social Styles. Any Social Style can be limited in or excel in Versatility.

A person’s Social Style represents a pattern of behavior that is not easily changed, but Versatility is a learned skill. In extensive research we have shown the impact of improved Versatility skills. Among the findings:

• High Versatility skills contributed significantly to a salesperson’s ability to increase revenue and market share.
• Improving the Versatility skills of sales managers improved their coaching skills and subsequently increased the revenue generated by their sales group.
• Managers with high Versatility skills have more satisfied employees and are rated higher on a number of performance outcomes.
• Training in Versatility is successful in increasing the Versatility skills of salespeople, managers, and customer service representatives.

Wilson Learning has always been a leader in researching and advancing the theory and practice of Social Style training. Wilson Learning was the first to:

• Provide a multi-rater (360-degree) feedback version of the Social Style Profile
• Include a measure of Versatility on the Social Style Profile
• Use video in training salespeople and managers
• Develop an online Social Style learning program

Wilson Learning continues to conduct research to prove that, through training, people can improve their Versatility, and we have done in-depth research on how people express their Versatility. As a result, our latest Social Style programs include three new advances:

• We have introduced the Versatile Response model. This model helps people understand the process of Versatility so they can more easily learn the skills of adapting their behavior to others.
• We have added Versatility skills to the Social Style Profile report, giving people a more detailed understanding of the behavior they have to modify to be more versatile.
• We have introduced application guidelines for how to show Versatility in specific leadership situations, such as during performance reviews, in team meetings, or when resolving conflict.