Master Builders of Iowa

Each person has his or her own style of communicating and leading. As a leader in your company and a person versed in HR skills you need to know about styles and the impact of those styles on different worker personalities.  Do you know your communication style? There are a lot of tests to determine style of communication, and if you are to be an effective leader you cannot miss this chance for some real insight.
Once you understand your own communication style, you can start working on how to use it to effectively bring out the best in your own employees, and to bring out the best in yourself. 

The teller-yeller is a style that issues orders and makes decisions without concern if there is buy-in by others. This style can be very effective in a structured and disciplined environment or where a company suffers from mass confusion. It can also lead to quick decisions and direction. It is often evidenced by strong words and loud pronouncements, i.e. the teller is often the yeller. A few observations on this style;

1. It does not always play well with a younger generation, which accepts less structure than a generation that grew up in a different era where structure and discipline were the norm.
2. It often fails to get the best in-put and creative thinking from the workforce as they are often intimidated by the style;
3. It seldom gets the total commitment of the workforce as they have little in-put into the decision;
4. It will totally fail when it hits a passive-aggressive personality. This personality will passively work for the failure of the endeavor.
5. It will be resisted by those who feel teamwork is essential to any project

There is a time and place for the teller-yeller and this method of communication, just be careful to not overuse this style. 

The leader by love is a style that gets people to do things because they want to for praise from their leader. This style gets people to be concerned with their co-workers well being and their leaders desires. A few thoughts on this style:

1. It fails when a hard message must be delivered; as the message is so honey coated it cannot be recognized or digested.
2. Not everyone can pull this style off without being read as weak, insincere or phony;
3. It does not fit every job; who wants a lovable lawyer.
4. It does not quickly aid people in changing habits and traits that are destine to make them fail in the company
5. It can lessen the stress in a workplace;
6. It can bring out the best in people who need confidence, who need a gentle hand to guide them, and who freak out at the sometimes harsh style of the teller

Leading by love has its place, but only a few can recognize and use this style without being labeled as the company wimp.

The seller is a style that I think leads best and is usually the most effective. This style requires that the user get significant in-put before announcing a decision and leading. This is called buy-in. This style lets people feel they have had a hand in the direction and process regarding a decision, even if the feeling is only an illusion. This style requires a lot of thought ahead of time as the outcome often needs to be predetermined in order to sell people on the desired direction. If this is not done the method comes off as confusing and the user gets labeled as a scatterbrain who cannot make a decision without a popularity poll. This style requires a lot of time as well as good communication and listening skills. It also requires the user to understand that communication with different people require different methods. This style works best when you have an open mind, as you will find that the process often unearths some real gems from unexpected places.

Don’t confuse this process as a popularity poll. Ultimately the buck must stop at the top with a clear direction or this process fails.