Driving Style and Coaching

In last month’s Progress Matters we discussed how being aware of your own behavioural style and that of your employees can help create more productive relationships and result in positive outcomes in your workplace. TRACOM’S Social Style model identifies four behavioural styles – Driving, Expressive, Amiable and Analytical.

No matter what your Style, your behaviour can have a tangible impact on the people you are coaching.  By understanding how others see your behaviour, you will be able to control your Style preferences that can get in the way of effective communication.

Driving Style
This month we will take a brief look at Driving Style coaches and what they need to be aware of about themselves to improve outcomes when engaging   in coaching activities.

People with a Driving Style appear to know what they want and seem to display little difficulty expressing their conclusions about anything that concerns them.  Their slogan might be ‘Let’s get it done and get it done now’.

If you have a Driving Style, the people you coach see you as direct and assertive.  You might come across as indifferent and pushy, and in coaching conversations others might see you as too directive and unwilling to listen to their ideas.

Reflection/Awareness/Opportunity
Driving Style people will need to be patient with the people they are coaching; you will need to give people an opportunity to tell you what is on their mind and listen carefully.  Remember, some people may need to be prompted to express their opinions, so it’s usually a good idea to ask questions. 

Show interest in the people you’re coaching, especially in terms of their professional goals.  Keep in mind that their career goals might be different
from your own, so you will need to be open to their areas of interest.

You might not listen as effectively as you should when coaching others.           If you push for your own ideas and solutions without adequately listening and extracting the ideas of others, you risk not getting the support of the people you coach.

Slow down your delivery and prepare to spend extra time during coaching sessions.  Give people plenty of opportunity to express themselves, listen carefully and paraphrase what you have heard.

Next month we will discover opportunities for Expressive Style coaches.

If you would like to find out more about Social Styles and how we can help you Progress further simply go to our website www.progress.com.au or    email janelle@progress.com.au or call 0411 358 333.

You can’t stop Progress!

Janelle Nisbet
Managing Director