Social Style

What Is Social Style?

Developed by the TRACOM Group, the social style model categorizes people according to personality traits and how they interact with others. Organizations use these models to enhance communication and collaboration among team members.

Behavior studies like social style are important because the information can help improve relationships and performance. By learning from the cues in a workplace, workers can be more informed about not only their own selves but others as well.

Understanding Social Style

The social style model can also be used to determine the types of roles employees would be best- and/or worst-suited to fill based on their interpersonal interactions. Think of it as a way to avoid trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole or vise versa. That time-consuming practice can result in poor performance and awkward relationships simply because a person's specific traits were not considered when adding them to a team or putting them into a managerial role that doesn't suit their style. Figuring out the best position for each employee is crucial to success. The bottom line is this behavioral model is primarily designed to link the appropriate role to the best candidate.

The social style examines where individuals fall on a cardinal scale, with two opposing points being "controls/emotes" that measure assertiveness and "tells/asks" that gauge how responsive or vocal the individual is. The grid created by these four characteristics determines the social style:

For example, most managers fall into the Driving category, while those in human resources tend toward Amiable. Using the same logic, technicians and computer experts are mostly Analytical, while writers and graphic artists lean toward being Expressive.

Knowing which social style you fall into and determining which fits the people you work with will help improve communication and efficiency among team members.

Uses for the Social Style Model

Identifying another individual's social style can provide a salesperson with a wealth of information about certain aspects of that individual's life. A car salesman paying attention to a customer's behavior around certain models of sports cars compared to sedans, for example, may lead him to believe that the customer prefers speed over accessibility or size. The customer may become agitated or exhibit excited behavior toward an accompanying friend when near a red convertible, but seem listless near a blue four door.