Emma is a warm,
friendly type of person, sympathetic to others and open to their
ideas and feelings. She is interested in developing strong interpersonal
ties with those around her, and can find it harder to work in environments
where she feels unable to do this. She is reliable and loyal, especially
to those she considers her close friends. A consequence of her amiable,
receptive approach is that she will wish to avoid causing offence
to others, and this can lead to her being reluctant to complain or
stand up for her own rights. She is not a particularly motivated
individual, and will tend to rely on other people to encourage her
towards completion of specific tasks.
Advantages
- Warmth and a positive approach to other people
are the main advantages of this candidate's style. She interacts
well with others, and is capable of striking up strong and lasting
relationships. Unlike many communicative profiles, she possesses
listening abilities as well, and others find her comforting and supportive
in times of need.
Disadvantages
- When faced with an urgent deadline, or the need
to respond quickly to a demanding situation, Emma will find it difficult
to respond appropriately. While she works reliably in less pressured
situations, the demands of more critical circumstances of this kind
are exceedingly difficult for her to cope with effectively. The fact
that she is a relatively effective communicator tends to obscure
a further weakness of her style, her lack of competitiveness and
assertiveness. This feature can be a positive one in some environments,
but it does mean that she will tend to be rather dependent on other
people if she is to achieve results.
Communication Style
- Undemanding and open to other people, Emma has
a friendly style with a real interest in others' ideas and feelings.
She will tend to base her responses on emotional considerations,
but this is not to say that she is impulsive in style. On the contrary,
she is patient with others and, in addition to her general social
ability, she is a capable listener. Because she responds on an emotional
level, as opposed to the more pragmatic and rational approach of
some other profiles, she tends to judge others on first appearances.
Where she develops close ties, whether in a work situation or in
a more general sense, she can be expected to show considerable loyalty,
and be prepared to expend effort to maintain the relationship. Emma's
current attempt to present herself as less reliant on others' views
may impact on her communication style. The main apparent change from
her natural approach will be a slightly more assertive stance on
issues that she sees as important.
Decision Making
- Emma has a social and amiable style, considerate
of the views and feelings of others, and her decision making process
is no exception to this. It is a priority for her to ensure that
any decisions she might make will have minimal negative effects on
her colleagues or other individuals. Because she bases many of her
judgements on her personal feelings, she will need to exercise care
to check further when making particularly important decisions. Emma's
present behavioural adaptation shows that she will be willing to
take a greater amount of the decision making process herself, without
reference to others. This factor is far less applicable to her natural
decision making style, however, and she will ultimately prefer to
consult with others before reaching a final conclusion. The increases
in Emma's self-confidence and general sociability in her work environment
are probably due to factors unrelated to decision making. Nonetheless,
her behavioural adaptation can be expected to have an effect on her
decision making style. As a candidate emphasizes their more extrovert
side (as in Emma's case), they naturally place less importance on
questions of accuracy and precision, and this means that their decisions
will be based more on an instinctive appraisal of a situation than
on careful research.
Organization and Planning
- Formality and rigid structure can be quite stifling
for an individual of Emma's kind, and she tends to work better in
a more open environment in which less control is placed on her actions.
Hence, she is not a natural planner, although on an individual basis
she does possess some ability to think before acting. Emma's planning
skills will be affected by her current behavioural shifts, which
are emphasizing a more independent, direct approach at the expense
of caution and forethought. If organization and planning are an important
part of her present work, this situation can be expected to change
over time. The indications in Emma's behavioural adaptation suggest
that organization and planning are not an important part of her current
work. Indeed, she is accentuating confidence and social ability at
the expense of her more accurate, cautious side, which suggests that,
under ideal circumstances, she may be a more effective planner than
the above comments suggest.
Motivation
- Emma's demonstrates a wide range of positive elements,
but one weakness is her inability to deal well with pressure and
conflict. She finds aggressiveness and confrontation extremely uncomfortable,
and will thus prefer to work in a calm and positive environment,
where her ideas will be accepted and considered by her colleagues,
and the need for direct and assertive action is minimize. Emma's
work seems to be demanding a more independent attitude from her at
present, and this may suggest that she has little need for the support
of others. In fact, her underlying style looks for at least a measure
of help and attention from her colleagues. Under present circumstances,
Emma appears to be adapting her behaviour to present a more outgoing
and confident style than is in fact the case. Because of this, she
may appear to need little in the way of support or structure. It
must be emphases that her present sociable style is due to her behavioural
adaptation, and not to her natural style. In fact, given the freedom
to revert to her more naturally structured and careful nature, she
will require greater clarification of her role if she is to perform
effectively.
Managing Style
- Emma will tend to see the manager's role mainly
in terms of her relationships with members of her team. She takes
time and trouble to engender an open, positive environment, and her
staff will normally find her approachable and friendly. She will,
whenever possible, avoid becoming involved in confrontation with
others, and this can reduce her effectiveness as a manager if she
is working in a high-pressure situation. Emma's strong and independent
management style is likely to be at least partially due to her present
behavioural adaptation. This suggests that she feels it necessary
to show a greater willingness to accept personal responsibility,
and to act unsupported by her own management. In Emma's case, her
relaxed, open management style is a reaction to her understanding
of the organizations needs, or may alternatively reflect her view
of the most effective way to manage her staff. In either case, it
should be noted that it is not her preferred approach to management
- in fact, she is more attuned to a rather formal, structured management
style.
Style of Management Required
- A lack of assertiveness is the most important
factor of Emma's style for a manager to consider. She possesses strong
communication and planning skills, but when faced with high pressure
or other problems, she often finds it difficult to adopt the confrontational
and determined attitude necessary to resolve such situations. For
this reason, she will look to her manager to aid her when dealing
with such difficulties. If she seems to need little management support
at present, this is because Emma is emphasizing her independent side.
Possible reasons for this may even include the fact that she is not
receiving sufficient support from her manager, or may simply be due
to the specific requirements of her current working conditions. Nonetheless,
her need for consultation and certainty are real, and her performance
will improve if she feels that these are available. The indications
of Emma's profile are that, while it may appear unnecessary at present,
she will in fact benefit considerably if her manager takes the time
to discuss and clarify her role. More specifically, she will work
more effectively if she feels that she can bring apparently minor
problems to her manager for guidance. While she may presently appear
quite confident, she will also value support from management in terms
of presenting her ideas or results
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