Nearly 50 years of research by the TRACOM
group has revealed that people operate with four distinct ways of interaction, or SOCIAL STYLES. A brief explanation of each
style is detailed by following the links below;
There are three elements that make up the TRACOM
Profiles, ASSERTIVENESS, RESPONSIVENESS and VERSATILITY
VERSATILITY - This is the key to making SOCIAL STYLE
work and is the ability to adjust your behaviour in various situations to achieve increased performance. This concept developed
by TRACOM, is similar to the popular Emotional Intelligence theories. (See Comparing Versatility to Emotional Intelligence.). It is important to remember that versatility is not about changing who you are, it's about genuinely
meeting the needs of others, more than your own and a desire to work well with other people.
Flexibility, responsiveness and adaptability are seen as
important qualities and versatile individuals make adjustments to their behaviour by determining the SOCIAL STYLES of others
and how they would prefer to be communicated with, building positive relationships based on trust. By completing a self-assessment
or multi-rater assessment instrument, individuals receive low, medium or high Versatility ratings. This score creates a generalisation
about how you will handle the tension of interpersonal relationships. Are your actions typically focused on your own comfort
level, or are you concerned about the tension your behavior can create in others?
Research shows that people with high Versatility
outperform their lower-Versatility counterparts across a broad spectrum of performance measures. (See the TRACOM Managerial Success Study.) Research shows that people consider four basic elements when determining an individual's Versatility.
IMAGE - Dress, grooming and appearance can be critical to making good first impressions. It’s not necessarily
how well you’re dressed, but whether you’re appropriate for the situation. You may lose as much credibility wearing
a suit to a company social outing as wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a board meeting.
PRESENTATION - Our ability
to verbally communicate with others is vital as people are more likely to trust us if we present clear, well-organised ideas
and use vocabulary that is appropriate to the situation.
COMPETENCE - Obviously showing competence and understanding
in your work will help you gain respect, however it is also important to recognise what others are interested in, and be able
to discuss those topics. The ability to listen and learn helps to build common ground, leading to mutual productivity.
FEEDBACK - In this two-way process, people send and receive both verbal and non-verbal signals to gain mutual understanding.
It is vital to make sure you are clear in your communication and sensitive to the signals of others in order to minimise any
chance of confusion.
