Some people are very direct in their work style; impatient, abrupt and sometimes intolerant, so how do we work with them?…
A Direct person in work can be described as someone who is very driven; makes quick decisions and makes decisions easily; they tend to be impatient with time and when there is work to be done they focus on it and will not be distracted with chat, gossip or anything which delays the achievement of the objective. They hate to be late. They are not all insensitive but many of them do come across in this way. They are result oriented and once a decision is made they prefer to act on it immediately.
So how do we work with them? Here are some tips:
- It’s not you; (well it may not be) direct people tend to be direct with everyone, so we need not take it personally.
- They are not angry just direct. Many of us might describe them as being grumpy or surly or aggressive. They may well be, but this could also be our emotional interpretation of their behaviour. Just because they do not want to chat or build a relationship does not necessarily mean they are aggressive grumps.
- Be direct with them. Being more like them will help communications.
- Be more direct than them! This can be fun if a little risky.
- Prepare well so that you know what you are going to say.
- Know your objective for any communication.
- Don’t dither, get straight to the point.
- Be direct in your body language = strong eye contact, stand or sit straight, shoulders facing them, walk quickly, start quickly, end quickly.
- If you’re not sure don’t make it up, say ‘I need to check and will get back to you.”
With direct people it’s a lot to with how you communicate and being more direct like them very often works well.
The strange thing in communicating with direct people is that the more direct we are with them the more Social and friendly they become.
These ideas are taken from ITD’s Work Style Model.
If you have stories of working with Direct people please write below by clicking on ‘no comments’.