Two weeks ago, I attended an IIBA UK Chapter meeting where Michael Brown introduced us to social styles. We had to fill in a questionnaire, which told us whether we were Amicable, Expressive, Analytical or Drivers. Shaking my head, I wondered which consultants were overpaid to create another 4×4 matrix. But really, I’m a sucker for all these psychometric tests, and found the social style tool to be more interesting than I expected.
What’s your social style?
Based on research by psychologists Dr. David W Merrill and Roger Reid, with help from Dr. James W. Taylor, this tool assesses your assertiveness (whether you ‘ask’ or ‘tell’) and your responsiveness (whether you ‘control’ or ‘emote’) and puts you in one (or more) of the 4 boxes below.
Social Styles matrix
The analytical ones are precise and cool, but get bogged down in those pesky details – your typical techy. The drivers make things happen, but sometimes in an aggressive, bullying way. The expressives are great at drawing us in and selling the story – but will they stick to the story themselves? And the amicables – weak and wishy-washy, we try to make everyone happy.
Sure, I didn’t put the usual, positive spin on these categories, but you get the idea…
I could immediately identify people who fit into each of these categories. And not surprisingly, being an Amicable, the ones I find hardest to get along with are the Drivers – diagonally opposite, and most dissimilar to me.
So where do business analysts fit in?
Good question… surely they are Analytical – I mean, it’s in their job title! But then, they often have to organise people and get things done, so perhaps they are Drivers. Some might use their convincing Expressive skills to get buy-in. But a rough survey of the room told us that the majority were Amicables.
This really does make sense when you think about it. Contrary to popular belief, a business analyst’s main job is to communicate (oh, I do like to harp on about this 
. Not to draw pictures or write documents, but to communicate. And for this you need to be people-oriented. You can’t often use force or power to get stakeholders to bend to your will.
Does this grid really help?
For me, when I gain an understanding of different ways people think, it helps me to work with them better, often because I realise why we’ve been conflicting (apparently it’s not just because they’re an idiot). For Analyticals, be precise and build their trust. With Drivers, stick to the point and forget the small talk. With Expressives, go along with the big idea and fit yourself into it. And the Amicables… just remember to be nice to us!
