What Is Social Style?

The Social Style model categorizes people according to personality traits and how they interact. Organizations use these models to enhance communication and collaboration among team members. Social Style is a trademarked program developed by the TRACOM Group, a workforce training and consulting company.

Individual Traits

The Social Style model can determine the types of roles employees would be best or worst suited to fill based on their interpersonal interactions. Figuring out the best position for each employee is crucial to success. This behavioral model lin𒁃ks the appropriate role to t𒆙he best candidate.

The Social Style model examines where individuals fall along a 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:

• Analytical: Control/Ask—This person is serious and calculating.
• Driving: Control/Tell—This person likes to be in charge and is emotionally under control.
• Expressive: Emote/Tell—This person is an extrovert or creative.
• Amiable: Emote/Ask—This person is friendly, a team player, and easygoing.

Using the Social Style Method

The TRACOM Group offers training on business development, team orientation, leadership development, and project management based on social style.

Many managers may fall into the "Driving" category, while those in human resources departments may tend toward "Amiable." Technicians and software developers may be considered "Analytical," while writers or marketing managers may lean toward "Expressive."

Identifying another individual's social style can provide insight into behavioral patterns. A car salesman will pay close attention to a customer's behavior around sports cars compared to sedans. Signals are sent that make the salesperson believe that the customer prefers speed over accessibility or size.

The Bottom Line

The Social Style model is one method of analyzing the behavior of individuals in groups. It studies behavior in the workplace a𝓀nd how relationships can benefit when each individual in the gr🍷oup is understood.