To be effective managers, we need to be able to adapt to the needs of those with whom we are working. The roles we take as managers directly impact the outcomes of our interactions with our staff, sales associates, and customers. Before we can successfully assist others, we must first understand our own behavioral style, recognize the style(s) being used by the other parties involved in the process, and then select a style that is best suited to achieving an acceptable outcome.

To determine your particular behavioral style, answer each of the ten questions below. This inventory assesses your preferred behavioral style as well as familiarizing you with the most common behavior patterns that you will observe in your staff, agents, and clients.

For each question below, select the one statement that best characterizes your response to the situation.

1. Two agents in your office are in a bitter dispute over a shared listing where there is no written partnership agreement. The company policy is that all partnership agreements must be in writing. The dispute will be resolved in a company mediation, but you would like to prevent similar types of disputes in the future. Which statement best describes how you would conduct your office meeting to prevent this type of dispute in the future?

a. You review the company rules and regulations regarding partnership agreements with limited discussion from the sales staff.

b. You distribute a detailed outline of the rules regarding partnership agreements. The outline focuses primarily upon company guidelines and the consequences for not following company policy.

c. You have the group discuss problems they have experienced personally when they did not have a partnership agreement and then lead the discussion on the most pertinent points.

d. You review your personal experiences with the company mediation process in partnership disputes. End the meeting with a group question and answer period.

2. One of your agents wants desperately to be liked. She regularly brings home baked cookies to the office, is eager to please, and has essentially become the office "mascot." She also has a high profile in at least five important charities. Unfortunately, her baking and charity work are keeping her from meeting your office minimum requirements for production. What do you do?

a. Explain to the agent that she must meet the company's production guidelines if she intends to stay with the company. Set up a specific schedule where you can personally observe that she is prospecting, taking call coordinator time, and doing regularly scheduled open houses.

b. Have the agent review the company's or an outside speaker's prospecting videos as well as observing two of the top prospecting agents in your office. If she still can't get started, then she should consider taking up charity work as a full time career.

c. Meet with the agent to explore why she's focusing on outside activities rather than work. Find out what, from her point of view, you can do to help her start meeting required production goals.

d. Meet with the agent and begin the meeting by letting her know how much you and the other people in the office really like and value her. Explain to her that she must meet company production goals or you and the entire office will be sorry to lose her.

e. Invite the agent to attend your regular prospecting training sessions. You will model the behavior and then assist her in mastering the techniques.

3. One of your agents is extremely disruptive. He screams at clients on the phone, is rude and demanding to the office staff, and ignores your requests to change his behavior. What would you do?

a. Meet with the agent to set specific ground rules on how he is to behave. The ground rules include speaking to all clients and staff in a polite, normal tone of voice. Inform the agent that you will monitor his behavior to make sure he is following your guidelines.

b. Meet with the agent, review his employment contract, and set forth his obligations for staying with the company. If the agent refuses to change, you will have to terminate him.

c. Interview the agent to determine why he is being so discourteous. Emphasize that you are available to assist him in dealing with client and staff problems if necessary.

d. Meet with the agent and tell him that he will have to work at home if he cannot alter his behavior. You are willing to have him in the office, but you will not tolerate his rude behavior.

4. A top producer you just recruited tells off color jokes and flirts to get attention. You feel his flirtatious behavior is inappropriate and fear it may create problems with some of the agents. What would you do?

a. Privately explain to the agent that his jokes and flirting are inappropriate in your office. Give him specific guidelines to follow so that he doesn't have problems in the future.

b. Ask the agent is he has had an opportunity to review the company policy on sexual harassment and to please avoid any further behavior that might be deemed "inappropriate."

c. Conduct an office meeting on sexual harassment in the workplace. Supplement the meeting with an article that defines sexual harassment and gives tips on how to avoid it.

d. Meet with the agent and explain that his jokes and flirting make you uncomfortable. Since you like him and sincerely appreciate his contributions to the office, you hope he takes your advice to heart. You are concerned, however, that if you feel offended, others may be too.

5. Your former top producer, has made virtually no money for almost a year. Her past clients seem to be stuck in their present properties, with the exception of an occasional death or divorce. Since the agent has excellent skills, you would like to help her shift her focus to finding new clients rather than relying on her present book of business. When you suggested she try working with some first time buyers, she just smiled and said, "You can't teach this old dog new tricks, but thanks for trying" What do you do?

a. Explain the simple facts of today's market to the agent, i.e., that if she continues to rely on her old clients, those agents who have adapted to the new market may force her out of the business. Give her as many guidelines as possible to move her in a new direction. If she cannot make the change, her financial circumstances may force her to look for another career.

b. Invite the agent in for a private role-play session with you. Once you have demonstrated the behavior and role-played it with her, she should be able to do it in the field.

c. Ask the agent what it is about developing new business that gives her the greatest cause for concern. Help her to overcome her fears through lots of coaching and positive reinforcement.

d. Take the reluctant agent out with you and another experienced agent who has made the transition to the new market. Once she realizes your personal commitment and sees someone she respects actively working on developing new business, maybe she will try it on her own.

6. A new agent in your office is the former owner-manager of a company your company recently acquired. The new agent has definite ideas how you should be run your office and is quite vocal. Unfortunately, many of his ideas are in direct conflict with company policy. What do you do?

a. Nicely tell the agent your management style is different from his. You would be delighted to discuss the differences as soon as you can schedule the time.

b. Tell the agent that the company's policies are different from his company's. Give him the company policy manual, and, if he still has questions, you will be happy to answer them.

c. Schedule a private meeting to review the agent's suggestions, realizing that he is having trouble being an agent rather than the manager.

d. Tell the agent that while you really appreciate his questions and comments, you must base your management decisions upon input from your entire sales staff.

7. Your boss has just hired his niece to work in your office. While she attends office meetings, she is seldom in the office. She looks down to escape your attention and is painfully shy. Although you have called her repeatedly, she has not scheduled a personal conference with you. What should you do?

a. Leave a message on her voicemail spelling out the ground rules: she must participate in office activities and see you regularly. If not, you'll tell her uncle she should be out of the business.

b. Give her a copy an article "Conquering Your Insecurity," "How to Win Friends and Influence People," as well as "Winning Through Intimidation." Explain that unless she overcomes her shyness, she won't make it in this business.

c. Plan your next sales meeting around how to build your confidence in the real estate business. Supplement the discussion with role playing and coaching.

d. Explain that business is a give and take proposition. If she cannot try to be more assertive, she cannot expect you to put out any effort to help her.

e. Be a role model for the new agent. Share how you were intimidated when you first started and what you did to become a high energy, confident, and positive salesperson.

8. One of your consistent producers works diligently at everything you ask her to do. Despite her best efforts, however, she has been incredibly unlucky: her car breaks down on the way to a listing appointment, she slips on the stairwell and sprains her ankle, and an escrow that is set to close burns down the day before closing. These events have thrown her totally off track. What, if anything, can you do?

a. Sit down with the agent and set specific guidelines she should follow to get her back on track.

b. Provide her with several articles from experts on "Turning Your Life Around." If that doesn't help, suggest that she see a psychologist.

c. Invite her to brainstorm ideas about getting back on track. Your goal will be to find something she can do that will be the first step in helping her regain control.

d. Tell the agent what happened to you to get you off track. Encourage her to talk about what is happening to her. Hopefully, she will benefit from your experience.

9. The company is now requiring each office manager to conduct regular telephone prospecting sessions. You are leading your first class and feeling uncomfortable. An agent who was a successful telemarketer in the computer industry interrupts you to say that your approach doesn't work. What do you do?

a. Remind him that this is your class and that real estate is different from the computer business. Furthermore, like all agents in your office, he is required to follow the rules set forth by the company. These rules include using the specific prospecting techniques you are teaching.

b. Inform him that these proven techniques are drawn from the top telemarketing experts in the country. You sincerely doubt that his material is as good as the material from the company's sources.

c. Ask the agent to describe his technique and then lead a group discussion about the pros and cons of each technique.

d. Ask the agent to try your technique for ten days, use his technique for ten days, and then report back to the group on the results. If his technique produces better results, he will conduct a class demonstrating how to use it.

10. You have a non-productive agent who needs a personality transplant or a career adjustment out of your office. He consistently makes sarcastic remarks about you as well as the other members of your office. From his point of view, "he's above it all." What do you do?

a. Tell him he must make an attitude adjustment and start following the ground rules of your office. If not, you will happily assist him in making a career adjustment.

b. Pull him aside and explain the facts in plain and simple terms: If he doesn't change his attitude, the company will terminate him.

c. Meet with the agent to share some ways for him to have a better attitude and to become more productive. Offer to share your own personal material and assist him in any way that he may find to be constructive.

d. Inform the agent that you will no longer tolerate his criticisms of you or the other members of the office. You are ready to assist him, but if he expects to stay in your office, he must make a commitment to change his behavior.

SCORING AND COACHING TIPS: MANAGEMENT AND AGENT BEHAVIORAL STYLE ASSESSMENT

For each of the questions you answered, count the number of items that you marked "A," "B," "C," "D" and "E"and fill them in below. Note which style you used the most often. This indicates what your preferred behavioral style is.

______ A: "The Authority": Managers use the authority role when they set specific directions and ground rules. The "Authority" prefers to deliver information with little, if any, discussion and emphasizes following rules and regulations. For the "Authority", an important part of the being a manager is to control and evaluate their staff's performance.

______ B: "The Expert." Managers who utilize the "expert" style believe that experts provide information vital to business success and often perceive their role as a transmitter of factual information. If the manager is not expert in a given area, the manager will seek information from other experts or a "higher authority" such as their company's senior management. The "Expert" relies on the "tried and true" preferring to avoid innovation where the results or unknown or unpredictable. "Experts"often see issues in "black and white." In other words, there is little room for any variation or innovation.

______ C: "The Facilitator." Managers who are facilitators attempt to create an environment where growth and productivity can occur. They are sensitive to their staff's needs seek to create an environment that matches the staff's expectations and needs. This process includes providing the equipment, printed material, or supplies necessary to create that environment. "Facilitators" encourage discussion and seek to satisfy staff's needs first rather than their personal priorities.

______D: "The Humanist." "Humanist" managers emphasize their personal interests as well as paying close attention to staff needs. "Humanists" encourage participation, strive to treat their staff members equally, but also communicates their own wants and needs as part of the process. Humanists place their own feelings on the same level as those of their support staff. They seek to create an office environment with strong relationships that provide a powerful support system.

______ E: "The Role Model." "Role models" seek to provide a high level of enthusiasm, competence, as well as a positive attitude. Individuals who successfully emulate this model will also acquire those skills. On the other hand, if individuals cannot emulate the role model, frustration results. When used in the extreme, this approach may stifle individual creativity and personal style.

SALES AND SUPPORT STAFF ROLES

No matter what role you assume as a manager, the greatest influence on behavior is positive reinforcement. When an individual's positive behaviors are ignored, they often engage in negative or attention seeking behaviors to gain the notice they need. In your day-to-day working environment, when an individual is behaving poorly, ask yourself if you have praised him or her recently. If not, ask yourself what you can say that is positive to help that individual get back on track.

In all situations, but especially when you are negotiating or handling conflict, you must provide as much positive reinforcement as possible. Positive reinforcement provides an important tool in assisting disputing parties to come to an agreement. The successful leader/manager recognizes when it is appropriate to use positive reinforcement and when it is appropriate to withhold reinforcement, i.e. when no comment is appropriate. In addition to using positive reinforcement, several other guidelines to keep in mind are:

1. Empathy: Set aside your personal viewpoint and see the problem from the other party's point of view. Just as we want to be respected, so does our staff.

2. Integrity: Be open and honest. Do what you say you are going to do. If you are unhappy with an individual's behavior, don't hide your feelings. Most individuals prefer a manager who responds in a sincere and genuine manner.

3. Consistency: While many managers seek to be empathetic, an even more important quality is consistency. Consistency involves applying company policy and guidelines in a fair and reasonable fashion to all staff. Nothing undermines management credibility faster than having inconsistent policies or making "special deals."

4. Enthusiasm: The most infectious of all attitudes is enthusiasm. Your personal attitudes will have a tremendous effect on your entire staff. An enthusiastic manager creates an environment that maximizes each individual's opportunity for success.

As you examine each of the roles below, remember that lack of positive reinforcement, empathy, integrity, consistency, or enthusiasm could trigger these behaviors. With these principles in mind, let's review some of the most common roles your staff may assume.

ROLE

1. Downtrodden:

"Downtrodden" individuals seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. If things aren't going wrong for them personally, then everything else around them is falling apart. As with the "Nervous Nellie," you can spend enormous amount of time counseling the individual and achieve absolutely no results. Furthermore, acting as an authority or an expert may make them even more stressed or dysfunctional. The Facilitator/Humanist roles are the most useful in helping the individual change behavior, yet these same roles can also allow the individual to remain "stuck" in the same position.

Recommended Techniques: Meet with the individual to discuss how to get back on track. Start with something simple that the individual can comfortably manage. Use small successes to build larger successes. Encourage the individual to share what they are experiencing. Finally, share your own personal experience if you went through a similar period and successfully dealt with the problem.

2. Egocentric:

"Egocentric" individuals are concerned with their needs and not particularly concerned about anyone else. They enjoy being the center of attention and often seek it by constantly making comments or asking questions. If you don't drop everything to personally accommodate their needs, they may become hostile and belligerent. These individuals are most likely to change their behavior when the manager acts as the Authority/Expert.

Recommended Techniques: Set specific guidelines for the individual to follow. Instead of indulging the individual's attention seeking behavior during meetings or other occasions where they have an audience, set a private appointment with the individual to discuss their concerns.

3. Needy:

The "Needy" individual lacks internal self-validation. Consequently, these individuals seek "external" validation by helping others or by engaging in other activities that will gain them approval. As a manager, the needy individual is particularly eager to have your approval. This agent differs from the "Nervous Nellie" in that the needy individual seeks approval and validation rather than being intimidated or anxious about the business. The best way to change this behavior is through the Authority/Humanist/Role Model Roles.

Recommended Techniques: Give the individual specific guidelines to correct the behaviors you want to change. Indicate that once they master the behaviors you give them, you would like them to assist other individuals who may also need help. Another way to have the needy individual "buy into the concept," is have them assist you in activities that focus their energy on doing their job rather than being distracted by other activities. (Remember, this individual needs to feel needed.) Positive reinforcement is critical to changing this behavior. (2)

4. Nervous Nellie:

The "Nervous Nellie" almost always suffers from low self-esteem. These individuals are anxious and dependent. They have little faith they will succeed at anything on their own. As a manager, you could spend the rest of your life trying to coach this individual into feeling confident. Nervous Nellies are most likely to change their behavior when the manager uses the Authority/Expert roles.

Recommended Techniques: The only way that the "Nervous Nellie" is going to succeed is by being "shoved out of the nest." Before "booting them out," make sure that you have given them as many guidelines and hints possible to help them succeed. Have them role-play to make sure they have mastered the appropriate scripts and dialogues. You may elect to actually go an appointment with them, but keep your mouth closed. They will never develop adequate confidence if someone else is always there to assist them . (5)

5. Opinionated:

Often times our staff has opinions that differ markedly from our own. While opinionated individuals may be seeking attention, in many cases, these individuals believe their ideas are actually a positive contribution to the group. Your goal as a manager is twofold: Make sure the individuals under your supervision follow company guidelines but, at the same time, be open to suggestions that can improve what you are doing. The Authority/Facilitator roles are the best way to change this behavior.

Recommended Techniques: Remind the individual that each of you has specific guidelines you must follow: the company not only places requirements on the staff, but it also places requirements on you as a supervisor. Having made that statement, however, be sure to add that you are always open to suggestions that can improve the office and its operation. Ask the individual for specific input on how to improve those items about which he or she is concerned. If the individual has good suggestions, you may ask the individual to present their ideas to the entire office or incorporate their suggestions into an office meeting. The ultimate goal is to bring the individual into the process, not to alienate them. (9)

6. Passive Aggressive:

The passive aggressive individual doesn't do what you ask and furthermore, will not confront you directly. Instead, passive aggressive individuals will listen to what you say, smile, and then do exactly what they want to do. This individual is most likely to change the passive aggressive behavior when the manager acts as the Authority/Expert.

Recommended Techniques: Review the company policies and guidelines where the individual is not in compliance. Give specific directions to the individual on how to meet required obligations and offer assistance if needed. If the individual still fails to follow your directions, place him or her on probation. If the individual fails to meet the terms of probation, they should be terminated. (7)

7. Roguish:

The "roguish" individual thinks that jokes and flirting are cute. These individuals are often quite charming. Because we must be especially sensitive to the issues associated with sexual harassment, it is critical that all agents are aware of the appropriate standards for business behavior in our company. This individual is most likely to change the behavior when the manager uses the Authority/Humanist roles.

Recommended Techniques: To change this behavior, let the individual know that he or she is a valued member of your team. Next, privately review company policy on this topic and then let the individual know that this behavior makes you personally uncomfortable. Make sure that both you and the individual have a clear understanding of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors by the end of the meeting. You may elect to document the meeting in writing. (4)

8. Sniper:

The sniper has an attitude problem coupled with open hostility. It is critical that you stop this behavior immediately because the effects can be devastating. Typically, the sniper thinks he or she is capable of getting along quite nicely without you. Furthermore, snipers often resent the fact that you have authority over them. The Authority/Expert are the best roles for changing this behavior.

Recommended Techniques: Confronting this individual in front of a group is usually counterproductive. Even if you can carry off the confrontation effectively and receive kudos from the other staff members, you will often lose the individual you confront. In most cases, it is best to meet with the individual privately. In that meeting, give the individual a written list of the unacceptable behaviors as well as specific guidelines the individual must follow to continue to work in your office. Ask the individual to sign that he or she has received the list. If the inappropriate behavior continues, terminate the agent. Be sure, however, that all documentation is in writing and that any termination is cleared with the appropriate individuals in Human Resources.

Need additional help? Our Top 10 Lists for Managers have lots of suggestions for improving your managerial style and building your team. For individual help, contact one of the coaches on our coach referral list.

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