As the last few years have shown us, we’re actually pretty good at adapting to changing conditions around us 😷. What we’re less good at is changing ourselves, particularly the deeply ingrained behaviours that we often display at work.
But by adapting your style to those around us – either customers or colleagues – will mean you will develop rapport much faster, and build stronger relationships resulting in 3 better outcomes.
Changing ourselves can seem like a tough task, but these 5 tips – along with some examples depending on your natural Service Animals style – will help make that change a little bit easier.
- Break down big change into small steps
- Commit to a routine, or tag it on to something you already do
- Share what you are doing with a colleague so you create accountability
- Ask for feedback so you can track your progress
- Celebrate your success with a small reward
Forming habits: Examples for Panthers
Change I want to make:
listen more
Example new habits:
• In team meetings I will let others speak first before sharing my views
• I will listen out for when I start interrupting others and stop
• I will catch myself finishing other people’s sentences and stop
Forming habits: Examples for Peacock
Change I want to make:
focus on detail more
Example new habits:
• When dealing with problems, I will get all the details before I jump in and try to solve the issue
• When I go to meetings I will check the agenda and make sure I have sufficient detail with me
• When I lead a piece of work I will give more detail to others than I normally would
Forming habits: Examples for Dolphin
Change I want to make:
be more task focused
Example new habits:
• When I go to meetings, I will be clear about what I need to get out of them
• In meetings I will get down to business faster than I normally would
• I will plan and be well prepared before meetings with my boss
Forming habits: Examples for Owls
Change I want to make:
be more people-focused
Example new habits:
• Before a meeting starts, I will join in the chat
• If I am sharing something I’ve been working on, I will ask others for their opinion on it
• I will be more responsive when others tell me things – make eye contact, smile, nod
To find out what animal you or your team are, just get in touch!
You can download a PDF version of this article here.
Service Animals™ is brought to you by SignalCX, a consultancy focusing on customer experience. For nearly 4 decades, we have worked with some of the world’s best brands to design and enable great customer experiences. The SignalCX customer experience journey will help you develop a culture that has the customer at its heart, with employees who are energised and excited and a growing body of customers who love the way that your organisation makes them feel. Apart from this lovely warm glow, you will achieve tangible, measurable and bottom-line driven results.
Service Animals has been developed and refined for the past 30 years, and has been used by almost a million people around the world. Its roots lie in the psychological theories of Carl Jung, but this model has been honed through years of work with psychologists, clients and our own team members. Service Animals is the only tool that focuses on how we all use our individual communication styles to form the service experience we deliver to customers and colleagues.
To find out more, just get in touch!