People Styles at Work: Making Bad Relationships Good and Good Relationships Better

by Robert Bolton

Why is it so hard to work well with some people? People Styles at Work...and Beyond presents a comprehensive, practical, and proven method readers can use • recognize how they come across to other coworkers • read others’ body language and behavior to identify the best ways to work with them • make small adjustments that will dramatically increase the quality and productivity of their interactions • find common ground with different people while retaining their individuality • relate less defensively and more effectively—no matter how others act The book reveals the strengths and weaknesses of four different people styles, providing practical techniques that work both on the job and off. Now including all new material on personal relationships, parenting, and more, this is the ultimate guide anyone can use to enhance even the most difficult relationships.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Management, Leadership, Relationships

194 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1996

Reviews

[Morgan Schulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this from the library but I’m ordering one from Amazon to keep at my office. It’s that good. I’m an Expressive married to an Amiable, parenting an Analytical and working for a Driver and I’ve always sensed I am “too much” for them at times but never knew what to do about it. This book shows you what to do to flex to others, while still being the best You you can be.

[Amy Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a personality type book for business.

I find it helpful when others around me are also participating in these frameworks because it feels less threatening to describe a person with a label they don't find threatening. So that's nice.

But it almost as easily could have been The Color Code or Child Whisperer or MBTI or any other. They're interesting. But not life changing.

I do like the section at the end for how to work better with each other type. While most of the suggestions armed rocket science, the direct and straightforward list is helpful for me.

[Richard Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

The model they are describing is psychometrically sound, my company developed a personality test around this model and it's valid, though we did change the orientation of the styles to fit with some of our other tests.
The test in the book is only so-so, but the real value here is in the practical advice. Learning to identify someone *else's* style and having a good map for understanding how to form your words to fit in their head is great.
I read this book in 2008 and I cannot count the number of times I have used this information.
If you have or want to work with other humans, you need this information too.

[Dana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was recommended this book as a part of an executive leadership course I am taking. I have been asked to work on softening my communication style. It’s not an easy task but understanding better the 4 personality types and how my communications may be interpreted by others was very helpful. Business books are always hard to rate as I think some of the information in them is basic and easily relatable while some can be quite complex. This book had a good balance and practical solutions that seem easy to implement.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be fascinating. The authors describe 4 primary work styles and the characteristics of those who use that particular style. Most helpful are the chapters that help you identify your own style and coach you on ways to work with people of other styles. Reading this book helped me improve my ability to identify and adapt to other's styles. It's a great read for people who work with teams.

[Jamie Dobrovolc · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was helpful to realize patterns in myself and others and how those patterns impact our perception of what is going on around us. I do feel like all the responsibility was placed on “you” to adjust your behaviors to meet the same behaviors of the person you’re working with. I wish it had more information about complimentary behaviors? Or how to address the possibility that changing your behavior does not improve the relationship?

[Beth Dunford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. Informative and a quick read. Keeping in mind that boiling everyone down into four simplistic categories is sometimes a dangerous thing to do, this book still had some useful tidbits and reminders about positive behaviour techniques to make work relationships strong.

[Stephanie Marcinkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for improving relationships. There are no good or bad styles. Everyone and every style has an equal opportunity to become the best version of themselves and realte to others in an optimal, win-win way.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is helpful in understanding the behaviours of people you work with and friends and family. Helps to produce better working relationships.

Will utilize this at work.

[Jenna McDonnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great to learn my people style and find ways to work and interact with others based on their styles. However, some of the chapters felt redundant in their explanations.

[Suraj Sood · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book for understanding work personalities in a way simpler than the MBTI is for personality, more generally.

[RevaC · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that could have been a blog post. Didn’t hate the way of conceptualizing common personalities, but it’s not unique, and most people would get the concept in much fewer words.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to love this book. A personality assessment that can be done objectively? Based on behavior? So that you can actually label the people around you and alter your behavior accordingly?! This is the major downfall of Meyers-Briggs and similar assessments and so I had high hopes for People Styles.

The information seems solid, and the criteria are simple enough to understand. The authors even include a section on how to flex to each type for every other type--a clear cut practical guide.

The problem comes in identifying your own style and, sometimes, those of the people around you. By my own assessment, I am an Analytical. By reading the descriptions, I sometimes veer into Amiable territory. According to my husband's assessment of me, I'm an Expressive. According to a coworker's assessment, I am a Driver. So, I'm all four types?

Either the test is flawed or am I already a master Flexer, altering my behavior to match the situation. So much for the "your type is fixed and will not ever permanently change" notion of the authors.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of us have taken personality tests, such as Myers-Briggs, for the workplace. People Styles takes a different angle on the concept. Rather than worry too much about what makes you tick, the focus is on how you communicate with other people. The authors boil communications styles to four basic types: Drivers, Analytics, Emotives, and Amiables.

The practical takeaway is beyond simply understanding which style you fall into, but rather how you should communicate with those of the other styles. The goal is essentially to increase workplace cohesiveness and be able to sell your legitimate opinions honestly and effectively.

But does it really work? Yes. My MBA cohort uses this model to guide us through the pitfalls of a multitude of team assignments, and I can say that it is definitely effective.

[Diana-Michaela Shaffner · Rating 4 out of 5]

People styles at work and Beyond is a very helpful book for the reader who has never dealt with identifying styles and categorizing them into the four major style groupings. Knowing one's own style, the styles of others, and being able to applying oneself in a manner most conducive to other individuals' styles is enormously important for productivity and particularly for management. This book not only introduces the reader to the different styles but also gives a lot of examples on how you can adjust your style in a crucial interaction to someone else's style in order to communicate more effectively.
Reader who have had exposure to this school of thought will do well in reviewing the information in this book and perhaps may pick up on a few new ideas. Unless you live in a cave all by yourself, you will benefit from reading this book.

[Dave B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr and Mrs Bolton wrote a very helpful book on social interaction. As a business person looking for the most effective way to communicate with others, I found this book very helpful. It was more then just catch phases or the new mamagement terms. This book provides real application and improved understanding of self. This book will have a permanent impact on my professional life. Highly recommended!

[Jeffry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, at times, feels like it isn't grounded in current research (it's a little on the old side), makes sweeping generalizations with little to no support, and occasionally makes an insightful observation. The difficulty lies in separating the wheat from the chaff. Although I got a few helpful tidbits from this book I can't recommend it.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been using this book in training and consulting for over 20 years. It is excellent. The research behind it is solid and I have seen people become more successful when they apply what they learn. The appendix is your answer key to communicating better with others in all situations. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a Social Styles workshop several years ago and wanted a refresher as I have recently started a new job with a very different company culture. This book was exactly what I was looking for. I highly recommend this book to everyone as this helps you not only with your work relationships but your personal relationships as well.

[Pulkit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book very simplistically discusses the 4 style buckets in which all people can be bucketed - analytical, driver, expressives and amiables.
This talks about the concept of style flex to help better understand people with other styles and how to communicate the message across.
Good read for people looking to enhance/ improve the communication skills.

[Carolee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, okay, I know we're all sick of self-help books - but if, like me, you're stuck with having to navigate through the corporate world - this book could be a significant asset. Doesn't ask you to analyze everyone you work with on an emotional level - just gives great rules of thumb...

[Lynsey Mulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to understand how to best communicate with others, at home or at work. I am going to use this book for a team building event in my office because I think it is an understanding that everyone could use.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on work and people. No psychology degree is required to get along with people. Observe the behavior of others and then adjust yours. Easier said than done but the insights have been a huge help to me both at work and personally.

[Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably good as a quick guide, but almost seems like a one or two dimenensional impression. I found it an interesting read, but I feel like it would take knowing people more in depth to be abke to flex to them effectively.

[Michael Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the styles are simple, it is impressive to see how much you can understand about a relationship when using this filter. I look forward to working through these four styles both at work and at home.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright for a self help book. I read it for Interpersonal Realationships. A class I took this year

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource re: personality styles. Gives you a simple yet powerful and effective way to evaluate a person's style and understand how to interact effectively.

[Edb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting study about why people act like they do. The styles each of us use affect everything about us.

[Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with relevancy for all work and personal relationships.

[Trent Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for a leadership training course very beneficially in understanding that everyone is an individual and should be approached that way especially in the workplace