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Cats & Dogs

  Why is it that some people are easy to form relationships with and to work with and influence, while others are not?  We are all affected by our own and others' style of leadership and relationships and it is often the person with 'power' who is the key player when it comes to team collaboration and co-operation.   

The Cats and Dogs behavioural model created by Michael Grinder offers a non judgmental way to understand these 'power' people and provides strategies to bring them on board.  If you've ever owned a cat or a dog, you will instinctively know the differences in their personalities.  By looking at people in a similar way, we can transfer this knowledge and take off some of the pressure. 

Think about it, when you call your cat, it takes a message and gets back to you later.  When you call your dog, it comes.  Its all about the degree of independence or accommodation.

And one of the benefits of applying this understanding  of cats and dogs to people is that we can become more realistic about our expectations of ourselves and other people including our work colleagues.

You wouldn't expect a 'dog' kind of person to be particularly assertive, nor a 'cat' person to be easy to manage or influence.  And yet it's not quite as straightforward as that. Cat and dog behaviours are at opposite ends of a continuum - we all have both cat and dog behaviour in us.  The power of influence is that we are able to recognise which part  is required at any given moment.  There are times when part of us wants to be creative and break the rules, there are others when we want to follow them. 

So which do you recognise most in yourself? Are you more cat or more dog?  Do you behave differently at work than when you are at home?  

Language at Work - an important people skill

Some of you may have heard of Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP.  Some of you may be slightly wary or sceptical of it. Some of you may have heard it’s a way of manipulating people to do what you want them to do.  NLP is simply a way of thinking about the world, a revolutionary approach to communication and personal development. Its basic principles will help you perform more effectively at work, at home and in all parts of your life.  You can enhance your relationships and your emotional health, as well as making your work more rewarding. 

In my experience, using NLP in the workplace, you can dramatically improve staff performance, including your own.  If you are a new manager, you will be aware that people skills are the most valuable asset you can develop and that the ability to influence others to achieve the goals you've set is the greatest management talent of all.  Your success will depend on supporting others, so they can do their best.  If you want your team to be more successful, you may want to consider how you build rapport with others.

Are you speaking the same language as your colleagues?