Communication Archetypes

26 Feb

Written By Ed Pike

If you have ever felt an immediate connection with someone, one that feels natural and flowing, like they are your best friend and very quickly you establish a sense of friendship and connection.

But you have only just met. You haven't known each other for years. You haven't established a deep relationship, but it feels very easy.

it is highly likely that you share a similar style of communication which is helping you communicate with ease. Humans naturally seek out easy and those who we find it easy to communicate with are more likely to have our attention.

From the work done by Carl Jung and his theory of psychological types, which also led to the Myers Briggs and similar frameworks, four archetypes, or styles of communication exist.

The Four Styles

Visionary: Focused on the big picture, imaginative, creative. Links to MBTI iNtuitor
Social: Focused on trust and relationships, politically astute. Links to MBTI Feeler
Logic: Focused on data and order, systematic and logical. Links to MBTI Thinker
Action: Focused on task, achievements and goals. Links to MBTI Sensor

We have elements of each style in our how we communicate and have one or two that dominate. These styles are learned and adapt to the environment we are working in and the level of stress we are experiencing.

When we communicate, we typically use our preferred styles without adaptation as this is easiest for us.

As you practice different styles, they will become more comfortable to use and respond in.

Being able to identify the preferred style of others enables you to adapt your style and efficiently communicate. Observe how others communicate and map their preferences to the styles. Mirroring their style significantly increases its impact, reduces friction and improves your ability to influence them.

Where there is a style mismatch, friction can often occur. It isn’t what you said, it is how you said it. Flexibility in the styles you communicate in is a powerful capability in a Change Agent or Change Leader.

Assess your own preferred style of communicating, and become skilled at spotting others. Our style preferences give insight into how we like to make decisions too.

Assessing your style

Humans use the style that they feel most comfortable with. Each is a learned style, and reflects what works for them in their current context.

Although they may be comfortable in more than one style, they will prioritise their favourite, the one that feels easiest to them.

Their style may adjust depending on whether they are in a high or low stress environment.

Scoring Method

Weight each of the styles within the groupings of Low and High stress.
Each group should add up to 100 points.
Use comparison based questions to prioritise examples and reach your conclusion.

Themes

These questions assess the style preferences in different situations and stress levels:

How others see you: How do you think others see you? (Low Stress) - Visionary: Intellectual and Complex, Social: Emotional and Engaging, Logic: Smart and Logical, Action: Practical and Straightforward
Working with others: When you work with others, what do you prefer: (Low Stress) - Visionary: Your Ideas and concepts to be respected, Social: Lively interactions, Logic: A systematic and logical approach, Action: A tangible benefit for your efforts
Communicating with others: When communicating with others do you: (Low Stress) - Visionary: Get bored with too much detail, Social: Have little interest if ideas lack originality, Logic: Get impatient with poorly thought out ideas, Action: Focus on immediate tasks, the things to be done now
When things don’t go your way: What do you do when things do not go your way? (High Stress) - Visionary: Rethink and develop a new idea, Social: Read the room and use the insights to shift my approach, Logic: Review and adjust your approach, Action: Go back to basics and rebuilt my plan
How others see you: How might others see you? (High Stress) - Visionary: As too wrapped up in ideas and
hard to read, Social: As too emotional or intense, Logic: As too controlled or logical, Action: As too focused on doing things
Sharing Disagreement: How do you share your disagreement (High Stress) - Visionary: Show how your points fit the bigger picture, Social: Use the quality of your relationship, Logic: Explain the background and purpose, Action: Clearly state what you want or expect
Resolve Conflicts: How do you resolve conflicts (Low Stress) - Visionary: Help others see the bigger picture and pull ideas together, Social: Place myself in the shoes of others, Logic: Help others see things simply and logically, Action: Get one or two smaller commitments and build later
What is important to you: How much are these important to you? (Low Stress) - Visionary: Long term actions that fit your vision, Social: Creating meaningful memories, Logic: Consistency and systematic progression, Action: Immediate action and whether they make sense
Meeting new people: When you meet new people, what do you look for (Low Stress) - Visionary: Their ability to contribute ideas and challenge you, Social: They are interesting and fun to be with, Logic: They are thoughtful and reflective, Action: They know what they are doing, and can get things done
The Impression you leave: What impression do you like to leave others? (High Stress) - Visionary: You are innovative and an original thinker, Social: You are energetic, impactful and can sense others needs, Logic: You are a systematic thinker who can analyse problems, Action: You are a pragmatic, resourceful, action oriented problem solver
Handling tense situations: How do you handle tense situations (High Stress) - Visionary: Be distracted by others and drift, Social: Express feelings freely, an open book, Logic: Be cautious and avoid others, Action: Focus on the immediate issues
How others feel about you: Others may feel that I am sometimes: (High Stress) - Visionary: Intellectually superior or condescending, Social: Excitable or unpredictable, Logic: Unemotional, impersonal, focused or detatched, Action: Superficial or self centred
What satisfys you: You feel satisfied with yourself when you: (Low Stress) - Visionary: Develp new thoughts or ideas, Social: Read the room, and are helpful, Logic: Solve a problem with logic or a systematic approach, Action: Get more done than you planned
What convinces you: You find it easy to be convincing when you are: (Low Stress) - Visionary: Intellectually on top of things, Social: In touch with your own feelings, and those of others, Logic: Logical and patient, Action: Down to earth and to the point
What you like others to see in you: You like it when others see you as being (Low Stress) - Visionary: Intellectually gifted and having vision, Social: Creative, and innovative, Logic: Driven, with a purpose and the ability to get there, Action: Dependable and able to get things done
First impressions: When you meet someone for the first time you like to: (High Stress) - Visionary: Be respected as original, Social: Make a connection and build trust, Logic: Be seen as crediible and knowledgable, Action: Be focused on the tasks in hand.
Under pressure: When others pressurise you, you are likely to be: (High Stress) - Visionary: Reseved and thoughtful, Social: Emotional and carried away by your feelings, Logic: Analytical and critical, Action: Focused on proving yourself
At work: In work situations, you can find yourself (High Stress) - Visionary: lost in the world of concepts and ideas, Social: worried about the dynamics and impact on others, Logic: deep in the data, assessing and problem solving, Action: Focused on the here and now, action oriented

Style Archetypes

Visionary

The Visionary emphasizes ideas and focuses on the big picture. They are:

Imaginative, innovative, and conceptual.
Skilled at shaping information into larger patterns.
Focused on the big picture.
Constantly investigating, re-examining, and understanding complex interrelationships, questioning themselves and others.
Prefer solving difficult new problems over implementing pre-determined solutions.

Visionaries find meaning in:

Processing information in terms of concepts.
Exploring seemingly unrelated data and finding relationships.
Thriving on creating their own structure out of chaos and disorder.

Visionaries are oriented towards the future. Visionaries focus on what might be rather than what has been tried and tested. They are comfortable with theoretical possibilities.

Visionaries can be seen as:

Unreliable, with uncompleted assignments and missed deadlines. They resist structure, seeing it as a barrier to ideas and a drain on energy.
Poor team players and impersonal, as they do not want to take time and energy to develop structured presentations to inform others of their ideas.

Communicating in a visionary style

Their favorite method is through pictures and concepts.
Decisions are based on the concept, not the detail.

Hints and Tips for Visionary style

Ask questions about their opinions and ideas.
Don’t rush the conversation.
Be prepared to explore ideas.
Avoid arguing; they want to win.
They will change their minds, so get agreement on specifics.
Let them take as much credit for ideas developed as possible.

Best Vehicles for Visionary style

Big picture brainstorming.
Graphics, or infographics.
One picture tells a thousand words.

Social

The Social style emphasizes human interaction, seeking and enjoying contact with others. Their focus is on people. They talk and listen.

Those with Social are:

Aware of the impact on the individual.
Great at predicting how people will respond to situations.
Closely in touch with others.
Acutely aware of their motives and the motives of others.
Politically savvy.

Those with Social absorb information and are:

Attentive, perceptive, and insightful.
Adept at noting discrepancies between outward behavior and inward feelings.
Able to decipher tough emotional problems and situations, the meaning of behavior, and the mood of a group.
Rely on ‘gut feel’ to evaluate incoming information.

Those with a bias to Social are oriented to the past, focusing on past experience, emotions, and instinct to draw meaningful conclusions. They rely less on logic, concepts, or theory.

Social can be seen as:

Fuzzy, impulsive, undisciplined, and sentimental. They may have an aversion to dealing with specifics such as facts, goals, time, and money.
Frustrating, unfocused, and lacking logic as their thought train can be hard to verbalize.

Communicating in a Social Style

The favorite method is face-to-face.
Decisions are made based on ‘gut feel’, past experience, and the impact on others.

Hints and Tips for Social Style

Take time to develop a relationship and trust.
Be casual and informal; inquire about family and hobbies.
Listen to what they have to say.
Avoid a logical debate of facts; encourage personal opinions.
Reflect feelings of cooperation instead of competition.
Watch for hidden conflict.

Best Vehicle for Social Style

Face-to-face and small meetings.
Talk rather than write
Casual rather than formal

Action

The Action style puts a heavy emphasis on being task-oriented. Their focus is on action and doing things. Those focused on Action are:

Direct, energetic, and task-oriented.
Involved in a number of highly varied projects at one time.
Highly productive due to sheer persistence.
Able to thrive on accomplishing tasks without unnecessary deliberations or delays.

Those with Action care about results and outcomes:

Concerned that tasks are completed and delivered as promised, correct the first time.
No room for errors or rework.
Stresses procedure and precision; variation is seen as risking compromised results.
Rigorous and demanding of themselves and others.
Evaluate themselves on non-subjective results-oriented criteria.

Those with Action are oriented to the present and focus on the task at hand. Dwelling on the past or trying to predict the future is a distraction.

Action can be seen as:

Reactive, focused on the immediate, and unaware or unconcerned with the consequences of their actions.
Quick to blame failures on a lack of loyalty or low work ethic.
Imposing their high expectations for drive, high-speed, productivity, and zealousness on others.
Shying away from anything emotional or intuitive.
Antisocial, boring, insensitive, and narrow-minded.

Communicating with an Action Style

Their favorite method is through action points.
Do not make decisions for them.

Hints and Tips for Action Style

Be specific.
Be action-oriented about what you intend to do and want them to do.
Avoid theoretical issues.
Keep relationships business-like.
Support or disagree with the ideas, not the person.
Influence by providing options with weighted consequences.
They act quickly, so be prepared.

Best Vehicles for Action Style

Bullet points with action words.

Logic

Those with Logic prioritize order. The Thinker is logical and systematic. Those focused on Logic:

Enjoy analyzing, dissecting, and solving problems.
Carefully weigh solutions and test to ensure that they are the ‘right’ decision.
Approach situations in a logical and systematic manner.
Focus on facts as a means of reaching a decision.
Shun emotionalism and speculation.
Can be seen as logically brilliant.

Those with Logic focus on logic and information:

Look for the ‘right’ way, seeking the most efficient way of performing it.
Use efficiency to conserve effort, especially repetitive effort.
Output is formulated as stated principles and mathematical formulas over images, feelings, or analogies.
Communicate efficiently, editing statements so that they are succinct and precise.

Those with Logic are oriented to the past, present, and future and tend to think that all are important.

Logic can be seen as:

Overly cautious and rigid.
Indecisive and oriented towards inaction due to their reliance on analysis.
Cold, impersonal, arrogant, and aloof.
Impractical as solutions do not take into account real, often emotional, barriers.
Very linear and incapable of creative leaps.

Communicating in a logic style

Their favorite method is through detail; appendices.
Decisions are based on influence with facts, tangible, solid evidence, not opinions.

Hints and Tips for Logic Style

Be cautious about extending friendship too quickly.
Demonstrate that you can make a valuable contribution to their efforts.
Stick to specifics and do what you say you will.
Demonstrate knowledge of pros and cons.
Be deliberate.
Be prepared; don’t ramble off the top of your head.

Best Vehicles for Logic Style

Detailed analysis.
Evidence that the data has been analyzed thoroughly.

Communication Style Conflicts

Natural conflicts form between styles.

A primary Visionary who prioritises the big picture, and concepts quickly becomes frustrated by someone who is primary Logic and values rigor, data and accuracy.

A primary Social who relies on trust and relationships feels that an Action who wants to skip those steps and get down to business is disrespectful.

Be aware of these conflicts, and spot them quickly. They are often a leading indicator of low trust which will impact collaboration and decision making.

Communicating with a group

When communicating with a group it is dangerous to assume that one style will fit all the group, unless you know them well and they have similar experiences and ingrained training, like a group of auditors who are primary Logic, or a sales team who are primary Social

Give something for everyone, with this structure

Social: Before opening the meeting or conversation, be primary social, welcome everyone individually and create connections. Give space for discussions later.
Visionary: Open with big picture images, statements and models, do not crowd the visuals with too much text
Logic: Use graphs, sources, data tables and appendices to demonstrate the rigor of your thinking.
Action: Include bullet points with action words

Each will feel that their needs have been met.

Ed Pike