Social Style / Management Style: Developing Productive Work Relationships

I read this book years and years ago. It's tattered, marked up like a useful handbook. Learning to flex my style to others was part of my success. It didn't come easily but the simple tools of identification in this book enabled me to first, see myself and then see the world from another's view. At a glance I could enter someone's office and know their primary communication style. In a meeting I could quickly discern what I needed to say and how to say so it would be heard by decision makers. When it came to conflict management, the information in this text often helped me to understand that most conflicts weren't about real issues but more about folks not communicating.What makes this book different from the hundreds of theories and books on communication out there? It is practical. It is not a book filled with psychobabble. It's an easy read. And it makes sense.Social Style Management Style was indeed one of the best tools I've come across. There's lots of info out there but few so easy to read, understand and apply.My list of books that truly made a difference in my life is short and this one is on it.

Assigning someone to one of the four social style quadrants does not provide a complete picture of an individual, as the authors would be the first to admit, but social styles do provide a convenient and useful starting point for understanding your own and others behavior. The book also contains much practical advice for improving relationships and your own effectiveness within the context of the social style theory. Social Style/Management Style is a great little book. However, Bolton and Bolton's later book on styles, People Styles at Work, contains much of the same material and more.

I have been a fan of Social Styles since I had the privilege of working an insurance seminar with Dr. David Merrill in the late 80's. Social Style is more relevant today than then with out impersonal, technical focused world. Taking the time to consider the other person's perspective and then considering a thoughtful reply is communication changing!

The ultimate classic and foundational read into this area. Call it whatever you want, social and management styles exist and are key to communication. I highly recommend this fast and thoughtful read, particularly for type As and numbers folks who are aspiring leaders.

Excellent help those working in Corporate America and in other industries too-

Basic training for management development. Anyone involved in the process should read.

I was fortunate to have encountered Dr. David Merrill and Dr. Roger Reid in 1968 when they had first compiled their theories of social style. I worked for an insurance company (Security Life of Denver) and we were among the very first to adopt this program in our agent training courses. And having Merrill and Reid working in Denver and training us on the principles of their unique program was invaluable. Now, almost 50 years later, I can say that this program affected me in so many positive ways throughout my business and personal life that it became instrumental in whatever successes I have enjoyed. Learning about yourself is enlightening and understanding others is fundamental in building strong, lasting relationships.

First of all, my rating is biased--I'm the son and colleague of the authors. But the purpose of this "review" isn't to promote the book. It is to let you know that the publisher, AMACOM, has published a newer, more accessible edition of this book entitled "People Styles at Work." That book was originally planned to replace "Social Style/Management Style," but both remain in print. My personal opinion is the the newer work is more user-friendly: it was streamlined to help readers better relate with colleagues of other styles. That said, "Social Style/Management Style" has been well received for nearly 20 years and has been translated into many languages. Either one is useful, but if you buy both books, you'll find a lot of redundancy.