Do you prefer straightforward, no fluff, direct talk?

Chances are that you can come across as intimidating, competitive, egotistical, demanding and even aggressive to other people.

This is what we call the high "D" communication style of a "Director".

While it helps to be persistent, goal oriented and fast on taking action, it's a knife that cuts two ways.

Knowing that a country like Australia has roughly 18% of "Directors", it means that your communication style backfires 82% of the time with the general population - assuming that you don't cause friction with other "Directors".

When it cuts that deep that it hurts, it's time to do something differently.

As a leader, you might experience the revolving door with staff coming and going... Costing the business greatly in recruitment fees, marketing and training and development...

In sales, clients will be quick to sign up but take up the cooling off period a lot of the times too because they felt pressured or sold to...

In teams, you will get...

A friend rang me recently, sharing a thought-provoking story with me.

Imagine a dream client for a second… A multi billion dollar company that is referred to you by a trusted advisor that is doing business with them already.

You are debriefed on the opportunity at hand. You also are told exactly what the client is looking for in your area of expertise. Even the conditions are uncovered and the fact that price is not an issue. Reliability and quality are though. Your contact continues to advise you that the company is cautious at first, but quick to shift gears once they trust the product and the support infrastructure behind it.

Back to the story now…

My friend was stunned that, despite the opportunity being presented on a silver platter, along with all the insights needed to win the business, the person he referred to was not closing.

Even more mindboggling, the person involved is a regarded business coach and an executive of a multi-million dollar business.

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