9. Nicely-nicely or the hair dryer?

I find it really interesting how different people respond to different methods of management.

Personally I hate being shouted at. To be honest I also don’t like being told nicely that I did something wrong but that’s just because I feel like I’ve let somebody down and I hate that feeling. However I would prefer somebody to tell me nicely than to shout at me.

Yet there are others whom it is very difficult to speak nicely too. They only seem to respond if they are getting the “hair dryer” treatment. Sadly, speaking nicely to this group doesn’t work well.

Then there is the third type of person who don’t seem to care whether or not you talk to them nicely or shout and yell. Either way they are not going to change or listen to you.

This is why people management is difficult to do. Too many managers have only one style, soft or hard, and they use the same approach with everybody that they meet.

The reality is that all of us, whether or not we are leaders or managers, need to adjust our approach to the people around us. This is how we get the best of out everybody.

How do you prefer to be managed, with the nicely-nicely approach or with the hair dryer? Or maybe somewhere in between?