Dominant Styles are guarded and direct. They exhibit firmness in their relationships with others, are oriented toward productivity and goals, and are concerned with bottom line results.

Dominant Styles accept challenges, take authority, and go headfirst into solving problems. They tend to exhibit great administrative and operational skills and work quickly and impressively by themselves. They tend to come on cool, independent, and competitive with others, especially in a business environment. Dominant Styles try to shape their environment to overcome obstacles en route to their accomplishments. They demand maximum freedom to manage themselves and others and use their leadership skills to become winners.

Closely allied to their positive traits are the negative ones of stubbornness, impatience, and toughness. Dominant Styles tend to take control of other people and can have a low tolerance for the feelings, attitudes, and inadequacies of co-workers and subordinates. They like to move at a fast pace and are impatient with delays. It is not unusual for a Dominant Style to call you and, without saying hello, launch right into the conversation, “You’ve got to be kidding; the shipment from Hong Kong will kill us… by the way, this is Jack.” When other people cannot keep up with their speed, they view them as incompetent.

The Dominant Style’s motto might be: “I want it done right and I want it done now” or “I want it done yesterday!” They get things done and make things happen. They are like jugglers who like to do many things at the same time. They start juggling three things at once and when they feel comfortable with those three things, they pick up a fourth. They keep adding more until the pressure builds to the point where they let everything drop, then immediately start the whole process over again. The Dominant Style’s theme seems to be, “Notice my accomplishments.” Their high-achievement motivation gives Dominant Styles a tendency toward workaholism.

The primary strengths of the Dominant Styles are their ability to get things done, their leadership, and their decision-making ability. Their weaknesses tend to be inflexibility, impatience, poor listening habits, and failure to take time to “smell the flowers.” In fact, they are so competitive that when they do finally go out to “smell the flowers,” they return and say to others, “I smelled twelve today. How many did you smell?”

A Dominant Style’s ideal occupation might be a hard-driving newspaper reporter, stockbroker, independent consultant, corporate CEO, drill sergeant, or monarch. In a business environment, they like others to be decisive, efficient, receptive, and intelligent. In a social environment, they want others to be quick, assertive, and witty.

A Dominant Style’s desk will be busy with paperwork, projects, and material separated into piles. Their offices are decorated to suggest power. Dominant Styles are formal and keep their distance physically and psychologically.

A Dominant Style’s office is arranged so that seating is formal; that is, face-to-face with a big power desk separating him from his visitors. They don’t appreciate people talking three inches from their noses, so becoming your friend is not a prerequisite to doing business with you.

To achieve more balance, Dominant Styles need to practice active listening, pace themselves to project a more relaxed image, and develop patience, humility, and sensitivity. They need to show a concern for others, use more caution, verbalize the reasons for their conclusions, and participate more as team players.