ALWAYS

• Ask me questions
• Allow me to accomplish task in my own way
• Put expectations up front
• Give me variety
• Let me choose my own team
• Report on your tasks
• Take responsibility for your actions
• Give me time to consider new changes
• Get me on your side
• Get to the point
• Deliver when you commit
• Tell me the truth

NEVER

• Leave an issue unresolved
• Procrastinate
• Be wishy-washy/manipulative/whiny
• Nod in understanding if you have no idea
• Go behind my back

STRENGTHS

• No hidden agenda
• Determined/committed to excellence
• Work well independently
• Work well under pressure
• Enjoy challenges
• Give credit where credit is due

ALWAYS

• D
  • Honor commitment
  • Follow through
  • Have answers to questions, talk through
  • Regular updates
  • Give me facts
• I/D
  • Deadlines
  • Starve problems/feed opportunities
• I
  • Mutually respectful
  • Be sociable
  • Reward achievement

NEVER

• D
  • Micromanage me
  • Bring me third-hand gossip
  • Be unfocused
  • Let things fester
• D/I
  • Take decision personally
• I/D
  • Bore me
• I
  • Yell at me
  • Dismiss me
  • Dictate to me, involve me instead
  • Automatically say no

STRENGTHS

• Defer to other's expertise
• Encourage others to shine/use abilities
• Take on large projects/good project management
• Creative in tasks/creative problem-solving
• Visionary/outside the box
• Team building
• Motivational/inspirational
• Good foresight -- big picture
• Mentor/trainer & empowering
• Resourceful
• Good networkers
• Schmooze
• Communicable vision -- selling ideas
• Articulating vision
• Getting to core of problem

IMPROVE

• Stop controlling
• Stop waiting for inspiration
• Communicate more effectively
• Hear problem out before offering advice
• Empathize more
• Honor and support ideas of others
• Patience
• Give others space to do things
• Know difference between aggression and assertion
• Have realistic expectations

ALWAYS

• On time, reliable
• Focused, hard-working
• Be direct; all the facts

NEVER

• Make orders without input
• Promise what you cannot deliver
• Ramble on

STRENGTHS

• Reliable, focused
• Bossy but nice
• Gives recognition

IMPROVE

• Listen better
• Tolerant of other work styles
• Delegate, but use patience

ALWAYS

• State your question/concern honestly; be clear about intentions
• Organize information/things -- systematic approach
• Get to the point
• Give me a chance to contribute creatively
• Carry out your part of assignments
• Share information

NEVER

• Avoid responsibility
• Say "we've always done it this way"
• Play games/politics
• Let me hear about problems indirectly

STRENGTHS

• Nontraditional thinkers/risk-takers
• Finishers/doers
• Productive troublemakers
• Pick up ball when others drop it
• Open to other ideas -- bring others into process
• Delegate
• Crisis management
• High productivity
• Decorators

IMPROVE

• Be more patient
• Set realistic standards for self and others
• Disagree without putting others on defensive
• Small talk

ALWAYS

• Give deadlines
• Face-to-face
• Include us
• Like me
• Acknowledgement

NEVER

• Kill ideas before considering them
• Limit me to one task
• Criticize me in public

STRENGTHS

• Encourage teamwork
• Bring out best in people
• Optimistic
• Multi-tasking

IMPROVE

• More self-confidence
• More decisive
• More analytical

ALWAYS

• Forgive my mistakes because I have a kind heart
• Give me priorities and deadlines
• Allow me time to prepare or allow me to work as a part of a group
• Make it fun
• Give me a long rope
• Follow through when I ask you to do it
• Give me the reason why -- motivational reasons, a political background
• Recognize I see the big picture
• Give me feedback
• Have a positive attitude
• Be respectful
• Bring balance
• Allow me the freedom to do my job

NEVER

• Use sarcasm
• Discipline me in front of someone else
• Make a mountain out of a mole hill
• Be insubordinate
• Dismiss my efforts
• Put me on a spot or force me into a confrontation in front of others
• Go over my head; come to me first
• Put me in charge of all of the details
• Lie to me
• Raise your voice in dispute or disagreement
• Agitate me -- bring to a conclusion if we cannot come to an agreement

STRENGTHS

• Flexible and accomodating
• Do not panic unless it's a crisis
• Sensitive
• Encourage others
• Patience and delight when helping other people to be successful
• Believe two heads are better than one
• Listen, like to collaborate, facilitate
• People feel comfortable talking to me
• Willing to try new ideas and take risks
• Helpful
• Self-motivated
• Seeking colleagues input before making a decision (not unconfident, just want input; someone might have a better perspective)
• Not threatened

IMPROVE

• Need to see details and be organized
• Be assertive
• Develop a thicker skin and not take things personally
• Want immediate action; serenity now!
• Hang back, reluctant to volunteer my input even though I know it's valuable (afraid it is not of interest to others)
• Want people to like me
• Irrirated when people talk endlessly
• Could be more of a risk-taker
• Afraid of non-approval, of being wrong

ALWAYS

• Staff should write it down and keep a copy
• Summary page, details to follow
• Use forms
• Have a problem solving attitude
• Cup half full -- positive

NEVER

• Be confrontational and/or argumentative
• Release PR that has errors

STRENGTHS

• Collaborative
• Service-oriented
• Stable, loyal
• Provide a balance
• Community networking

IMPROVE

• Be more outgoing, more willing to take risks
• Use more staff to control paper flow
• Organize
• Learn to say no

ALWAYS

• ALOHA
• Give us the chance to prepare
• State problem specifically (detail medium)
• What is your goal; what do you hope to achieve
• Deadline
• Prioritize -- overall priority
• Offer some possible solutions
• Think out the project well in advance

NEVER

• Speak in generalities
• Ask for impromptu reports
• Yell; hostility
• Use abusive language
• Use "you" statements (accuse, blame)
• Change rules midstream
• Manipulate or dupe
• Mistake lack of enthusiasm for negativity

STRENGTHS

• People networking
• Facilitating change
• Managing complex projects
• Anticipating problems
• Caring for people
• Creative and independent
• Effective -- well-researched policies

IMPROVE

• Recognize things you can't change and let it go
• Learn to say "no" for more projects
• Delegate behavior
• Discard/trash information
• Let project end even it if it's not perfect
• Stand ground against dominant behavior
• Trust own ability/intuition to make change
• Take more risks
• Self-empowerment (trusting instincts)

ALWAYS

• Have productive meetings
  • No fluff
  • Reason for meeting
  • Agenda please
  • Good facilitator
  • Stay on track, must have good follow through
• Give enough time to complete (reasonable time frame)
• Clear instructions/expectations; guidelines please
• Meeting facilitators must allow for all voices/opinions to be heard
• Authority to support repsonsibilities
• No abstracts
• Pay attention to details
• Have materials and funding to support assigned task
• Be ready to imporve yourself and the organization
• Be aware that we are change agents
• Give advance warning on potential problems or hold ups in project
• Thoughtful solutions, not excuses

NEVER

• Whine
• Waste my time
• Be unprepared
• Say we need another meeting
• Surprise me
• Big picture me without examples, details, hard data, specifics
• Go through the motions (instead, expect results)
• Leave important tasks to the last moment
• Lie to me
• Provide me with unprepared staff to do assigned projects
• Give me a project or ask my opinion if you have already made up your mind

STRENGTHS

• Have at least two solutions to problem
• Always finish what we start
• Good planners and project managers
• Good decision makers
• Quick on uptake, get it the first time
• Results-oriented, not process
• If the job is worth doing, it is worth doing right
• Systematic approach to project
• Reason vs. emotion (analytical rather than emotional)

IMPROVE

• Patience
• Let process happen
• Everything doesn't need to be 100% done or perfect
• Learning to delegate
• Art of persuasion
• Approachability
• Empathy for others
• Cope better with strong emotions such as anger
• Stop and smell roses
• Be more forgiving towards self
• Allow self/others to make mistakes
• Work on being brief and concise