Dove Owl Eagle Peacock

Motivating Show how something will benefit Appear to their need to be Provide them with options and Offer them incentives and
their relationships and strengthen accurate and to their logical clearly describe the probability of testimonials. Show them how
their position with others. approach to things. success in achieving goals. they can look good in the eyes of
others.
Complimenting Their teamwork, the way they are Their efficiency, thought Their achievements, upward Their appearance, creative ideas,
regarded by other people, their processes, organization, mobility, and leadership persuasiveness, and charisma.
relationship skills, and their ability persistence, and accuracy. potential.
to “get along” with others.
Counseling Allow plenty of time to explore Describe the process that you Stick to the facts. Draw them out Allow them plenty of opportunity
their feelings and understand the plan to follow. Outline how by talking about the desired to talk about things that are
emotional side of the situation. the process will produce the results. Then discuss their bothering them. Listen for facts
They express their feelings, but results they seek. Ask concerns. Focus on tasks more and feelings. Many times
indirectly. Draw them out through questions to help them give than feelings. Ask them how they Peacocks merely need to “get
questioning and listening you the right information. Let would solve the problem. something off their chest” and
techniques. Create a non- them show you how much talking may solve the problem.
threatening environment. they know.
Correcting Reassure them what you are Specify the exact behavior that Describe what results are desired. Specify exactly what the problem
seeking to correct is the behavior is indicated and outline how Show them the gap between happens to be and what behavior
only. Don’t blame or judge the you would like to see it actual and desired. Suggest is required to eliminate the
person; keep things focused on the changed. Establish clearly the improvement that is problem. Be sure you confirm in
behavior and its appropriateness. checkpoints and times. needed and establish a time when writing the agreed upon behavior
they will get back to you. changes.
Delegating Make a personal appeal to their Take time to answer all their Give them the bottom line and Make sure you get clear
loyalty. Give them the task, state questions about structure and then get out of their way. So that agreement. Establish checkpoints
the deadlines that need to be met, guidance. The more they they can be more efficient, give so that there is not a long period
and explain why it’s important to understand the details, the them parameters, guidelines, and of time between progress reports.
do it in that specific way. more likely they will be to deadlines.
complete the task properly. Be
sure to establish deadlines.
Summary of style descriptors:

Dove Owl Eagle Peacock

Strengths Listening Planning Administration Persuading

Teamwork Organization Leadership Enthusiastic
Follow-through Systematizing Juggling Motivating
Weaknesses Oversensitive Perfectionist Impatient Inattentive to detail
Slow to begin action Critical Insensitive to others Short attention span
Poor at goal setting Unresponsive Pool listener Poor follow-through
Occupations Family doctor Engineer Top executive Sales
Social worker Accountant Military leader Public relations
Teacher Librarian Newspaper editor Performing artist
Irritation Insensitivity Disorganization Inefficiency Routine
Impatience Unpredictability Indecision Perfectionism
Under Stress Submissive Withdrawn Dictatorial Sarcastic
Indecisive Headstrong Critical Superficial
Decisions Are Consultative Deliberate Decisive Spontaneous
Seeks Acceptance Accuracy Productivity Recognition.
This material adapted from Relationship Strategies by Dr. Tony Alessandra;
© MCMXCIII by Dr. Tony Alessandra
 The Owl The Eagle
The Wise Owls are both indirect and controlling. They are concerned with Dominate Eagles are controlling and direct. They exhibit firmness in their relationships with
analytical processes and are persistent, systematic problem solvers. They can also others, are oriented toward productivity and goals, and are concerned with bottom line
be seen as aloof, picky, and critical. Owls are very security-conscious and have a results.
high need to be right, leading them to an overreliance on data collection. In their Eagles accept challenges, take authority, and go head first into solving problems. They tend
quest for data, they tend to ask many questions about specifics. Their actions and to exhibit great administrative and operational skills and work quickly and impressively on
decisions tend to be slow and extremely cautious, but they will rarely miss a their own. They tend to come on cool, independent, and competitive with others, especially
deadline. Although they are great problem solvers, Owls could be better decision- in a business environment. Eagles try to shape their environment to overcome obstacles en
makers. route to their accomplishments. They demand maximum freedom to manage themselves and
Owls tend to be perfectionist, serious, and orderly. They focus on the details and others, and use their leadership skills to become winners.
the process of work, and become irritated by surprises and “glitches.” Their theme The Eagle’s motto might be: “I want it done right and I want it done now” or “I want it done
is, “Notice my efficiency,” and their emphasis is on compliance and working yesterday.” They get things done and make things happen. They like to juggle three things at
within existing guidelines to promote quality in products or service. once, and when they feel comfortable with those three things, they pick up a fourth. They
Owls like organization and structure, and dislike too much involvement with other keep adding more until the pressure builds to the point where they let everything drop, then
people. They work slowly and precisely by themselves, are time-disciplined, and immediately star the whole process over again. The Eagle’s theme may be, “Notice my
prefer an intellectual work environment. Owls then to be critical of their own accomplishments.”
performance. They tend to be skeptical and like to see things in writing. Their strengths are their ability to get things done, their leadership, and their decision-
Owls’ primary strengths are their accuracy, dependability, independence, follow- making ability. Their weaknesses tend to be inflexibility, impatience, poor listening habits,
through, and organization. Their primary weaknesses are their procrastination and and failure to take time to “smell the flowers.” In fact, they’re so competitive, when they do
conservative natures, which promote their tendency to be picky and overcautious. finally go out to “smell the flower,” they return and say to others, “I smelled 12 today. How
The greatest irritation for Owls is disorganized, illogical people. In business many did you smell?”
environments, they want others to be credible, professional, and courteous. In To achieve balance, Eagles need to practice active listening, pace themselves to look more
social environments, they like others to be pleasant and sincere. relaxed, and develop patience, humility, and sensitivity. They need to show concern for
Owls are noncontact people who prefer the formality of distance. others, use more caution, verbalize the reasons for their conclusions, and participate more as
To improve their balance and behavioral flexibility, Owls need to: openly show team players.
concern and appreciation of others; occasionally try shortcuts and time-savers;
adjust more readily decision-making and initiation of new projects; compromise
with the opposition; state unpopular decisions; and use policies more as guidelines
than hard and fast laws.
 The Dove The Peacock

The Diplomatic Dove is supporting and indirect, relatively unassertive, warm, Social Peacocks are direct and supporting, exhibiting characteristics such as animation,
and reliable. Doves are sometimes seen by others as compliant, softhearted and intuitiveness, and liveliness. But they can also be viewed as manipulative, impetuous, and
acquiescent. excitable when displaying behavior inappropriate to the situation.
Doves seek security. They take action and make decisions slowly. This pace Peacocks are fact paced. Their actions and decisions are spontaneous, and they are seldom
stems from their desire to avoid risky or unknown situations. Before they take concerned about facts and details, trying to avoid them as much as possible. Their motto is
action or make a decision, they have to know how other people feel about their “Don’t confuse me with the facts.” This disregard for details sometimes prompts them to
decision. exaggerate and generalize facts and figures. It also gives them a build-in excuse when they
Doves tend to be the most people-oriented of all the four styles. Having close, are wrong: “I didn’t have all the facts!” They are more comfortable with “best guesstimates”
friendly, personal, first-name relationships with others is one of their most than with exact data.
important objectives. They dislike interpersonal conflict so much that they Peacocks’ primary strengths are their enthusiasm, persuasiveness, and delightful sociability.
sometimes say what they think other people want to hear. They have natural Their primary weaknesses are getting involved in too many things, impatience, and their
counseling skills and are extremely supportive. Their theme is, “Notice how short attention spans, which cause them to become bored easily.
well-liked I am.” Peacocks are idea persons. They have the ability to get others caught up in their dreams
Doves tend to be good, active listeners and generally develop relationships because of their good persuasive skills. They influence others and shape their environment
with people who are also good listeners. As a result, Doves have strong by bringing others into alliance to accomplish results. They seek approval and recognition
networks of people who are willing to be mutually supportive. You often feel for their accomplishments and achievements, and have a dynamic ability to think quickly on
good just being a Dove. their feet.
Doves focus on getting acquainted and building trust. They are irritated by Peacocks are true entertainers. They love an audience and thrive on involvement with
pushy, aggressive behavior. They question, “How will it affect my personal people. They tend to work quickly and enthusiastically with others. Peacocks are
circumstances and the camaraderie of the group?” They are cooperative, steady stimulating, talkative, and gregarious. They tend to operate on intuition and like to take
workers, and excellent team players. risks. Their greatest irritations are boring tasks, being alone, and not having access to a
The primary strengths of Doves are relating to, caring for, and loving others. telephone.
Their primary weaknesses are that they are somewhat unassertive, overly In social environment they like others to be uninhibited, spontaneous, and entertaining.
sensitive, and easily bullied. To achieve balance and behavioral flexibility, Peacocks need to: control their time and
In the business environment, Doves like others to be courteous, friendly, and emotions; develop a more objective mindset; spend more time checking, verifying,
accepting of their share of the responsibility. In a social environment, they like specifying, and organizing; develop more of a task focus; and take a more logical approach
others to be genuine and friendly. to projects and issues.
To achieve more balance and to develop behavioral flexibility, Doves need to
say “no” occasionally; attend to the completion of tasks without oversensitivity
to the feelings of others; be willing to reach beyond their comfort zone to set
goals that require some stretch and risk; and to delegate to others.