Working With Dominant People
Copyright c 2006 William Frank Diedrich When I use the terms Dominant People I am referring to those people who tend to take charge, to be little abrupt, seem to be arrogant, to be impatient, and don t always listen. It s their way or the highway in many cases. Many people are intimidated by Dominant people. Most of us do not like conflict, but Dominant people always seem willing to create it. Typically, most of us manage Dominant types by staying out of their way. We avoid confrontation, avoid saying how we really feel, and often tell them what we think they want to hear. We rationalize our avoidance by complaining that the Dominant person is insensitive, aggressive, impatient, and arrogant. We complain about these faults but they really aren t faults at all. They are strengths. Let me explain. Insensitive means that the Dominant person doesn t care about your feelings. It isn t that he doesn t care. He just isn t aware that you have feelings. What this means is that the Dominant person is so focused on task that feelings aren t even on his radar screen. The ability to be totally focused on task is a strength. When a task focus is over...