- Posted by dan on June 17, 2011
I've been on some Effective Communication training today and one of the exercises was to see whether we conformed more to the behaviour of a Cat or a Dog. Michael Grinder came up with behaviour model to try and explain why we find it easier to relate and work with some people more than others.
If you consider your pet Dog, they're often characterised as being very excitable and enthusiastic. Tail wagging when you come home running after the ball you throw it. Doing everything they can to be liked by you even at a cost to themselves. They want to be mans best friend afterall.
Now contrast that with a cat, independant you can leave them out all night and they're fine. They never really seem that bothered when you come home from work. They're only likely to pay you attention when they want feeding. With a cat it's very much on their terms. The quote associated with the metaphor goes:
A Dog Thinks:
"Wow, you feed me, look after me when I'm ill and give me a place to live... You must be a God"
A Cat Thinks:
"Wow, you feed me, look after me when I'm ill and give me a place to live... I must be a God"
Dogs and cats have very different motivators, as listed below.
Cat Motivators
- Wants to be respected
- Needs a Challenge
- Task and Issue focussed
- Hierarchial it's all about your position in the company
- Isn't bothered by conflict
- Wants to make all the decisions
- loves intrigue
Dog Motivators
- Needs to be liked
- Needs comforting and re-assurance
- Relationship focussed
- prefers flat hierarchies everyone is equal
- doesn't like conflict
- Like clear exact instructions
- Very good at research or data gathering
So for dogs it's all about the pack or team and being liked. For a cat it's all about respect and position of authority. When we look at Scrum teams and agile in general, you'd think that it has a much stronger steer towards dogs. But still even within scrum teams there could certainly be a cat or two. Does your scrum team have a cat? It tends to be that 70% or people are Dogs and 30% are Cats, that's not to say people don't exist inbetween. They do. We learned that cats tend to occupy management positions more naturally, but they tend to hit a ceiling, where they're forced to improve they're dog skills to progress further.
Have a look at the following behaviours, which one do you lean towards?
Cat Behaviours - Credible Cat
- Sits straight
- keeps still
- perfectly balanced
- listens silently
- faces palms dowards
- sounds credible, conveys information
Dog Behaviours - Approachable Dog
- Leans forward
- Nods head
- positions their weight to once side.
- Makes listening sounds -- uh huh
- Palms face upwards
- voice seeks information, very approachable
The reality is of-course that you'll have a few from both, but it's interesting to look at.
Dogs Golden rule
Treat others how you would like to be treated.
A dog is motivated by all that is good and fair, and will assume that you'll reciprocate. Dogs are transparent (not literally) WYSIWYG
Cats Platinum rule
Treat others the way they need to be treated.
Treat a cat like a cat and a dog like a dog. It's not scheming or unfair, it's just being more cat-like.
So when you think about your team, or company; who are the cats and who are the dogs. If you think you're a dog but want the credibility of a cat, maybe you should adopt some of the cat behaviours. Listen siltently, appear reflective and then deliver your verdict.
If you're a Cat, maybe try nodding along with a team member and putting your point across as an equal not from a authoritive position.