HOW TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THE 4 DIFFERENT ANIMAL PERSONALITY TYPES ON YOUR TEAM

Hello again. If you're watching this, it means that you were probably part of one of my keynote experiences or a live event at some point, and I just want to say thank you for participating and making it a great experience. If you stumbled onto this video somehow, it's great to meet you. My name is Sean Glaze. I'm a team building speaker and author who shares interactive programs that build sticky cultures and inspires more profitable teamwork. What I want to do in this video is to give you a short, practical refresher on something that we covered together in person. The 4 animal personality types and how to actually use that awareness to communicate more effectively with the people around you every day, both professionally and personally. Now, we probably spent real time on this live, and I hope that you walked away with some helpful insights. But here's the truth about a live event: the value doesn't come from the day of, it comes from what you keep doing the day after. So think of this as a Friendly reminder, a quick review to help you put those insights that we discussed into work in real conversations. Let me start with the core idea that drives all of this. Every person you work with has a natural communication style. They have a preferred way of giving and receiving information. It's their default tendency for making decisions, for processing change, and for handling pressure situations. Most of us spend our careers communicating the way we're wired and then wondering why certain people just don't seem to click or to hit it with us. A Lion talks to everyone like they're also Lions. An Otter brings energy into a room full of Beavers who just want data. A Retriever keeps peace when the team actually needs somebody who's going to push back. The fix isn't complicated, but it does require awareness. It requires knowing your tendency and personality style and recognizing the style of the person across from you so you can put that message in the right envelope. Not changing who you are, just adjusting how you deliver the message so it lands better and is more palatable to them. That's what this video is about. Now, as a real quick review, let me do a quick pass over the 4 types of animals, and understand this coincides with the DiSC personality assessment as well. Real quickly, lions are direct, fast-paced, and results-driven. They're red. They are decisive leaders. They want results, they want them fast, and they have very little patience for anything that they see as unnecessary. They're not trying to be difficult, they're just wired for outcomes. Now, Otters are enthusiastic. They're people-first and creative. They're the green color. Otters are your energizers on a team. They bring excitement, they love connection, and they communicate best in environments where they feel relational. Details tend to blur for them, but their ability to inspire and engage with others is real. Next is Retrievers. Retrievers are loyal, steady, and seek harmony. Retrievers are your steady teammates. They are supportive and deeply committed to the team, but they avoid conflict and they take a lot of time to make decisions, so they need to feel safe before they open up. Finally, Beavers are analytical, detail-oriented, and quality-driven. They're the yellows. Beavers are your quality control on a team. They want accuracy and detail. They want specific process. They're going to read an instruction manual, and if your facts are off, they're going to find it. Give them data and give them time. Now, here's why this matters, and I want to share this personal story because I think it will make the information about animal styles even more real. Now, I am mostly a Lion. I'm results-focused, I'm driven, I'm direct, and I am absolutely task-focused. When something needs to get done, I want to solve it and close the loop and move on to the to the next challenge. And I'm not being dismissive when I operate that way. That's my style. I want to get it done and see what's next. But my wife is a Retriever. She's warm and loyal, deeply relational. She doesn't just process a situation. She processes how the situation feels for everyone involved, and she wants connection before conclusions. She wants to talk through something before a decision gets made. And early in our marriage, We had the same conversation over and over, and neither of us could figure out why it kept going sideways. I'd come home after a long day and she'd want to talk, and in my head I was in problem-solving mode, so I'd listen to figure out what the issue was and offer a reasonable solution and consider it handled. She didn't see it that way. What she needed had nothing to do with the solution. She just needed to feel heard. She needed to connect. She wasn't being overly emotional, and I wasn't being deliberately cold. We were just two different styles of personalities trying to connect using the wrong approach. Once we understood that, things got better. Not overnight, but the gap begins to close when you see what's actually happening. Here's why I'm telling you this: that doesn't just apply to the people in your personal life. It applies to the people on your team. It applies to everyone that you care about and interact with. The colleague that you keep bumping heads with has a personality style. Your manager has a style. Your direct reports have a personality style. And once you can identify which animal they are, you stop defaulting to your conversation or communication type, and you start meeting those people where they are. That's when connection really begins to happen. So in order to move you forward in those interactions, I want to share how you can actually talk to each type a little bit more effectively. Talking to Lions: Be quick, be punchy, and mirror the Lion's energy a bit. Lions are not interested in backstory. Skip the warm-up and get right to the desired outcome. Give them key points in bullet form—short, clear, results-focused. Here's what it looks like in real life. Maybe a sample conversation: Hey, I want to talk you through some background on the project before we get where we are today because There's a lot of context I think will help you to understand the recommendation that I'll be making in a few minutes. That would be horrible for a Lion. The right approach would be, the project's on track. Here's 3 things that I'm going to need from you. 1, 2, 3. Which one do you want to tackle first? See, once a Lion agrees, stop selling and move forward. They hate feeling like they're being over-persuaded after they've decided. Here's how you can talk successfully to Otters. Warm, conversational, and smile a little. Otters need to feel that the relationship is going to be something that helps them to engage before the content arrives. Don't walk into a meeting and start with the agenda. Start with them. Ask how they're doing. Ask what they're excited about, and then listen. Here's a bad approach: I pulled the second quarter numbers, and I need to review a few things with you before we finalize the plan. That's not going to land well. The right approach: Hey, before we get into things, how are things going with you? What have you been up to? Hear you've had a big week. Oh, that is fantastic. So here's where we're headed, and honestly, I think you're going to love the direction. Keep your energy up, keep it fun, and follow up in writing because they're oftentimes going to miss details in that initial conversation. Here's how you're going to talk to Retrievers. Be patient, be warm, and slow down. There's no urgency. This is the style that takes the most patience because Retrievers decide slowly and then will rarely push back even if they have concerns. They're often asking themselves, "How is this going to affect not just me but the rest of the team that I care about?" And they're not going to move until they feel secure. Here's the wrong approach: "All right, we need to make a decision today. I need your answer before lunch." The right approach: I know this is a shift from how we've been doing things. I want to make sure that you feel good about it and about how it's going to affect the team, because I really believe it's going to help us to be a whole lot more efficient. What questions do you have? The relationship is the sale with Retrievers. They need trust before they trust ideas. Follow through with what you say and give them time. Finally, here's how you're going to want to talk to Beavers. Be measured, be credible, and be prepared with data, or they'll notice the lack immediately. They don't want enthusiasm, they want evidence. Come in with the information, come in with the process, and share the plan. Be specific, don't exaggerate, and when they push back on a fact, don't get defensive, just address it. The wrong approach would sound like this: Trust me, it's gonna work, I've got a really good feeling about it. The right approach is going to be. Here's the data behind the recommendation I'm going to make. This is the step-by-step plan that I think is going to succeed. I want to give you time to review it so you can find any holes that I might have missed. Do you have any questions? Asking them what questions they have is a powerful move with beavers, as it signals that you value their precision instead of being upset by it. Here's what I want you to walk away with from this video. You already know the framework of lions and otters and retrievers and beavers. You were there when we did this live. What I want to remind you of is that awareness only creates value when you actually apply it in your conversations. Think about one person on your team this week that you can use the style to improve a conversation with. Think about their default personality style and the way you typically communicate, and versus how they would better process that information. That small shift is going to create real momentum in your influence. Give yourself permission to not be perfect by putting your message in the right envelope. When you first start implementing this, it might feel awkward at first, but the change you're going to see when you begin to learn how to speak different animal languages is going to land better with team members. It's going to feel tremendous. If you want to go deeper on this or any other part of how to build a great team culture, the Team Leadership Toolbox on my website has over 50 free resources designed to help you do exactly that. Tools to strengthen communication, Accountability, Expectations, Recognition, and more to get better results from the team of people that you work with. Head over to GreatResultsTeamBuilding.com. It's waiting for you there. And if you want to bring a memorable experience to your team in a live setting, I'd love to have that conversation. You can reach out to me at Sean@GreatResultsTeamBuilding.com. Thanks for being part of one of my programs. Now go put these insights to work.