Understanding the Expressive Behavioral Style

Cathie Leimbach • August 15, 2021

Being aware of your and your employee's primary and backup workplace behavior will make you a better leader. This self-awareness helps you to:

  • more quickly engage and motivate each of your employees
  • recognize your own strengths and weaknesses
  • communicate more effectively with each employee by tailoring conversations to fit their workplace behavioral style.

 

When someone’s primary behavioral work style is Expressive they blend a high level of both emotional responsiveness and assertiveness. These employees are big picture-oriented and take a look at the overall issue. They can often arrive at a fresh, novel, and creative approach to problems. They are willing to take risks to seize opportunities.

 

Members of your team with the Expressive primary work style tend to have the following strengths:

  • good communicator
  • emotional
  • passionate
  • motivational
  • inspirational
  • outgoing
  • fun-loving

 

Employees with an Expressive primary style tend to process things in a step-by-step linear sequence and observe and remember specific information. These employees will do better when they have flexibility in their work and how their time is managed. They are open to new opportunities like making decisions on the fly, and can sometimes enjoy working on things at the last minute or on their schedule.

 

Limitations to this Expressive work style include:

  • unrealistic
  • not detailed-oriented
  • excitable
  • impulsive
  • becoming bored by routine and details
  • can be too talkative
  • get bored easily

 

Leaders with an Expressive work behavioral style are action-oriented, driven by adventure, and prefer acting outside of the typical leadership norms. Because rules are the bane of their existence, they often feel that creativity is more important than the rule books. 

 

Leaders with an Expressive work style may believe that people perform best when they can establish their processes and ways of work.

 

If this is your leadership style you will benefit from being aware of how youpra work and how it impacts on your employees. Not all members of your team will feel comfortable or productive managing their own time and work product. These employees will need guidance and structure. Coaching them might seem stressful and a waste of time. However, it is crucial in supporting your employees to reach their potential.

 

Encouraging your team to define and express their own comfort level related to tasks and workload will create better results. Providing your team with the tools they need, even if it involves detailed structure, will lead to higher productivity.

 

Conversational management can be implemented in different ways to serve different ways of communicating with their employees.  For example:

 

Rather than saying, "Just do your job and get it done." (results-oriented and unrealistic). 

Do this instead. "I would like to get this completed by next Thursday.  What do you need from me to help you reach that goal?" (And be prepared to help them with processes and a timeline.)

 

Rather than saying, "We will get this done even if you think we can't." (Results-oriented and pushing the boundaries of structure)

Say this instead, "I appreciate your input. I think we can achieve this. What do you suggest we do to overcome your concerns?" (Being open to "push back" and reasonable concerns around execution.)

 

Coaching and motivating employees with an Expressive work style can be challenging. These employees do their best when they create their schedule and processes for work completion. This potentially creates problems integrating with a project team. They are easily bored, thrive on doing a million things simultaneously, and are adept at problem-solving even when they drop the ball. 

 

Coaching these employees will almost always include giving them some freedom to set the way they accomplish goals while helping them see how other people are on the team.  Encouraging them to listen to other perspectives will support them in integrating different facts into their evaluation. 

 

Make sure that they are in the correct position within the team. Employees with this Expressive work style add a solid results-oriented "can do" focus. They make excellent motivators and can inspire a team to reach higher levels of performance.

 

Use their energy and creativity by providing constant challenges and opportunities to solve problems and find ways to get things done. Whenever possible, give them the room to determine their process for accomplishment rather than providing a rigid structure. 

 

Employees with an Expressive work style can light up a room with their creativity, energy, and ability to motivate and inspire. Put them in positions where their strengths will enable their teams to reach higher productivity and results.

Trust-Building Conversations

By Cathie Leimbach • June 30, 2026
Most workplace tension doesn't come from major conflicts. It comes from too few conversations. A disappointment that was never discussed. A broken agreement that was never repaired. Appreciation that was never expressed. Over time, these "withholds" create friction that slows collaboration, weakens trust, and makes even simple conversations feel difficult. The strongest teams don't avoid tension—they address it early. Research highlighted in a recent McKinsey article found that unresolved tensions can significantly reduce team effectiveness, while high-trust teams consistently outperform their peers. The difference isn't the absence of problems. It's the willingness to talk about them. One of the most practical leadership habits is creating regular opportunities for transparent interaction. That includes appreciation. People should hear what they're doing well far more often than they hear about their shortfalls. Specific, genuine recognition builds trust over time. Those trust deposits matter because once positive relationships are built, difficult conversation are more likely to accept the message . When correction is needed, reinforce that you value the person, even though they aren’t perfect. The goal is growth, not judgment. But leaders should be careful not to make appreciation transactional. If positive feedback has been absent for months, suddenly offering praise immediately before a critique usually feels insincere. Trust is built through a steady pattern of recognition, encouragement, and honest conversation—not a last-minute compliment. Transparent leaders also address issues early. Small frustrations become large resentments when left unresolved. Teams that clear the air quickly spend less energy managing tension and more energy producing results. The result? Less friction. More trust. Stronger relationships. Better performance. Because healthy conversations don't just solve problems—they strengthen the team. Free Leader Guide: 5 Practices for Trust-Building Conversations The best leaders don't wait for tension to become conflict. They build trust before it's needed. Download our 5 Practices for Trust-Building Conversations guide to learn practical ways to strengthen relationships, reduce friction, and create a culture where honest conversations lead to better performance. Download the guide and start building trust one conversation at a time.

Speaking Up Is Not Defiance. It's Duty.

By Cathie Leimbach • June 23, 2026
Most leaders say they want employees to speak up. They want people who spot risks, question assumptions, and help the organization make better decisions. Yet many employees hesitate to do exactly that. Why? Because leaders often respond to speaking up as if the speaker is complaining, criticizing or resisting. When people fear being viewed as difficult, they stop sharing what they see. The organization loses valuable information, ideas, and perspectives. A recent McKinsey article found that teams with high psychological safety are two to three times more likely to generate breakthrough ideas. When people feel safe speaking up, better thinking follows. The best leaders understand a simple truth: Speaking up is not defiance. It's duty. When employees question assumptions, raise concerns, or offer a different perspective, they are helping the team avoid blind spots and make stronger decisions. That's why effective leaders don't merely tolerate speaking up—they invite it. They ask: What are we not seeing? What assumptions are we making? Who might see this differently? What information are we missing? Just as importantly, they respond with curiosity instead of defensiveness. They thank people for expressing their perspective. They explain how input influenced decisions. They make speaking up safe. Because organizations don't improve when everyone agrees. They improve when people feel responsible for helping the team see what others may have missed. In healthy organizations, speaking up isn't rebellion. It's responsibility. It's duty. Leadership Reflection Think about your last leadership team meeting. Did people simply agree? Or did someone help the team see something it otherwise would have missed? Download 5 Questions That Surface Better Thinking and make speaking up a productive part of how your team thinks, decides, and performs.