by Vanessa Caceres, Contributing Writer
I
t's no surprise that we're all
driven by our different person-
ality types—a fellow surgeon in
your office may always focus on
the bottom line, while 1 of
the technicians may always try to
find a way to personally connect
with patients. Your administrator
may be an ace at focusing on the
numbers.
Recognizing personality differ-
ences—and matching someone else's
personality type during social situa-
tions—can make for a smoother prac-
tice, among staff and with patient
interactions, said Michael Besserman,
key account manager, Alcon, Fort
Worth, Texas. Mr. Besserman and
Michael Hecker, also a key account
manager with Alcon, presented 4
different personality types during
an ASOA course at the ASCRS•ASOA
Symposium & Congress, "Talking
Does Not Equal Communicating:
Communication That Drives Re-
sults."
Mr. Besserman and Mr. Hecker
described to attendees the 4 different
personality types
as classified by the
Social Styles Mod-
el, designed by
David W. Merrill
and Roger H. Reid in the 1980s. The
personality types described by Mr.
Merrill and Mr. Reid have been used
in workplace trainings around the
globe to help lead to better commu-
nication and productivity. Here is
how Mr. Besserman and Mr. Hecker
described the 4 personality types.
Pinpointing personality type
helps with workplace and
Which types describe you,
your staff, and your patients?
24 Ophthalmology Business • July 2016
