Because Social Style is a reflection of how others see your behavior, there are a number of possible explanations why the Style might have changed.

Self-Perception Vs. Multi-rater Profiles
The most common explanation is that one of your Style profiles was generated using a Self-Perception questionnaire. Research shows that people self-identify their Style different from others approximately half of the time. And because our effectiveness reflects how others see us, information gathered from others is much more helpful than our own internal beliefs. Style and Versatility scores from a multi-rater profile are the ones on which you should focus. (See our whitepaper on the Value of aMulti-Rater Profile.)

Different Rating Groups
Sometimes a person will have significant differences in the people that complete a Social Style profile. For example, a sales manager may behave significantly different with his colleagues and direct reports than with his clients. This could result in some differences in a person’s Social Style score, but research has shown that such differences are infrequent and relatively small.

Changes Over Time
Sometimes a person’s behaviors – and thus their Social Style – will change slightly over time and/or circumstances. For instance, a person newly promoted to a position of authority may slightly change key elements of his or her behavior to accommodate the new role. Thus people will perceive this person’s behavior differently, which can result in a slight change in Style profile.

Versatility Score Changes
Versatility scores do sometimes change when people are re-profiled, because Versatility is truly variable and a choice each person can make. We may show more or less Versatility in different situations, with different people or when performing different actions. The most effective people are those that learn to be highly Versatile in a wide variety of settings and in the majority of their interactions with others. When this is the case, Versatility will generally be perceived as high no matter the group rating you.