BERNE’S THEORY OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS (CROWN AS KING)
Use this to become a more effective communicator.
Transactional analysis theory describes the state of mind that a person is in when they give or receive a message. The way managers communicate with staff has a significant effect on how staff receive, interpret and act upon the broadcast message. Berne identified five patterns of behaviour, or ego states, that people use when communicating.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH EGO STATE ARE:
The critical parent state: The person is overbearing and tells people what to do.
The nurturing parent state: The person expresses concern for people’s feelings but likes to tell people what to do in the guise of offering advice.
The free child state: The person expresses their emotions without constraint.
The adaptive child state: The person lacks confidence and is anxious to please.
The adult ego state: The person acts with maturity and assesses the situation in a calm and rational manner.
Although behaving in the adult ego state is generally the most effective approach, Berne suggests that there are times when managers may need to adopt the parent or even the child ego state in order to motivate employees.
HOW TO USE IT
- Recognise that you have the ability to adopt any ego state.
- To use transactional analysis identify which ego state your staff are in and adopt the ego state that is most effective in dealing with them.
- If you are both in a parent ego state then the likelihood is that there will be friction as you both try to impose your own rules on the other.
- If you are both in a child ego state you might have a bit of fun but nothing will get done because you will be too busy sucking your thumbs and throwing your teddies out of the crib.
- If you are in the parent ego state and the other person is in the child ego state or vice versa then this will produce an outcome satisfactory to at least one side, but this may be short-lived.
- The ideal state to aim for is when you are both in the adult ego state.
- To move from either the parent or child ego states ask questions such as: What can we do about this? How can I support you to get this done? How can we sort this? How would you suggest we move forward? If you follow this simple process it will improve your ability to manage and motivate your staff significantly. Give it a try.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Which is my normal state? Is it a productive state? If not, how can I change it?
- What causes me to shift states? Is it words, actions or events?