In Session

Now we come to the main event: the Classic Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwich with Tidewater Coleslaw. This is the way they eat barbecue on the eastern seaboard of the United States — in Georgia, and the Carolinas. A pork shoulder is cooked over a charcoal and/or hardwood fire at a low temperature for a long time (as much as 18 hours) until it becomes so tender that it’s almost falling apart. Then it’s pulled or shredded (hence the name of my team, the Butt Shredders), sauced, and piled onto a fluffy white bun and topped with sweet, tangy coleslaw. One doesn’t usually associate pork with the word fluffy, but a great pulled pork sandwich has a soft, fluffy texture and an incredible sweet, savory, tangy, spicy, smoky, rich flavor that you don’t just eat it — you inhale it!

Pork shoulder is one of the four official categories of barbecue competitions sanctioned by the leading governing body of barbecue, the Kansas City Barbecue Society. The other categories are chicken, pork ribs, and beef brisket. To become a Grand Champion, one must compete in all four categories and the winner is decided on the cumulative point score. Two years ago at the Jack Daniel’s Invitational World Championship Barbecue, our pork butt came second on the planet. Not bad for a bunch of hosers from Canada, eh?

On to the metaphor. Just as there are four official categories in a barbecue competition, there are four basic personality types in the workplace, and communicators have to understand this as we design and build our employee communications. This is my version of the Myers-Briggs or True Colors models of personality types. Here goes:

Chicken-types are sensitive, romantic, artistic people who define themselves based on their relationships with others and tend to see the big picture. Like their namesake meat, they are relatively neutral in flavour and see both sides of an issue. They are the peacemaker when arguments break out, and they appreciate it when their efforts are recognized.

Rib-types are extorverted and approachable but tend to get bored when they aren’t the center of attention. They are never satisfied with the status quo, and they often don’t feel a part of mainstream society. Like their namesake meat, they can be dry and tempermental and are easily overdone/misunderstood.

Pork Butt-types are solid, logical, analytical, introverted and independent. They don’t jump to conclusions but would rather think things through in a systematic way. They’re perfectionistic, steady, cautious and like to abide by tradition. They’re money-conscious and risk-averse and they don’t take well to instruction.

Finally, the Brisket-type person is a natural leader, a dominating force. They like to be in control and they are motivated by the achievement of power and domination. They crave adventure and they are not happy unless they are constantly producing, whatever that product may be. They are driven by instinct and common sense rather than analysis and they can be quite insensitive to the feelings of others — even ruthless at times.

As communicators, what can we learn from these four meats? First that we should not ever consider our audience in a monolithic way. That is, we need to understand that the employee population of any organization is made up of many different types of people, with different characteristics, different ways of looking at things, and different motivations. Not everyone is motivated by money, but some are. Not everyone craves stability, but some do. Understanding and respect for the diversity of people in today’s workplace is perhaps the first rule of effective communication.

Another thing. Most communicators are chickens. With maybe some ribs thrown in. We have a love-hate relationship with brisket people and pork butts. We need them because they have important qualities that we don’t, but we also have trouble understanding them and are easily hurt and manipulated by them.