Seating Arrangements — Where to Sit, and Whymanagers and 127 lower/middle managers to sketch the furni-
ture arrangement they preferred to have in their offices when
relocating to a new building. A full 76% of the senior man-
agers (185) drew a sketch placing their desks between
themselves and their subordinates. Only 50% of the lower
managers (64) did this and male managers were twice as likely
as females to put the desk between them and others.
The most interesting finding was how other staff members
perceived the managers who did not have their desks placed
like a barrier. These managers were described by their staff as
more fair-minded, more prepared to listen to their ideas
without criticism and less likely to show favouritism to others.
Sitting directly opposite others creates bad vibes.If B is seeking to persuade A, the Competitive Position reduces
the chance of a successful negotiation, unless B is deliberately
sitting opposite as part of a pre-planned strategy. For example,
it may be that A is a manager who has to reprimand employee
B, and the Competitive Position can add weight to the repri-
mand. On the other hand, if B wants to make A feel superior,
B can deliberately sit directly opposite A.
Whatever business you're in, if it involves dealing with
people you are in the influencing business and your objective
should always be to see the other person's point of view, to put
him at ease and to make him feel right about dealing with you;
the Competitive Position does not lead to that end. More co-
operation will be gained from the Corner and Co-operative
Positions than will ever be achieved from the Competitive Posi-
tion. Conversations are significantly shorter and more pointed
in the Competitive Position.
The Independent Position (B4)
This is taken by people when they don't want to interact with
each other. It occurs between strangers in places such as
libraries, park benches or restaurants and is the position we