Today the main controller was on holiday so we had the other guy. Where the main controller is all-round friendly but a bit stressed, will tell you off and generally runs a pretty tight ship, the other guy is, although equally efficient at the job, more about cracking jokes and handing out praise.
I feel like I worked better today because I didn't want to let him down, whereas (and this predates back to my school days) a more authoritarian approach will almost make me want to slack off in some sort of psuedo-rebellion (perhaps I'm still a teen at heart). At the same time, if the controller was jokey and full of praise all the time I might start to find myself taking libs.
a brilliantly efficient woman with just the right edge of sardonic humour and high motivational powers who only ever hired the best - her name was Auntie Clare
What I have found works for me is showing respect and appreciation. That means treating the riders as adults, and not talking to them as if they are idiots. It also means telling them when they are doing a good job. And acknowledging your own mistakes (something that controllers can find difficult!)
On the other hand, I am not slow to let riders know when I think they are not doing a good enough job.
But sometimes it doesn't work whatever I try: some riders just don't get it, or simply don't like working with me.