A Twist on DiSC!

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Click here to view and download this month’s worksheet to utilize on your own or with a Group and/or Team over the next 12 months.

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“Self-awareness is so important for job performance that 83 percent of people high in self-awareness are top performers.”

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

 

One of the most pressing leadership questions one can ask of themself is, “what do other people need from me and what response does a situation call for if I am to be an effective leader?”

The most effective leaders are the most effective communicators. They are adept at meeting the needs of other people and particular situations. They have worked to cultivate an extremely high level of self-knowing, situational awareness, and have developed the ability to genuinely meet people where they are thereby creating an environment that meets needs and achieves results.

Recently, Harvard Professor and Author Adam Grant shared in a public post that MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Personality Indicator) is outdated and that “personality types are a myth.” As it also relates to DiSC, we wholeheartedly agree with Professor Grant and believe a few fundamentals about communication styles:

  • All humans are wired with the basic elements of extroversion, introversion, thinking/fact and emotion/feeling communication “styles”

  • Each human is wired the way they are wired for a good purpose

  • Our behavioral choices, the characteristics we develop, and subsequently choose to display are manifested in our preferred communication style

Our twist on DiSC is this; use DiSC as a communication tool to understand your preferred communication style and that of others and avoid using DiSC to typecast individuals and/or predict or proscribe their behavioral choices.

What do initiators do? 

They initiate. They act (Dominance communication style) or they ask (Influence communication style).

What do responders do? 

They respond. They wait (Steadiness communication style) or they wonder (Conscientiousness communication style).

Initiators are highly effective at taking initiative. Responders are highly effective at being responsive.  The same holds true for the feeling/fact communication styles.

The proverbial $64,000 question is, what does the individual I am engaging with, the team I am working with, or the situation I am involved with need from me as a leader/communicator? Initiator or responder, fact based or feeling based?

Leaders recognize the need to initiate when needed and respond when needed, and coach others to do the same. They also recognize how valuable it is to create environments where all communication styles are honored, valued, and heard. Self-awareness leads to self-management!

An important nuance to the twist on DiSC is to avoid confusing extroversion and initiation/initiators with effectiveness as a communicator and/or effective leadership. We often mistake leadership with initiation and/or extroversion with effective leadership. Both mistakes can lead to unintended negative outcomes when assessing true leadership and promoting individuals to roles of authority and responsibility.

When facilitating DiSC training sessions, we share the foundation for success as a communicator:

  • Successful Communicators: Understand themselves and how their behavior affects others

  • Successful Communicators: Understand their reactions to other people

  • Successful Communicators: Know how to maximize what they do well

  • Successful Communicators: Have a positive attitude about themselves which causes others to have confidence in them

  • Successful Communicators: Know how to adapt their behavior to meet the needs of other people and particular situations

As leaders, and as individuals with a strong desire to communicate effectively, learning to add skill to our approach is much easier than changing our “personality” as Dr. Nelson L. Noggle, author of Living Beyond the Box, has stated.

The ability to adapt and meet people where they are is rooted in self-awareness which leads to self-management. So, for this month, we are electing to provide impactful suggestions for expanding adaptability for each communication style preference.

Dominance/Fact Based Initiators (10-15% of the population possess this primary communication style)

  • Develop patience, sensitivity, and empathy

  • Genuinely compliment others

  • Act less hastily, more cautiously

  • Identify with the group

  • Tone down directness, ask more questions

  • Work on your approachability – watch body language, use eye contact to engage, don’t fidget

  • Offer more encouragement in conversation, use affirming verbal responses

  • Allow others time to respond, avoid interrupting or moving to the next topic

 

Influence/Feeling Based Initiators (20-25% of the population possess this primary communication style)

  • Control time and emotions

  • Try to be more objective

  • Follow up on promises and tasks

  • Concentrate on the job at hand

  • Spend more time checking, specifying, and organizing

  • Manage spontaneous verbal input

  • Listen more carefully to what people really need

  • Become more organized

  • Provide more detail

  • Practice consistent follow through

 

Steadiness/Feeling Based Responders (30-35% of the population possess this primary communication style)

  • Learn to say no and set appropriate boundaries

  • Take some risks

  • Delegate to others

  • Accept logical changes

  • Verbalize feelings to appropriate people

  • Finish tasks without oversensitivity to other’s feelings

  • Become more assertive and direct with others

  • Cope better with change

  • Do not carry the burden of everyone else’s problems

  • Have a realistic view of a manageable workload

 

Conscientiousness/Fact Based Responders (15-20% of the population possess this primary communication style)

  • Openly show concern and appreciation of others

  • Initiate new projects

  • Use policies as guidelines, not laws

  • Collaborate by seeking common ground

  • Occasionally try shortcuts and time-savers

  • Make timely decisions

  • Develop a better acceptance of differences

  • Be more open to communicate more thoughts and feelings

  • Display more flexibility and be less rigid

  • Give praise and encouragement occasionally

 

Each of us have a tendency to gravitate to one of the four communication transaction mechanisms listed above. Each communication style certainly has behavioral tendencies, such as initiation/extroversion or responsiveness/introversion however, fascinatingly, in order to practice these adaptability and effectiveness recommendations, one has to choose to shift outside of their preferred communication style, behave differently, and be willing to adapt to others.

The behavior we demonstrate is completely a matter of an individual’s choice and is not rooted in a personality style. It takes courage, authenticity, transparency, emotional maturity, humility, grace, patience, and a myriad of behavioral choices to adapt effectively! That’s our twist on DiSC and we hope it will lead to the greatest levels of leadership effectiveness you have ever achieved by choosing to lead!

-LS

This Month’s Worksheet

Click here to view and download this month’s worksheet to utilize on your own or with a Group and/or Team over the next 12 months.

Recommended Quarterly Reading

Emotional Intelligence 2.0
By Dr. Travis Bradberry & Dr. Jean Greaves

2023
Managing From The Inside Out

Winter 2023

February 1, 8, 15, 22
March 1, 8, 15

AM Classes: 8:30-11:30 A.M.
PM Classes: 1:30-4:30 P.M.

Spring 2023

May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
June 7, 14

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Fall 2023

October 4, 11, 18, 25
November 1, 8, 15

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Register today to engage in professional growth and development as a Leader Manager and join us for Managing From The Inside Out! Simply email Katie Williamson at katie@lauraschanz.com to reserve a seat for yourself or a Team Member. The 2022 Registration Fee is $1,195.