Great! You’ve inherited a new team or perhaps your current organization is going through a change - a reorganization - or - implementing new technology.
As you start with this new team or begin to have discussions with your team about the new changes, you start to witness different behaviors amongst everyone.
- You notice Beth doesn’t say anything at meetings. Is she not on board? you wonder.
- Kayla has told you she’s frustrated with Joe and can’t understand him through all his rambling explanations.
- Brian doesn’t have much reaction. He seems to bring a sense of calm to the meeting. He gets obviously withdrawn as Kayla expresses her ideas.
You wonder how this group will ever become the thriving, dynamic team you hope to lead. How can you help each member adapt to the changes and be most effective in their role and with each other. How do you address Beth’s resistance? Should Kayla be less abrupt? Are these really the right behaviors that need to be addressed? Each individual has a unique style of the way they approach situations. The better we understand the styles and adapt our style in how we communicate together, we can be that thriving, the dynamic team we dream to have.
“When you know better, you do better.” - Maya Angelo
With the power of DISC® assessments, we can understand how one behaves, we can eliminate misconceptions and increase our effectiveness to communicate with one another. DISC® gives us the ability to understand who we’re communicating with and how to adapt to be successful with that person. DISC® is based on 4 key behavioral styles. Everyone is a blend of the 4 styles, yet has one or two dominant styles. Each is unique and needs to be honored.
You see, Beth is on board. She is what they call in the DISC® profile, a “High C”. She’s cautious. She needs all the details. She’s not speaking up because she’s listening and jotting down the facts. She’ll go back to her desk and do some more research. It’s finding the right balance of research and moving forward.
Kayla’s DISC® profile shows that she is a “High D”. She is decisive. She wants to hear the facts and only the facts and with Joe’s “HIGH I” profile, Joe expresses himself with words and is very enthusiastic. A “High D” would say he uses too many words. If Joe understood Kayla’s style, he could prepare accordingly and respond with concrete facts, while Kayla may want to give Joe some open dialogue time.
Brian’s calming demeanor represents a “High S” profile in the DISC® world. He likes to keep peace on the team and prefers a slower pace. Kayla’s abrupt style and demanding quick answers increase Brian’s anxiety.
Each one of these examples could be a recipe for team disaster if we ignore the value of each other’s styles and fail to adjust our style. What we originally perceived as barriers to an effective team, became an opportunity to become that thriving, dynamic team.
What’s your DISC® Profile?
Want to find out more about how your team can increase their effectiveness through communication? Contact consulting@hireclix.com to be connected with one of our Certified DISC® facilitators.