Did they really just say that?

We have all experienced that moment when you hope you have misunderstood someone. When you stop and question “Did they really just say that?” or “Why are they being so difficult?”

Its no secret that everyone is different and will have different opinions on situations. So, it’s important to remember – different does not mean something bad. It’s just different!

We naturally bring different values and understanding to situations and, especially in a working environment, this insight can be invaluable.

On Saturday I attended a training day with The Coaching Academy to become Accredited in DISC, a personality profile tool. DISC was created by Dr William Moulton Marston and breaks down personalities into four traits being Dominant, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.

Using DISC profiling, you can establish a better understanding of people’s preferred interaction styles, their strengths and what they truly value.

To establish the four personality styles, DISC is broken down to outgoing or reserved traits, and people or task focuses. It is often the gap between these styles that lead to misunderstandings and conflict.  

Dominant people tend to be the action takers. When they see a problem, they will go straight in and fix it! Just be careful you don’t make them feel like you are taking advantage of them, they will not take to kindly to this.

The Influencers are more about being creative and having fun, and often use their social personality to bring others around to their way of thinking. You can usually spot them around the watercooler or being busy organising everyone’s birthday cakes.

Steady people value security and are constantly considers others when making decisions. But if you want to them to change something in their life, you will need to explain why the change is needed and that there is a benefit. Whilst they are always trying to keep the peace, they will not like change just for the sake of change.

Lastly you have the compliance people. The ones who explore every possible option before making a decision. As they tend to follow procedures and conduct research, if you are going to question them, you best be prepared with the facts and figures to back up your reasons for your questions.  

People will most often have a combination of these traits and once you have identified their preferences and values, can adjust your language, tone and approach to build greater rapport with the people you interact with on a daily basis.

When you are able to identify people’s preferences, the benefits of DISC profiles are endless! You can apply your understanding to help improve communication, rapport and to assist your company with recruitment and developing teams.

Understanding what motivates someone can have a powerful impact on them reaching their best potential as some people will thrive by being able to make quick decisions, whilst others will value security in their role, and some will appreciate their praise in public or private.

At extreme levels of the DISC personalities, people may be considered blunt, chatty, stubborn or argumentative, but with an open and accommodating mind you can benefit so much from building on their strengths and preferred working styles.

If you are as curious about DISC profiles as I am, please feel free to contact me to find out more! Whether you want to raise your own self-awareness, learn how to build stronger rapport with clients or manage your teams to help get the best results possible, DISC can give you incredible insight to stand out and become the best.

So, long story short… Step with care and great tact, and remember that life is a balancing act – Dr. Seuss