Why DiSC has become a genuine day-to-day tool.

Let me ask you a question: If Rachel tends to overlook input from others and David is someone who always welcomes advice from others, who is going to be the most effective contributor to the business? Rachel or David?

Of course, in reality, it’s never that simple! Whether you need someone in your business who is strong-willed like Rachel or more accommodating like David will depend on many different factors. What role are they working in? Who will they be working with? Who will they be managed by? 

What we can be sure of is that there will be very few businesses that are made up of only Davids. And for good reason. Likewise, too many Rachels on board, and you’ll no doubt end up suffering from a lack of collaboration across the board.

Companies need diversity to thrive.
Companies are never made up of just one type of person with a certain set of strengths and weaknesses. Teams are complex, varied and dynamic; it’s what makes them wonderful, and it also presents a number of challenges! 

Often, people gravitate towards others with similar personalities, but that can sometimes polarise the workplace. Equally, when you bring people together in teams that work in very different ways, it can result in frustration and challenges with other colleagues. 

How then, does someone who is exceptionally strong-willed successively work alongside someone that goes out of their way to accommodate people? In turn, how can you help drive the right company culture that brings out the best in your employees, regardless of whether they are the loudest, most assertive or most confident in the room?

Knowledge is power; how well do you know your team?
The better we know our fellow workers, the better we can work together to achieve our goals. It sounds obvious, but actually making this a reality in the workplace is a whole different story.

We all have a tendency to put people into boxes; those that are ‘organised’ versus those that are ‘creative’. Those who are confident and loud in team meetings versus those who stay quiet and wait for someone else to speak. You probably have colleagues yourself that you might describe as ‘shy’, ‘extrovert’, ‘easily distracted’, or ‘meticulous’. All of these individual traits may well be true, but they certainly won’t be the only characteristics that define that person.

Just like teams, individuals are complex too. You might be wildly ambitious but won’t necessarily have the confidence to put forward your ideas first. You might love working in creative environments but need to take a logical and structured approach in order to work productively.

In general, we are much better at accepting certain ways of working if we take time to learn and understand more about the person behind those behaviours. Of course, time is a luxury we don’t always have.

There’s no doubt that learning more about how each individual likes to work, how they might complement each other, and where conflicts and challenges are likely to arise is the golden ticket to a successful team. 

What we need in practice, however, is a way of doing this quickly and effectively so that it is embedded within the workplace and becomes part of the company workflow.

How to know WHO is bringing WHAT to the table
Imagine for a moment what a difference it would make to have real insight into each individual in your organisation from the outset. To be able to instantly know how each team member works individually, but also how they will work with every other member of the team. 

And in addition to this insight, giving each member of the business or team the insight to learn about every other person they are likely to interact with.

Knowing how far individuals can be stretched in certain situations and being aware of where they are able to compromise when needed, can be a complete game-changer when it comes to managing teams and improving productivity in the workplace.  

DiSC uses an online assessment to provide an individual personalised report that provides an accurate assessment of individuals’ own behaviour styles. The assessments cover everything from areas you tend to prioritise to how you tend to work with other people to what areas you find most challenging.

The real game-changer comes with the CATALYST.
In addition to being enlightening for each individual who completes an assessment, the real game-changer comes with the CATALYST add-on, enabling each user to be able to compare themselves to other members of the team – or the wider business. Colleagues can instantly see what similarities they share, as well as what roadblocks they might come up against and where their priorities might clash. 

Imagine giving a presentation to your colleagues and understanding where you might need to slow down a little or present some compelling evidence to move a project forward. It’s really about understanding your team members better and respecting the differences rather than clashing.

From an HR perspective, DiSC has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool in allowing employers to find out more about how individuals will fit into teams and where they might be able to complement or balance out the behaviour styles of others. 

A genuine day-to-day tool to help organisations thrive.
Ultimately, DiSC enables organisations to function better on a day-to-day basis by increasing productivity, promoting collaboration and improving conflict resolution within teams. As for organisations that are able to use that knowledge to drive a confident, diverse and successful company culture? Well, that’s where businesses can really thrive.

To find out more about how you can use DiSC within your organisation to improve team dynamics and transform your company workflow and culture, please do get in touch. 

Strong-willed or accommodating? Well, of course, it’s both!