DISC Style Perception at Work
One of the great aspects of using DISC to understand ourselves and the people we work with is that it gives us a shared vocabulary for describing behaviors in a non-personal way. A DISC style graph is like a Rosetta Stone for helping people to collaborate and communicate. It helps identify the predispositions that can cause confusion, misunderstandings, and friction so that they can be adjusted for a more harmonious and productive work environment.
Let’s explore an example using two classic DISC behavioral profiles:
The High S (Sarah) and the High D (Dan)
Let’s start by assuming that Sarah and Dan have never taken a DISC assessment so although we know their DISC styles, they don’t. Dan’s high D style means that he tends to be forceful in encounters, particularly those that are in line with the goals he is trying to achieve. He makes fast decisions and likes to cut through the red tape to get things done. Sarah, on the other hand, being a high S, is more comfortable with a slow pace of change. She works steadily and diligently, rarely ever makes waves, and is persistent in how she approaches her work. Recently, Sarah and Dan have been asked to work on a project together and the results have been a disaster. Dan doesn’t understand why they haven’t made more progress. Sarah seldom disagrees with him when they discuss project goals but she always ends up working on other things – usually departmental duties for her boss, Cathy, whom she has worked under for years. Sarah hasn’t expressed it but she feels oppressed by Dan. To her, his approach is chaotic and forceful and his goals are unclear and not thoroughly communicated. He always wants her to drop everything for some “new idea of the day” when she needs to make sure that working on this special project doesn’t disrupt things for Cathy, her boss.
So, what’s going on in this situation?
- Dan thinks that he is communicating clearly because Sarah offers no resistance to his intimidating style. She defers to his take-charge manner so he assumes she’s on-board with his ideas.
- Sarah thinks she is being loyal and responsible by taking care of her boss’s priorities as she has always done. She doesn’t understand why Dan has so much time to think of new ideas when he surely must have duties he was responsible for before this project began.
- Dan is starting to get impatient and frustrated with Sarah because he thinks she’s slowing down the project and he won’t get the promotion he hoped volunteering for this project would bring him.
- Sarah is getting very little sleep at night because she’s afraid that she’ll get fired for not fulfilling her duties to her boss and is starting to avoid Dan and feel resentful for him putting her in this predicament.
Now let’s intervene and ask Sarah and Dan to take DISC assessments and thoroughly brief them on their respective DISC styles. We can help them see themselves more clearly, and perhaps more importantly help them to see the difference between how they see themselves and how others may be perceiving their actions.
Dan sees himself as
Big picture-focused
Taking initiative
Decisive
Capable
But Sarah sees Dan as
Arrogant
Chaotic
Disruptive
Egocentric
Sarah sees herself as
Loyal
Diligent
Responsible
Polite
But Dan sees Sarah as
Slow
Lacking ambition
Incompetent
Incommunicative
As Dan and Sarah learn more about their own behaviors and how their perception of themselves can differ greatly from how others may view them, they can be coached on strategies for more effective communication and learn how to recognize and adapt to the DISC profiles of others. Now that Dan knows he is a high D and Sarah is not, he can strive to adjust his behavior – he begins by making sure he asks Sarah more questions to actively confirm agreement on goals and commitment to priorities rather than just assume that a passive lack of argument actually meant a “yes.” Likewise, Sarah now understands that Dan isn’t trying to get her fired, but that his high D behavior makes him put a lot of drive behind his actions, while her own high S gives her a natural bias towards being a less demonstrative person so others may not realize when she is in disagreement or unhappy about a decision. Although it is uncomfortable for her, she resolves to do a better job of expressing her view and communicating the boundaries that make her feel that this project isn’t threatening her ability to complete her other duties.
Armed with the knowledge DISC profiles can bring, Dan discovers that Sarah is actually a very thorough, productive, and reliable worker who steadily moves the project agenda forward one accomplishment at a time. Sarah also comes to appreciate Dan’s boldness and initiative especially when he helps secure more resources for the project and helps her talk to her boss about easing some of her departmental duties so she has more time to spend on this project without becoming overstressed.
DISC behavioral assessments are powerful tools for understanding the differences in the way we interact. However, it is just information – great managers understand that it is the adjustments we make and the strategies we coach in our people that the true strengths of DISC knowledge are revealed. It’s easy to use DISC to excuse one’s self for one behavioral bias or another and that is why it is important to cultivate the idea that DISC equips us so that we can choose to adjust our behavior to better adapt to the needs of others.
~ Inspired by the writing of Art Schoeck, our founder
