People Smarts for The Workplace - Utilizing DISC

The DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness) workshop was an eye opening experience that starts to explain why people behave the way they do and how best to communicate with them. The workshop covered topics including:

• DISC styles of Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness to understand peoples’ needs 
• How all styles have their own set of strengths and communication preferences 
• How to communicate better to be fast, direct, to the point, results-oriented, and without a lot of detail
• How to communicate better with people who prefer communication to be specific, slower-paced, detail oriented, accurate and not too social. 
• How to communicate better with people who prefer communication to be social, warm, fast-paced and not bogged down with details 
• How to people-read and discern between the DISC behavioral styles 
• Models for adapting to each of the behavioral styles to increase comfort and effectiveness in relationships 
• How to use DISC to strengthen team effectiveness.

One very interesting topic that stood out to me was the relationship pathway. This really explains how our relationships evolve over time and where our relationships stand on the pathway. As we progress down the path we strengthen our relationships. The five steps down this path include: Judging, Understanding, Respecting, Accepting and Valuing.

Some things to remember when dealing with the different styles are:

• Dominance – D’s want others to be direct, straightforward and open to their need for results 
• Influence – I’s want others to be friendly and to recognize their contributions 
• Conscientiousness – C’s want others to minimize socializing, give details, and value accuracy
• Steadiness – S’s want others to be relaxed, agreeable, cooperative and appreciative

The first step is for all of us to realize our own styles and the styles of others then we can start to adapt to one another and progress down the relationship pathway. As was said in the workshop: “All relationships are good. Some just take more energy to bridge than others.”