How a DISC Assessment Helps you Understand Yourself and Build Better Teams

 

Effective team-building is a critical part of every organization's success; no single employee can do everything on their own. However, promoting collaboration is not always an easy task. Some team members may have difficulty integrating into your team dynamics and making meaningful contributions to your shared efforts. 

A DISC assessment can give you some insight into this matter. This model describes how individuals behave in group settings, making it very useful for organizing teams in the workplace. Knowing your DISC style will provide insight into how your actions are perceived by others and will give you the opportunity to tailor your communication to suit each member of your team. 

The Origins of the DISC Model

The DISC model was invented in the 1920s by psychologist William Marston as a result of his observations on how individuals’ emotions impacted their behavior. 

According to the DISC model, each person has a primary behavioral style. This style dictates how they are the most comfortable behaving. While they can behave in other ways if it is necessary to do so, the change does not come naturally to them and may hinder their abilities or morale. 

Many companies use DISC assessments as part of their employee onboarding training, finding it helpful to set expectations regarding workplace interactions. Others only offer these assessments to key personnel like managers and executives.

The Four DISC Styles

The following four DISC styles are currently accepted within the model’s framework. A person's primary style may combine two of these types to create a more nuanced profile of behavior. 

• D (Dominance): D-types are results-oriented people. Direct and to-the-point, they value competency over almost everything else. They excel at achieving goals, but they may struggle with interpersonal interactions.

• I (Influence): I-types are energetic, outgoing, and eager to speak their minds. They are good at building relationships with the people around them, making them excellent at rallying their peers and increasing motivation. However, they may lose track of time while socializing and sometimes need reminders to stay on task. 

• S (Steadiness): S-types are patient and thorough, always ready to hear everyone out. They strive to maintain stability, but this sometimes makes them hesitant to speak their minds. They also shy away from conflict, even when it is necessary for the good of the project. 

• C (Conscientiousness): C-types emphasize accuracy and detail, making them superior analysts and fact-checkers. However, they also tend to overanalyze certain tasks and situations due to their perfectionist streak. They enjoy having control of their work and may struggle to hand off tasks to others. 

Building Better Communication Among Teams

DISC styles reveal the strengths and weaknesses in a person's behavior, making this model an invaluable tool for managers and executives. Leadership roles require you to interface with many different types of people, and not all of them will be equally receptive to your default behavioral style.  

If you know your own DISC style and understand how this model works, you can approach various team members in the way that works best for them. For instance, if you are a D-type speaking to an I-type, you know to allocate a little extra time to let that person speak freely before they get to their point. Conversely, if you are an I-type and need to speak to a D-type, you may want to take that extra time to distill your points into key takeaways instead. 

This type of deliberate DISC-related consideration leads to more effective communication, happier employees, and better overall productivity in the workplace. In fact, some account management training courses are dedicated to teaching leaders how to do this, proving the utility of the skill.

Bring DISC to Your Organization Today

Empowering leadership with better communication tools is one of the most effective things you can do to improve productivity and raise employee morale. Consider offering in-depth assessments and training for your company’s leadership through a certified DISC partner like The Brooks Group. This additional interpersonal knowledge could be the key to unlocking higher productivity and helping your team achieve its true potential.

This blog is originally posted in https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/07/how-a-disc-assessment-helps-you-understand-yourself-and-build-better-teams/

5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team

 

Effective teamwork is the driving force behind most major business breakthroughs. As such, improving the cohesiveness of internal teams should be a major goal for your organization.

The Five Behaviors profile system was developed by business management writer Patrick Lencioni to demonstrate how to build effective and cohesive teams. This five-stage system is structured like a pyramid: to get to the final payoff, employees must go through all of the previous four stages in sequence. It is up to your company's management to guide their team through each behavioral stage as described below.

The Five Behaviors

1. Trust

Trust is the most fundamental building block of an effective team. Each team member should feel comfortable expressing their emotions at any time, confident that they will be supported and not judged. Vulnerability should be seen as a strength, not a weakness.

To that end, the team’s leaders should do whatever they can to foster an open, accepting environment. Fun team-building exercises can be helpful in this regard, providing a casual environment where team members can get to know one another as people instead of just as colleagues.

2. Conflict

If true trust is in place, a team can handle the conflict that always arises as part of group dynamics. It is understandable that not all people on a team will agree on every issue, and this is actually a good thing.

To a good team, disagreements are not scary – they are a chance to work through issues and come up with the best possible solution. When presented with a challenge, your team should take the time to thoroughly discuss the matter, giving everyone a chance to voice their real feelings on the matter

3. Commitment

When all relevant concerns have been expressed and a decision has been reached, a good team becomes committed to that course of action.

Leaders must not confuse commitment with consensus. Commitment can only happen when everyone on the team genuinely feels that their thoughts have been heard and seriously considered. Any given team member may still have preferred to do something else, but each understands why the final decision was made and are prepared to support that choice in any way they can.

4. Accountability

A good team not only works together but shares responsibility for the final results of that work. Each member strives to keep the others accountable for their input on each project they tackle together.

Remember that this must be done tactfully and supportively as well as consistently. If someone on the team is struggling to deliver what they promised, they may need extra support from their colleagues to finish the job. It is the genuine effort that matters during this process.

5. Results

Results are the ultimate outcome of a cohesive team. With all members working diligently toward a collective goal, it is possible to achieve incredible things.

Many teams will falter before this stage, becoming uncoordinated and unproductive due to difficulties in establishing one of the other behaviors. Most often, it is Accountability that gives them the most trouble. Do not lose heart if this happens to your team. Each project is a fresh chance to try to instill each of these five behaviors, and you may well reach a better outcome next time.

Strengthening Teams One Behavior at a Time

Lencioni's Five Behaviors model is proven to help teams succeed in achieving better outcomes for collaborative tasks. Managers and executives who receive training on how to implement this framework will have a powerful new tool at their disposal in their efforts to mobilize your organization’s workforce. This investment in team cohesiveness is sure to help your employees produce the industry-leading results you know they are capable of.

The Brooks Group utilizes the Five Behaviors™ model in its interactive healthcare executive leadership training workshops to help team members learn to work together more efficiently and effectively and to become a more cohesive team.

This blog is originally posted in https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/07/5-behaviors-of-a-cohesive-team/