Improved Communication Awaits You

Discover the Power of DISC

I always think of lawyers as needing excellent communication skills (whether that is true or not, we won’t get into) but this courthouse in New York makes me think about the importance of communication (and for the Law & Order fans, this is the courthouse they use in the exterior shots).

I love sharing stories of how DISC has helped people communicate better. Sometimes, we naturally adapt our communication to help the message land better, but DISC gives you a framework for how to do it consciously.

Real stories

(names changed to protect the innocent)

Dennis and Christopher

Dennis (D Style) and Christopher (C Style) work together. Dennis is results-focused and interested in the big picture, and only what he really needs to know. Christopher loves the details, and thinks everyone needs to know all the small pieces. Dennis and Christopher struggle to communicate. Dennis asked Christopher for a recommendation, and really only needed the final recommendation with maybe a couple high level reasons. Christopher sent him a 2 page report full of background information and what he felt was relevant information.

This pattern repeated itself several times. Christopher was driving Dennis crazy. He would receive these long emails or reports, groan and put off reading them. Despite saying he only wanted the actual recommendation, Christopher insisted that Dennis needed to know ALL the reasons why he was making the recommendation.

As they learned more about their own communication style and preferences, they were able to understand the style and preferences of the other person too, and how their styles weren’t compatible and they were actually able to adjust how they communicated. Eventually, the reports would have a high level section and a separate detail section.

Deidre, Samantha and Colleen

Deidre led a committee. As a D Style, she tended to stay fairly high level. Samantha, a S Style focused on the team as a whole and Colleen, a C Style, craved the details.

One night, this committee met and discussed some potential challenges. They determined a recommendation about how to move forward and Deidre wrote up a report with the recommendation. She recognized that the report was somewhat bare and maybe lacking some of the information Samantha and Colleen might want, so she messaged Samantha and said, “Can you take a look at this report? It’s reading a bit D to me?”

Samantha replied, “you bet!” and went to work adding some background and details that she felt were missing and then sent it back to Deidre who submitted it to Colleen, who thanked them for including the background and details as they would be important in the future when they discussed the recommendation.

Craig and Iggy

Craig (C Style) and Iggy (I Style) were working together on a project and communicating by email, in addition to holding virtual meetings. Craig was very detail-focused and loved analyzing data and was slow to make decisions. Iggy was very comfortable making gut decisions quickly, loved spending their time getting to know Craig better, and wasn’t very detail-focused.

When they would meet, Iggy would spend the first 15 minutes chatting with Craig on a personal level which frustrated Craig as he wanted to spend that time reviewing the analysis he completed. When Craig emailed Iggy, he kept it focused on the project and often Iggy felt like Craig didn’t care about him. Additionally, Iggy wasn’t as detail-focused as Craig which drove Craig nuts and made him feel like he had to manage Iggy.

As they learned to understand their own behaviour and communication preferences, Craig learned to create shared lists to help keep them organized, and he would write his emails and then go back and add in some personal questions and follow up to the beginning of the email. Iggy learned that he needed to find a way to keep the details straight and to slow down the decision making.

Your DISC Report can help

Your DISC report includes a ton of valuable information about your natural behavioural tendencies, your strengths, situations that motivate you, as well as, those which reduce your motivation and how you react to those situations. Just as valuable, is the advice it gives you about how to adapt to each of the four styles.

The report walks you through how to recognize and assess the four styles and then gives you a few specific things to do and not to do with each style.

Some general advice about how to adapt to each style.

D-Styles

• Be direct (I heard this phrase which I loved: Be Brief. Be Bold. Be Gone).

• Keep the conversation at a high level.

• Get to the point quickly.

• Keep it results-focused

• Be assertive and confident

• Understand that they are comfortable with conflict

• Challenge them

I-Styles

• Let them be inspired and inspire others.

• Don’t rain on their parade (don’t shoot down their ideas right away)

• Keep it people and emotion focused

• Ask how they are doing

• Follow up on what they’ve told you about themselves or their life

• Set up a meeting to talk things through rather than send them a long email

• Give yourself extra time when you are talking or meeting

S-Styles

• Check in and see how they are doing

• Build trust (and don’t do things that will break it)

• Give them time to process

• Slow down decision-making

• Keep teamwork in mind

• Let them work with people they know and already trust

• Avoid confrontation and contentious situations for them

C-Styles

• Include details and data

• Let them analyze

• Give them time to think before making a decision

• Share information with them in writing, rather than or in addition to, orally

• Give facts, rather than, opinions

• Share information in advance

• Let them know the plan before making a decision

Team Settings

DISC can provide helpful information about Teams so you can meet the needs of all members of your team.

• Recognize that Ds might interrupt or be aggressive or assertive, and don’t take it personally

• Build in time for the niceties/personal focus for the Is

• Ss will resist change and will need time and support with change

• Ss and Cs want the plan before the decision. Ds and Is will make the decision and then will sort out the plan

• Give the Ss and Cs time to reflect before making the decision, but set a time or date to make the decision so you don’t get caught in analysis paralysis

• Build people time into the agenda for the Is and Ss, but stick to that allotted time and then move through the rest of the agenda

• Manage speaking time. Make sure no one dominates and call on the ones who haven’t shared their thoughts or input

• Don’t ignore or write off the quiet ones. Often they just need more time to process. They aren’t disengaged and they do care.

Additionally, DISC can help understand your team strengths and blind spots with a Team Report. It helps visualize the collective natural styles, and those of the outliers.

Does this sound like it might help you, your team, or your organization?

Yeah!

I have tons of resources that can help!

• Check out my DISC page with tons of information and links to various blog posts specific to DISC.

• Take my FREE course.

• Visit my YouTube Channel (I have a DISC playlist)

• Buy a DISC assessment and debrief session

• Create Connections on your team by doing a Team Session (this is aimed at non-profit boards, but works great for any team).

• Like me on social media

• Subscribe to my newsletter (I share tips and tricks about DISC)