Inspired by Sam Parkers' January 2020 "Inspire Your People" listening exercise and a 'leadership on the run' podcast listeners request, episode 16 unpacks the DiSC framework (trademark Willey Inc) and talks through the behaviours to watch for and the responses you can use to make it easier for you to communicate with a greater variety of people within your workplace.
In January 2020 Sam Parker “Inspire your people,” encouraged leaders to take a weekend challenge to ‘listen more and speak less’. The rules were:
On completing the exercise people reported they discovered more than you have before e.g. what was important to others, what type of words people used most and the variety of ways people used to influence others or make their point of view known.
Inspired by that listening exercise and a 'leadership on the run' podcast listeners request, episode 16 unpacks the DiSC framework and talks you through the behaviours to watch for and the responses you can use to make it easier for you to communicate with a greater variety of people within your workplace.
The DiSC framework (registered trademark of Willey Inc) provides the basis for this conversation.
DiSC is a framework that categorises sets of behavioural preferences into 4 domains. Understanding these domains and their specific communication needs will provide you with the knowledge to adapt. mould and change your own communications to ensure each of your team members is easily able to comprehend your message.
Dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness are the four categories.
1. Dominance –people who display dominance in their communications prioritise and value: results, action and challenge. Communicate with these people by providing solutions, being direct, giving them just the facts. Speak quickly – don’t repeat yourself and keep the discussion in the big picture scenario….no minor details. They hate to lose and hate feeling vulnerable.
2. Influence – people who display influence in their communications prioritise and value: action, enthusiasm and collaboration.
To communicate with these people be enthusiastic, display loads of positivity and energy. Ask them for their ideas and let them express their views and solutions – do not interrupt them. They like big picture scenarios and social or collaborative approaches to solution finding e.g. brainstorming in a meeting. They hate being ignored, disapproved of or losing influence.
3. Steadiness – people who display steadiness in their communications prioritise and value: collaboration, giving support, stability and loyalty. To communicate with these people be polite, calm and deliberate. Never be confrontational. Be sure to let them know your expectations, of them, prior to participation in any project. Let them know the group decision then ask how they could help out. Be personable, they hate conflict and would be horrified if they offended anyone. They are not so fast to come on board when there is a change.
4. Conscientiousness – people who display conscientiousness in their communications prioritise and value: accuracy, quality and correctness. They want to show their expertise and to produce quality work. To communicate with them verbalise all the facts and details, or show patience, persistence and diplomacy as they verbalise all these details for you. Minimise small talk. These people find it difficult to make quick decisions, delegate or compromise for the good of the team. They would prefer not to join in the workplace social events.
There are other frameworks that you can use to improve communications with people within your team e.g. MBTI, HBDI, OPQ.
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