A couple of years ago I watched the TV reality show Big Brother….these types of reality shows don’t usually appeal to me but I thought Big Brother might be interesting from a DISC point of view.
To create compelling viewing the participants would be chosen for certain characteristics. They need to be extroverts, be quite assertive (high ‘D’) and love being the centre of attention (high ‘I’).
Being calm and steady (high ‘S’) or adhering to rules and regulations (high ‘C’) wouldn’t make for a good TV show.
From an observation of DISC styles I found this quite interesting. To be selected, the participants would be, or adopt, high ‘D’ and ‘I’ behaviour, so you start the series with a group of talkative assertive extroverts.
However over time it becomes difficult to maintain this behaviour….the natural behaviour comes out. Leaders emerge and different groups form. Conflicts start. And there’s nowhere to go to get away from the styles that annoy you.
When a person changes their ‘people-focused characteristics’ like greatly increasing their ‘I’ or reducing their ‘S’, it creates tension or pressure for them. And over time it becomes very hard for them to cope. Sometimes a participant who has reverted back to their natural, Internal profile, just can’t cope and they “escape” or opt out of the show.
I watched that previous series a little bit most nights to observe the changes in behaviour as they unfolded. I said once was enough and I wouldn’t be bothered to watch it again.
That was until I found out a friend was in this year’s show……
Next week I’ll be starting a series looking at different leadership styles in business.
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