Lots Of Success

Driving to work this morning I noticed (well you can’t help but notice) an aggressive driver, fast, over-taking a lot, squeezing in, making sure he was OK, never mind anyone else. A very high ‘D’ I thought.

The high ‘I’ is likely to drive fast too but will use the time to talk to others using their Bluetooth connection or perhaps dictate to their recorder. Being on their own in the car does not feel comfortable to them.

High ‘S’ and ‘C’ styles will drive slower. The ‘S’ is likely to be very courteous, letting others in the queue and may give others a lift to work. The high ‘C’ will never drive over the speed limit and will adhere to road rules all the time.

This reminds me of David, a fellow student who used to give me a lift to University ages ago. Well he charged me to travel with him. David created a travel card for me to use with him. It had little strips to tear off each time to indicate I had taken a ride…like those baby-sitting adverts with tear off telephone numbers you see in supermarkets. I suspect David was a C/D profile.

If you want your clients or team to understand more about DISC, buy them my book….only £7.99….email me now.

Wishing you Lots of Success
Beverly

On the Trait Page of a profile all the traits are shown on a Grid.  They are plotted by comparing the candidate’s values of D, I, S and C in their Internal Profile against their External Profile. Each trait then falls into one of four quadrants:

Permanent Traits
These are shown in the top right of the Grid. These are the traits that will be seen most often, and most strongly, in the candidate’s behaviour. They result when there is very little difference between the Internal and External Profile

Potential Traits
Traits shown to the top left of the Grid are strong traits only in a candidate’s Internal Profile. This means that they are unlikely to be seen often in the candidate’s working style, but they are present, and may emerge under other circumstances, for instance when under pressure.

Transient Traits
These are shown to the bottom right of the Grid are strongly represented only in a candidate’s External Profile. This means that they are likely to be seen frequently in a candidate’s working behaviour, but they may change if the working situation changes.

Inactive Traits
Traits shown to the bottom left of the Grid are the low points of a candidate’s style. They may arise occasionally if the situation changes but they would not be expected to appear frequently in any aspect of the candidate’s behaviour.

Wishing you Lots of Success
Beverly

In the DISC Profile Report there is a page that explains the traits of an individual. These are colour-coded according to style.

• Red traits are related to Dominance, and represent assertive or direct factors such as Independence or Self-motivation.
• Yellow traits are related to Influence, and represent communicative factors such as Enthusiasm or Self-confidence.
• Green traits are related to Steadiness, and represent patient, accepting factors such as Persistence or Thoughtfulness.
• Blue traits are related to Compliance, and represent detailed or precise factors such as Accuracy or Sensitivity.

Some traits result from a combination of two styles so orange is a combination of red for Dominance and yellow for Influence.

Next week I’ll explain the Trait Grid and how the traits are assigned the terms; Permanent, Potential, Transient and Inactive.
wishing you Lots of Success

Beverly

In the DISC System and many other profiling tools, certain standard colours are used to represent the 4 main styles.

Dominance (Self-contained and Direct) is Red
Influence (Open and Direct) is Yellow
Steadiness (Open and Indirect) is Green
Compliance (Self-contained and Indirect) is Blue

Be aware that you may come across articles on the internet which assign the same colours to different styles. Confusing? Yes, so I’m explaining it here in case you’ve struck this.
Self-contained and Direct is Red……always the same
Open and Direct is Blue instead of yellow
Open and Indirect is Yellow instead of green
Self-contained and Indirect is Green instead of blue

Wishing you Lots of Success.
Beverly

A New Year…the time when it’s common to create some New Year Resolutions. I prefer to write Goals or intentions for the year as to me a resolution implies there was something wrong that needs correcting and this isn’t always the case.

So does setting goals and achieving them have any relationship to your behavioural style?

I think yes in terms of how we see life and our world. High ‘D’ and ‘I’ styles see life as very much in their control, whereas high ‘S’ ad ‘C’ styles do not.

The high ‘D’s goals are likely to be big, audacious ones which they have no doubt they will achieve and quickly. They will be totally focussed on the new challenge.

The high ‘I’ style also sets big goals and they are filled with great optimism about achieving them, but often in an unrealistic timeframe.

The high ‘S’s goals are likely to be more personal, to revolve around family and friends rather than work because they do not see themselves having much influence over external factors like work or monetary things.

The high ‘C’s goals are likely to be cautious and realistic within the time frame set. Because they strive for perfection in all activities the high ‘C’s will not want to set themselves up for possible failure by not achieving their goals.

What are your goals for this year…..big or cautious, stretched or realistic?

Wishing you Lots of Success with your goals for 2012.
Beverly

So we come to the final in the series of negotiating…….with people who have a very high ‘C’ style. They will accept one thing and one thing alone – absolute proof that a proposal is sound. They will look into details and technicalities, and wish to explore issues of implementation and maintenance that other styles would quite possibly ignore altogether. It is vitally important that all of their questions are answered in full for them to feel motivated by a new idea. In DISC terms this is known as the ‘Proof’ strategy.

wishing you lots of success

Beverly

People with high ‘S’ styles are probably the most compromising and malleable of the four main styles. They try to avoid conflict or confrontation, and wish to maintain positive and supportive relationships at all times. This means that they are willing to accept assurances and guarantees that might arouse scepticism in other styles. They will, however, require time to reach decisions, and should not be forced to a conclusion before they are ready. In DISC terms this is called the ‘Promise’ strategy.

Probably the most important thing to the high ‘I’ style is the building of positive relationships with other people. In a negotiation it is important to build a social relationship first if the high ‘I’ is to be motivated towards accepting new ideas or proposals. A purely confrontational approach will definitely have a negative effect.

The high ‘I’ styles are also interested in the experiences of other people, so its important to discuss the ways that a proposal has benefited others in the past. In DISC terms this technique is often called the ‘People’ strategy.

Wishing you Lots of Success

Beverly

Negotiating Strategies

It can be extremely beneficial to identify a person’s basic style during negotiation and apply the right strategy for a successful outcome.

The high ‘D’ relishes control and authority. Whatever their situation, they will seek to dominate the proceedings, and this applies as much to negotiation as any other set of circumstances.

To motivate them towards accepting an idea, therefore, it is important not to challenge this desire to dominate the negotiation, but to appear receptive and mildly submissive. Offer suggestions and hints, rather than attempting to directly control the high ‘D’s decision-making process. This will make them more receptive to a proposal.

In DISC terms, this is called the ‘Power’ strategy.

Here’s a quick Summary of each of the styles…

I
Motto: “Let’s have fun”
Keywords: Fun, awesome and excitement

S
Motto: “Let’s be friends”
Keywords: Teamwork, together, relationships and family

C
Motto: “Let me have all the facts and figures”
Keywords: Why, exactly, graphs and research

And last but not least are the High ‘D’s. Why did I put them last? For a bit of fun because they expect to be first.
D
Motto: “Get out of my way”
Keywords: Money, power and control

An easy to read book about DISC “DISCovering the Ultimate Tool” can be purchased direct from me or from the publisher http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/discovering-the-ultimate-tool/8922122