Have you ever wondered why working with some people you just click and then with others you are left scratching your head thinking “Why do they act or respond that way?”.
Much of it has to do with our unique behavioral style, our natural tendencies and preferences. That’s where I have found the DiSC tool to be exceptionally insightful and a valuable tool that has helped shaped my journey as a leader.
Last week I facilitated a workshop for the Commerce Ballarat Next Gen Collective that introduced participants to the DiSC tool and how the tool can help you understand your unique traits, tendencies and behaviors and shapes your unique leadership style. Chatting to participants after the workshop there were lots of ah-ha moments related to why they worked well with particular team members and why they felt like they were coming from different standpoints with others. These discussions reminded me just how valuable the DiSC tool is in leadership development, self-awareness, culture, team building and recruitment.
I completed my first DiSC profile back in 2006 and in nearly 20 years since, I’ve completed multiple profiles and my profile hasn’t changed. Reading my first profile, I was stunned at how answering a set of questions could provide such insight into how I operated. I fell in love with the tool from that first profile and quickly went on to complete my accreditation to be able to facilitate the tool. For me, the DiSC tool has helped shaped my career journey; supporting self-awareness, helping understand the type of work that fills my cup vs drain my energy, supported communication skill development and helped to build effective relationships.
I know there are many behavioral profiling tools out there and there are also many different DiSC tools, and I would say, like anything, the free or cheap versions don’t provide the same level of insight and quality data. Basically, you get what you pay for. There are of course lots of factors that shape who we are and what shapes our leadership journey, and DiSC is just one tool you can put in your tool kit.
DiSC is a tool that I have used with my team for many years now and here’s a few of the fundamental insights it has provided.
Our greatest strength is also our greatest limitation
That skill that gives us an advantage can also hold us back – depending on how it’s used, the context, if it’s taken to the extreme, or how you apply that skill with others depending on their DiSC style.
Self-awareness
The ability to see ourselves clearly, understand our thoughts, emotions and behaviours while recognising how they affect others is a critical leadership skill. Not being aware of our blind spots can limit our effectiveness, strain relationships and limit growth and potential. DiSC provides insight into those blind spots.
What fills your cup vs drains your energy
Pre DiSC, I often wondered why some situations, environments, interactions, and/or tasks drained my energy and left me feeling flat while others pumped me up and left me feeling energized and motivated. The DiSC tool helps provide insight into why this is. When we understand this individually but also collectively as a team, we can lean into this to play to people’s natural tendencies and preferences, creating a stronger culture and supporting the development of a high performing team.
I’m often asked ‘how can I implement DiSC with my team’ or ‘how can I educate my team about DiSC?’. The best way is to have everyone complete a DiSC profile, have a DiSC workshop facilitated for your team and then build the DiSC framework into your daily conversations through feedback conversations, one on one catch ups, performance appraisals, team meetings etc. That naturally requires time and financial investment. If that’s not an option, starting with understanding yourself and your own DiSC profile, then sharing your profile with your team is a good place to start. By going first and sharing your strengths and limitations, natural preferences and tendencies, you’ll help your team members to understand you, showing vulnerability and helping to build trust. This will help invite others to do the same and start you on your DiSC journey.
