DiSC Assessment: Rob Finds Out His Behavioral Style
Ever wondered why connecting with some people is easier for you than connecting with others? Traci and Rob discuss how the DiSC Assessment can be a powerful tool in learning how to connect and communicate better with your teammates. Knowing your innate behavioral style along with understanding the styles that differ from your own can lead to great transformation both personally and professionally. Traci debriefs Rob on his style. Listen to find out his personal breakthroughs!
Find out more on the DiSC Assessment: www.everythingdisc.com/workplace
Talk to Traci about DiSC Profile for yourself or your team. Email her at traci@navigatethejourney.com.
Transcript
Announcer:
Welcome to The Overly Human podcast where we discuss all things human in the workplace because it's not just business—it's personal too.
Rob:
Hey Traci, how's it going?
Traci:
Good Rob, how are you?
Rob:
Just living the dream.
Traci:
That's good to hear. You excited for today.
Rob:
To be honest, I'm a little nervous.
Traci:
You are? Why?
Rob:
Well, we're going to try something here where I think you're going give me the results of one of my assessments while everybody else gets to listen. And don't make any mistake if you're listening out there—I don't know what's in here yet. So we're both going to learn this at the same time. So I think this might make for a decent podcast. So we'll see.
Traci:
It will. And we're going to start with DiSC. So next time we're going to do EQ-i emotional intelligence, which is going to be a little more personal, but just as fun. DiSC, one reason you shouldn't be nervous is one, which I tell everybody who does one of these assessments that this is a self-assessment. So this is based on how you answered the questions. So it's not like a 360 or somebody else giving us input and how you're perceived. This is how you perceive yourself. And there are four DiSC profiles. So four categories that you can fall into and whatever category you fall into, you're not alone.
So just to give you a little bit of background on DiSC so that you're familiar kind of going into the model. DiSC is a personality profile for lack of a better way of describing it. It's really the behavioral style that you rest most comfortably in. So it is a highly valid and accurate assessment, meaning it measures what it set out to measure and it has a high level of accuracy based on just feedback and scientific statistical studies. Right? I like using it because it is so highly valid and accurate. And also it's easy to remember your style.
So when we look at all four different styles, you're going to see a little bit of yourself in every style. So, and that's because you're a complex human being. This is really your results are really where you most comfortably rest. So it's not unusual for you to say, well I see myself though in that and I'm also this so you could fight back a little bit, but just remember this is where you typically show up, how you're typically seen to other people and if you sort of like let down all your pretenses going into this where you'll be able to kind of admit, yeah, especially in the workplace, this is typically how I operate.
Does that make sense?
Rob:
Yeah, that totally does. And I just so that you know and everybody else knows that when I took both of the assessments you sent me that we're going to go through, I did try to be honest and I tried to answer my gut reaction to things and not try to overthink the questions so that like well I'm working on this but not like no, this is how I really feel this part of it.
Traci:
Yeah, which is perfect. And that's what I always tell people to do because this is for you. It's less for me, it's more for you. It's for you to have heightened your level of self-awareness and to gain some more self-actualization and grow in the process. And especially for you because you're a leader of a company, you want to make sure that you're always reevaluating where am I and how am I showing up?
One of the reasons I really liked DiSC is because it really reminds us to treat people the way they want to be treated. So when you learn about all four styles and you learn about it in a group, you're able to know how you're coming across. But also if you're dealing with somebody that's a different style, you can adjust your approach and how you communicate to them so that you're better received because the point isn't always to be right, right? The point is to be heard. You can be right all day long, but if somebody is completely shut down at hello, what difference does it make? So when you can learn how to communicate well and know how you might be coming across and you can kind of self-adjust in the moment, then you can become a very powerful communicator. And leadership is just so much about communication.
Rob:
Awesome. Cool.
All right, so just before we get started, let me ask this real quick. I know when we talked about the assessments and overview, one of the things you said is different assessments are good for different things. Can you give a quick for DiSC? Can you give a quick explanation of when you would think this would be used? Is this something we would do pre-screen? Is this something for pre-employment is this something we would do during, just put the bounds on it so that as we get into this everybody kind of knows when this would be a good thing to be used.
Traci:
I think DiSC is best used for team building. So to really strengthen your culture. So I think it's great individual, one-on-one coaching. So when you're coaching a leader or you're trying to train up a leader or you're trying to help one of your employees get better at communicating and understanding people better, it's great in that regard. And I think it's great for bringing your entire team together, having your entire team do the DiSC profile, and then understanding where everybody falls on that profile. And so it's a really powerful tool for strengthening your culture because people just learn to communicate better. And they learn how to give each other grace and understanding.
Rob:
Empathy. That's what I'm, that's what I'm hearing when I hear grace and understanding, my brain is translating to “Rob, this is an empathy exercise.”
Traci:
It is. It is. It's putting yourself in other people's shoes.
Rob:
Yeah. Okay, let's do this, I'm ready.
Traci:
Let's do it. You ready?
Okay, so before I have you open up your results, I'm going to tell you what each profile is because then I want you to first guess which one you fall into, okay? So there're four profiles. There's D for Dominance, I for Influence, C for Conscientious, and S for Steadiness.
So the D for Dominant, that type of style tends to be a person who is direct, who's firm, who's results-oriented, who's really focused on really getting the results done and taking a task from A to Z and focused on the success of that task.
Influence is somebody who's outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, somebody who's high spirited and lively. They tend to be more of a talker, people person. Whereas a D is more of a talker but task-oriented.
Then you have C, which is conscientious. This is a person who tends to be a little bit more reserved because they're thinking in their head a lot. They're very analytical, they're very precise, very systematic, and those tend to be task-oriented as well, but they're more of a listener than a talker. That doesn't mean they won't talk. It's just that they're pretty good at sort of absorbing that information and processing it.
And then you have S which is steadiness. These people tend to be those even-tempered, accommodating, very patient, humble, tactful in their approach. So they tend to be more people-focused, but they're really good at listening as well.
So I use that kind of task, talker, people, listener so people can kind of put themselves in one category. So a D is going to be more task-oriented but definitely more of a talker or a bit more extroverted. I is going to be more extroverted, more of a talker, but more people-oriented. A C is going to be more of a listener, but task-oriented results-driven. And an S is going to be more people-driven and more of a listener.
So I often use the description of imagine you're going into an elevator and the S is going to be the person that sees the person down the hall that's kind of waving to hold the door. The S is going to be the one who's going to hold the door open and wait. Even if it's for a long time, he's going to wait for that person to get on the elevator. The D going to be the person who gets on the elevator and is closing the closed door because they just are in a hurry. They need to get up to their floor and get the job done. And I is going to be the person who gets on the elevator. Everybody gets on the elevator, the door is closed, it's quiet and they have to talk. They have to say something to break the silence. And a C is going to be the person who gets on the elevator and is reading like the capacity sign. And when was the elevator last inspected?
Rob:
Yeah. Oh that's a good analogy. I like that. So you asked me which one do I see myself as? And I do see my little, a little bit of what I perceive myself in all of them, but just based on what I know about myself, I think I'm probably either D or an I. I think that, and if I had to guess between those two, a D just because like naturally I focus like I'm somebody who wants to get things done. Somebody who wants to accomplish things. I've learned a lot of I things, but that's not who I am by default.
Traci:
Very good, because you're a D. Congratulations, you know yourself. So yes, you fell out as a D. And actually what's interesting about yours is, instead of leaning more towards a D I, you lean a little bit more towards a D C, as someone who can, who has that analytical ability, who's able to sort of process information and can be very precise in their approach.
Rob:
Yeah, that's interesting. Like I, I definitely like, I identify with a lot of the analytical stuff. I am somebody who reads the capacity and the date service on the elevator, but I'm also the person that, at least a lot of the people that I travel with tell me, that I'm the person that can make friends and talk to everybody. Like I learn all kinds of different interesting things people on the elevator and like I'll talk to anybody for a while. So yeah.
Traci:
Yeah, and I think one of the reasons why you might be leaning a little bit more D C is your role. So oftentimes where I see these assessments come out is, is very much dependent on the role you have now. So your DiSC style isn't necessarily fixed. You can actually, if I were to measure you five years from now and you are in a different role, so maybe you were less operations and all of a sudden you had to be just completely focused on sales. I might see, I wouldn't see a dramatic shift, but I might see that D go up a little bit more towards an I. And that's because mentally you're having to put yourself in that every single day.
So your work environment and your role can effect, just slightly, how this is going to fall out for you. And because you are, you're such an expert on process and operations and so I can see that the wheels are always turning, even though you have this ability, you do fall into that extrovert category. So even though you're falling into that, the people come easy to you. Your brain, your wheels are turning in your role. So that might be why you're leaning a little bit more than that direction.
Rob:
Got it, all right.
Traci:
Okay?
Rob:
Okay.
Traci:
So I'm just going to go over just kind of one page with you, which is page four on your report.
Rob:
I'll open it up now.
Traci:
And it talks about-
Rob:
I'll open it up now for the first time so that, okay.
Traci:
You know, I'm telling the truth.
Rob:
I'm opening, I'm on page four.
Traci:
Okay. So here you can kind of see where you fall and you can see the little pie graph and where your dot falls. And so there's no, one of the things I love to tell people too is, there's really no bad profile. So people are like, is this good? Given that I'm a CEO or an operations person or I'm a sales person and it's, you know what, I have debriefed so many people at this point in so many different roles, so many owners, so many CEOs and I have seen every single style. And so there's no right or wrong style. There's no right or wrong dot location. It just is telling a story about who you are and how you show up at work. So, and what's interesting is, you can see yourself in this, but you can also, when you learn more about the overview of DiSC, you can see other people.
So you can be, like usually what people do, the first thing they do if they're married is they locate where they think their spouse falls. So if you go up a couple pages to page seven and you'll see the whole overview of the DiSC profile. And even though I gave a pretty basic overview of each style, you can see here, the priorities, what you're motivated by, what your fears might be, your limitations. And so you can see that for each style. And that'll help you kind of guess maybe what Ben, your partner is, maybe what your wife is. And so that is helpful and understanding not just what you're motivated by and what your fears or priorities might be, but where they might be coming from. So if you were to guess where your wife falls, where would you guess?
Rob:
She's an S.
Traci:
Okay, I knew you were going to say that.
Rob:
She's almost, on all of these assessments that we've ever done she's pretty much the opposite of what I am.
Traci:
Yeah, and that happens all the time.
Rob:
Where are you at?
Traci:
I'm an I D.
Rob:
Okay,
Traci:
so I'm an I, but I lean towards a D.
Rob:
Yeah, that makes sense.
Traci:
So, yeah.
Rob:
Lines up.
Traci:
Lines up, it checks out. So yeah, and it's interesting because yeah, a lot of spouses are across from each other. And what's interesting is that opposites do attract. And if you can figure out how to communicate with each other, you can be a very powerful duo. But what we also find is that those across the circle from you, at work, tend to be the people you have the hardest time with.
And the reason for that is because, so say you have an S work and you're a strong D, they tend to go a bit slower, they want more detail, they're a little adverse to change. They want you to kind of slow down. They like that sense of stability. They're very humble. So they want to make sure everybody's taken care of. Where you're going at a faster pace, you can see the vision ahead of you. You're motivated by just getting there, taking action. You're not scared of change, you're ready to embrace change, you can figure it out. And so sometimes we can see conflict between the D's and the S's. So both need to lean in.
Can you see that in the workplace?
Rob:
I can picture a couple of S's that I work with that are great at what they do. And I really respect them and need them in a lot of ways. But yeah, there's definitely like, there's one person in particular who we work together really, really close and there are sometimes we have to have really honest conversations about where we're coming from.
Traci:
Yeah, and do you feel like you're able to meet that person halfway as much as that person is able to meet you halfway?
Rob:
Yeah, I think so. It's a challenge I think always just because there are power dynamics that exist. I own the company and the people that I work with close, really closely other than Ben are people that work for me. And so having to have that understanding that me knowing that's the reality that there's a power dynamic that will never be removed and respecting that and understanding what it means helps a lot with that piece of it.
Traci:
Yeah, because what can happen with D's, what we tend to see is their expectation is that people need to catch up with them. It's typically not that they need to slow down so others can catch up.
Rob:
Yeah. No, I-
Traci:
But to be a really effective communicator and to be good at this, you need to slow down a little and the S needs to speed up a little.
Rob:
Yeah. There's a couple people on staff that always give me, not a hard time, but they always kind of say, "There's no moss on you, Rob. When we make a decision, I can count on it being done". But I've also had to Institute some of those things where, because I'm always trying to think about what's next and where we need to go, like how do we get there and what's the right decisions that you made to be prepared for that.
And I know that when I've made some organizational changes, I've looked at the team of leaders that I've put in place and said, "Hey, just so you know, we're going to make these changes and then I'm not going to touch it for a year". We're going to let this settle now when that year's up, I guarantee you that I'll be ready to make changes and make adjustments, but I'm going to give this a year to settle before I touch it. Now let's have conversations to make sure that we're doing the right things, the best ideas upfront so that we could make the right changes we need to now. But then we'll leave it for a little while unless something's horribly broken and we both agree to change it again. And that's been really, really helpful.
Traci:
Yeah, definitely, definitely. And you know, we see a lot of owners of companies and leaders of companies that are Ds just because they don't have that fear of pushing to get to the end result. Quick for the immediate results and can take control of a situation, don't mind sitting in a seat of authority. It doesn't scare them.
But one, one of the kind of hiccups in this, and you can see this in the profile where it will talk about fears or limitations. Some of the fears are a loss of control. Another fear is being a little too vulnerable. Right? Because that can feel like you're losing control, impatience, and sometimes in sensitivity, like when you feel certain of your opinions, sometimes it can be hard to put yourself in other people's shoes.
So, and usually the kind of fears of the limitations, they typically only show up when there's something super stressful going on or a big decision or change to be made. And that's when we kind of have to put our finger on the pulse. So do you feel like you've ever, your style has ever tripped you up where you've had to like take a breath and be like, oops?
Rob:
Oh yeah. I mean, so much of what I feel like my job is, is building consensus and unity that I've had to adapt what I do to the people that I'm trying to build consensus with and trying to get them to come along at their pace. And sometimes that means we end up in a different spot. Oftentimes that means that I'm just playing the long game and trying to be like, okay this is where I need people to be. How do we get there together at the end?
And it's like I remember back, I mean we've been running Sparkbox for 11 years now and there was times early on when people I worked with refer to me more of like bull in the China shop or a bulldog because I would be like this is what we're doing. And you know, people would just, I would carry them with me if they were kicking, dragging, screaming with where I need them to go. And it worked out. But it definitely didn't make me any friends along the way.
You know, I think that age and maturity and practice and lots of mistakes have given me other tools to use to figure out how to get people to, at least motivated to talk about things and like one of the ways that I think is really effective for me with dealing with Ss is not expecting decisions and conclusions to be made upon first conversation.
One of the things that I find that works really well for me is with those people who appreciate the comforts or the consistency and the stability is to be like, "Hey, just so you know, this is what I'm thinking. I don't have a solution yet". And making sure that I'm explaining what problems I'm trying to solve and why, even before I may get to a solution. Because then they feel along for the ride.
Traci:
Yeah, exactly.
Rob:
Especially those Ss, what they don't want to do is sit down, digest information and a problem and make a decision right there and then. So by spacing those conversations out by weeks or days or months sometimes, allows, those things to kind of come along for the ride.
Traci:
Right? And the other beauty in it is sometimes those Ss can be your best assets because they're slowing down and they're thinking things through. Oftentimes it's the S that comes to the D and says, "I think you might've missed this. I've been sitting with this and processing it and have you thought about this?" You probably see this a lot maybe in your marriage, that that balance of like you're ready to pull the trigger and S comes along and is like, did you think about this, this and this? And you're like, Hmm, maybe I didn't. And that's where the beauty comes in because you can balance each other out. So just like you can kind of get that S to move along faster, they can kind of slow you down a little. And help you to fill in those gaps.
Rob:
Yeah, yeah. It's definitely not all one way or the other. It's finding what people do well and what their strengths are and figuring out how to be better together is the whole name of the game. When we talk about working with humans, like, I mean I've built a team of people because what I don't want to be limited by is my own ability. I don't want my ceiling to be my company ceiling.
Traci:
Exactly.
Rob:
And if we're limited by my best, we're pretty screwed to be honest. I need everybody's, the best parts of what everybody brings together to make it work together.
Traci:
Yeah, yeah. And I think the same holds true with the Is and the Cs. So the Is tend to be these people who are so enthusiastic and they're really taking action and driving things, but they tend to be more of the salespeople. Also, you see a lot of CEOs that are I's because they have to do a lot of speaking and kind of influencing and really inspiring. But they come up against the Cs. The Cs are processing all the information. They're very process-driven. They're the ones opening up the spreadsheet and the I's don't tend to like detail.
So you'll see the I's, butt heads with the Cs at work because the I's are ready to really put on a big event and they're so excited and this is going to happen to them. And the Cs will be like, well whoa, wait, have you run the analytics on that? And do you know for a fact that this many people are going to? And they annoy each other because the Cs are thinking, looking at the Is thinking you don't even know what you're talking about. And the Is are like, why are you raining on my parade?
So these are the dynamics you see in the workplace. And when we can understand each other, I've seen teams just crack up laughing because they'll be like, “You're an I, aren't you? I learned this…” And this is why you can see breakthrough happening and all of a sudden they understand each other better.
So instead of being annoyed by that person, they understand, "Oh that's just part of who they are". And when you can understand how that can benefit you, that the I can learn from some of these analytics and statistics and process and the Cs can learn to be a little bit more daring and optimistic and just go for it. You see these beautiful things happen at work and that's why it's such a powerful tool when it comes to building culture and understanding and communicating with each other.
Rob:
Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. This is interesting. I'm trying to, I'm thinking about all the different ways that this might be fascinating for the rest of my team to do and be able to unpack this. And this also seems like something that would work pretty good in a remote environment as well.
Traci:
Oh yes. Yes, it's great. And it's great for leaders to know too because they're going to have all types of different people on their team. And so it's one of those reminders in a meeting. I always say to a leader, especially if you're a D, make sure you don't hang up a Zoom call or leave a meeting without asking the Cs and the Ss their opinion because they will be the last people to speak. They're sitting there in the room processing at all, but, and oftentimes they won't speak unless they're asked to speak. And so oftentimes Ds will think, well if you don't have anything to say, like it's time to move on. And the Is are just talking, talking, talking, talking, talking. They aren't even getting to a point. So it's on us as leaders to make sure that we're saying to the Cs, what do you see in this? Do you see some flaws in the system and to say to the Ss, how should we, how are the people, the rest of the team going to receive this? And so that's the beauty of using this tool to your advantage as a leader.
Rob:
Yeah. That's awesome. So I really like this. This is pretty neat. What else? Is there anything else I need to know about myself?
Traci:
Well, I think the big thing is read through your report. Usually when I do a debrief, and I know we don't have a full hour on our podcast, but I take a full hour and I go through all of your kind of priorities and motivations.
So the one last thing I'll say is there's a page in here, page six, that has a list of things that motivate you and a list of things that could be stressful for you. And I have everybody that I talk through and give this, the debrief to really sit on this page because I think it's really important to understand what motivates you at work and make sure that your role includes these. So for you it's implementing ideas, having authority, achieving results, overcoming obstacles, working in an innovative setting, making key decisions. These are all things that fit your role, which is why you're doing well in your role.
So when you're not doing well in your role, sometimes it's like that coat that just doesn't fit you very well and it has something to do with your style and your role not fitting. So the things that are stressful for you, following strict rules or protocols, getting bogged down in inefficient meetings and procedures, having your ideas challenged. So that's going to be a something for you to keep your finger on the pulse of. Not having enough independence, lacking control over situations, slowing down. So these are the things that can cause you stress. And so what's good about this is when you're feeling stressful and you're like, why do I feel stressful? I can't even articulate it. You can go back and look at this list.
Rob:
Yeah, that's fascinating. The first one I identified with, the following strict rules or protocols. I say all the time at work that rules without some type of enforcement are merely suggestions and people just kind of look at me and they're like, what? And like I always go back and the story, a early job that I had, I remember sitting in the staff meeting with 15 other people and the manager was going through a bunch of new policies and rules and I remember sitting there and I raised my hand, like one does in a staff meeting with the big enterprise situation. And I say, "Hey, how are you going to be knowing if we're doing this or not? How are you going to be measuring if we're following these new rules"?
My managers said, "Well, we don't have a way to measure it yet". And I'm like, "Oh, okay. Just pretend I'm doing it then". He looked at me and he said, "What?" And I said, "Well, if you don't have a way to measure it, you don't know if I'm doing it or not. And so why don't we just pretend I'm doing it and this sounds like a great suggestion". That was one of the first of many times that I was asked to stay after staff meeting and got a talking to by that particular manager.
Traci:
Yeah, I'm sure he thinks of you fondly now. So this fits perfectly for you.
Rob:
Yeah, it does. Okay, well thank you so much Traci for taking the time and unpacking this for me.
Traci:
Thanks for being willing too, I think that was great, putting yourself out there share a little bit.
Rob:
So next time we're doing one more of these about emotional intelligence, but we'll pop a couple links on the website for some resources you can learn and read more about DiSC and how to get started with it, okay?
Traci:
Absolutely.
Rob:
All right, take care.
Traci:
Thank you. Until next time.
Announcer:
This podcast would not be possible without the amazing communications team at Sparkbox. If you'd like what you've heard, please subscribe and tell your friends to listen as well. The Overly Human podcast is brought to you by Navigate the Journey and Sparkbox. For more information on this podcast, or to get in touch with Traci or Rob, go to overlyhuman.com. Thanks for listening.
