Many people assume any group of people can automatically be a team, but teams often fail due to personality differences among its members. To improve your team’s chances for success, use the four “DISC” behavioral styles when building a team.
Dominance. Decisive, adventurous, direct, assertive employees.
Influence. Optimistic, persuasive, emotional, sociable employees.
Steadiness. Consistent, cooperative, deliberate, patient employees.
Conscientiousness. Accurate, analytical, tactful, systematic employees.
There are natural allies and antagonists among the behavioral styles and each one functions best at a different phase in a team’s life cycle. Life cycles follow this pattern: (1) the team faces predictable obstacles, (2) it rises to the occasion or fails, and (3) it either evolves or deteriorates as a result.
Here’s how DISC styles come into play at each phase:
- First, a new group will try to find its focus. Members think, “is this going to be worth the effort? Is this going to be a useful team?” Conscientious and Dominant employees are helpful during the first phase because they’re skilled at getting to the heart of the matter. Conscientious employees are adept at tackling intellectually complex issues; they are analytically skilled, can clarify the mission, and give the team focus. If the group faces internal conflicts because of member discord or disagreements, Dominant members will step up and tell them to quit butting heads and commit or leave.
- The obstacles encountered in the second life cycle stage beg for the buoyant optimism that Influential employees offer. They signal to the group that everyone can work together and make things better for everybody. A people-oriented approach is needed most at this phase, when reality intrudes and the group sees how difficult a task is, how little time and resources are available, and when compromise is needed to move forward. As cooperation and collaboration become apparent, Steady employees can then meld individual differences into group progress. They are especially good at coalescing divergent views and blending discordant elements into a single melody.
- The final phase is the exception rather than the rule; if reached, team members are performing at their best and functioning as a collective whole. Morale is high, the group produces quality and quantity, it becomes self-managing, and decisions flow naturally from its deliberations.
Teams that understand and savor members’ behavioral styles are most likely to succeed. Working with groups comes down to suspending judgment, empathizing, and trying to play to people’s strengths. The result, despite our differences, can be a wonderful synergy.
Adapted from “How to Build Effective Teams Based on Personality Type,” by Dr. Tony Alessandra, Ph.D., June 2015.
Reprinted from School Business Leader, Volume 1, Issue 10, published by the Association of School Business Officials International. www.asbointl.org.
Dr. Tony Alessandra is a behavioral and communication expert, and author of 29 books including The Platinum Rule, Collaborative Selling and The Art of Managing People. Today he is a leading business motivational speaker on communication, customer loyalty and sales.
