Wondering What A DISC Coach Does?
What Is The DISC Assessment?
First, let me explain what the DISC is used for in the coaching profession.
DISC is defined by Target Training International, as “the universal language of observable behavior.” It is one of their behavioral assessments that explains how a person does what they do. Many people mistakenly call DISC a personality profile. In practice, “personality” includes much more than our behaviors because it is formed by our values, character, temperament, beliefs and many other factors.
The DISC Assessment is defined as the “how” behind your “what” in that it looks at how our behavioral style impacts the way we communicate, complete tasks, and interact with others.
Four Behavioral Styles
Each person is unique and has their own behavioral makeup that is influenced by four behavioral styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. Our behaviors can be analyzed along a continuum for each of these styles. There are no good or bad styles, and a “high” or “low” is neither a positive or negative, as there are pros and cons across the continuum of personality. The key to DISC is understanding how these styles affect a person’s behavior and then applying that knowledge to how we interact with each other.
No DISC Tools Are The Same
While DISC is a common term, no two DISC assessment tools are alike. While the DISC theory was created by William Marson, it was never patented, so there have been many different DISC versions created over the years. some DISC versions and are more scientifically-based than others. In my coaching work with clients and corporations, I use a TTI SI’s version of the DISC tool because it is continually being tested and fine-tuned. I also believe in combining DISC assessments with other performance information such as Motivation or EQ assessments as I believe this offers a more comprehensive measure of a person’s strengths and areas for growth.
How Can DISC Help Your Business?
Getting To Know Yourself And Others
A recent customer of mine talked about her experience in a recent DISC coaching session. She said she was surprised by how her everyday behaviors can be perceived by others. She had no idea the number of insights she would gain from one session. Another recent coaching client indicated that he now feels he has a better understanding of other personality types at work, why they act the way they do, and how to better communicate with them to achieve results and improve those relationships. This coaching work with DISC also has an effect on relationships at home for the better.
Learning How To Communicate More Effectively
During DISC Assessment reviews, we find that the report provides a list of talents and behaviors that provide “Value to the Organization.” Many people find that the “Checklist for Communicating” is very useful in learning how to communicate with other personality types and in getting others to see how to best communicate with you. In one recent coaching session, a manager discovered he needed to spend more time with small talk with certain employees to build the relationship before he gets down to assigning tasks.
Improving Team Communication
During a DISC workshop with a local business team who was having trouble with commnication, I ran a team report that provided each person with a Checklist for Communicating with each team member. The checklist provides both “Ways to Communicate” and “Ways not to Communicate.” As we looked at the comparison report together, each person was able to recognize how to adapt their communication style to more effectively interact with others on the team. For instance, “Tony” has a High D behavioral style. High D’s like communication to be clear, specific, and organized, without a lot of rambling or wasted time. On the other hand, “Remy” is a High S who needs time to think about and consider new ideas, and doesn’t like it when people seem insincere or too formal. As they reviewed the report, they could easily see where some of their breakdowns in communication occurred, and why. Now, they are able to adapt their style to ensure they are being truly heard and understood, and the reduction in discord has created an increase in team (and individual) productivity.
Know Your Customers Better
Anyone in sales will tell you how important it is to be able to size up your customers so you can talk to them at their level and be able to close the sale. Over the course of my career what I have found is that in order to work effectively with anyone, it helps if you can recognize and understand their behavioral style. With good DISC coaching, you not only learn about your specific behavioral style, and how it affects your actions and communication, you also learn about the other main styles and how to recognize and communicate in a manner that resonates with them. The scientific research behind quality DISC Assessments has been able to pinpoint key characteristics for each behavioral style from the pace of their speech, their walk and gestures, the look of their desk and office, and even the words they often use and tone of voice.
Recognizing and understanding different DISC styles helps you adjust how you approach and communicate with customers, clients, colleagues, and even friends and family members. By doing this, you are better able to get your point across in a manner that they will understand. Through this, you can develop stronger relationships that benefit everyone involved.
DISC Assessments are a great tool for anyone looking to better understand themselves, better communicate with their team, or create a better atmosphere for relationship building. When you think about it, our success lies in the relationships we build.
