Understand and Utilize the Predictable Behaviors of Your Team

While most business leaders understand that people are different, including their employees from each other and themselves, this can potentially take on a negative connotation. "Different" is sometimes viewed as bad or wrong.

However, when you understand that people are predictably different, with personality and behavioral styles that directly translate to certain preferences for job environments, communication styles, types of tasks or roles within a company, and more, then the "differences" between your employees can help a company thrive and reach new heights.

The DISC personality assessment shows us that there are four main quadrants or variants of personality, Dominant, Influencing, Steady and Compliant. The general population breakdown is that 3% of people are classified as "D" styles, 11% are "I" types, S personality styles make up  69%, and 17% are "C" personality types.

These are the four main DISC personality types, and they are each either Active or Passive, and Task-Oriented or People-Oriented. When combined in different ways, you get a person who responds drastically differently to a particular conversation, assignment, task, environment, or anything else.

For instance, the "D" Dominant personality style is active and task-oriented. This type of individual prefers to be in charge of themselves and likes to think about big picture goals and tangible results. They fear being taken advantage of, dislike being micro-managed or watched over, and are motivated by new challenges and having freedom of routine. They like to have the power to make decisions, take risks, set and achieve goals, and reach those tangible results.

So what does that mean for your organization? It means that with the DISC personality test, you gain access to a wealth of information that you can use to directly increase employee performance, morale, and productivity, improve communication and team productivity in the workplace, and so much more.

In regards to the individual with the "D" personality above, you could help that employee thrive by giving them a bit of breathing room and letting them excel and hit their targets, as opposed to handing them a two-dozen point daily to-do checklist, for instance.

During the hiring process, you can use the DISC report to clearly see which candidate is right for which role and make the best decision, avoiding problems down the line. Perhaps that Dominant personality isn't such a good fit for that administrative position, after all.