Pass the Torch | Developing Professionals | DiSC and Communication Styles

    10:02PM Oct 27, 2021

    Speakers:

    Keywords:

    people

    disc

    elizabeth

    style

    reserved

    adapting

    disk

    talk

    meeting

    myers briggs

    excited

    data

    comfortable

    aaron

    focus

    project

    ds

    eyes

    axes

    ss

    Okay, I'm here for tech support. If you need anything, I'm going to be off camera and muted most

    of the time. But Elizabeth is also here, too. So, and I'm sorry, what was your name? I'm Danielle. I'm the program manager for the rotation. Yeah.

    So whatever you are ready, I will admit, we have three people in the waiting room currently.

    And I can send out a reminder to our registered people to to join. Fabulous. Elizabeth, can you see my presentation now? I

    can see your presentation, your one to 12 slides. We are good.

    Awesome. Thank you so much. Problem. We're ready.

    All right. And I have a few announcements. And then Danielle is going to wrap up afterwards. So okay, cool. She'll have a quick survey, and then some other announcements to touch

    base on. Fabulous. Hello, hello, Aaron. I just go, Hey, how are ya? One second here

    to remember how to change my name.

    Oh, thank you, Elizabeth, I forgot about doing mine on. On the bottom left of your screen, right click and hit three name,

    okay. And you want me to just put the initial for

    it or the whole, okay. Just the initial whether you are a dominant D I S or C. And sometimes you might be two letters if you have two that are equal. So I am one of those.

    I have learned that mine I did, I think and then don't often know was in here yet or not. Um, I did one about a couple years ago. And I was leaning I think more D than DC for that one. But it was kind of dependent on what I was doing for work. And I was a little more cautious at that time, I think

    I am, I do find that I express D or I a little bit dependent on the context. But I have taken different disc assessments multiple times over probably 10 years. And I always come within 1% of the same results. And I always get I am 46% D and 45%. i So higher from my

    D. And then when I was in a I was working on a project again more contextual where I was very cautious. And so I was getting more of the seaside. I think it was only like a 30%. So it was still very high D but I was getting a little bit more on that far like left center quadrants.

    I have 2% C. So it's almost a wonder I get anything done correctly. No, I know you and I've talked about this before I love doing these assessments. But it's pretty funny when you know some of the answers are very extreme. I've had a pretty extensive disc evaluation through one company and there were things I got like, Oh, you're 1% This smells like this.

    It's interesting. And I don't Erin like with you moving into your new position, if you've done the personality tests and kind of like the assessments, one of my friends that was working for a nonprofit here in Indianapolis, and they did the disc and they actually use their distance, like on their like named placards, on their cubes. And then there's like a portfolio of the personnel. So you can see like, what their style is to help them with their communications. When they go into meetings. They know like, oh, you know, my CFO is a high D or you know, my chief medical officers at high eye and like it has helped them align a little bit more on the communication styles when they're meeting. And that's kind of like what I was having a conversation was like, Oh, this would be really interesting topic. And that's why I kind of reached out to you because I know we'd geeked out about the disc stuff before. Oh, yeah,

    yes, absolutely. So um, do we are we waiting on a few more people?

    We may and I think just again, the nature of being virtual people may be running home or they may be doing something else like cooking dinner or whatever, while they're trying to get logged in. So

    we're totally fine. And we have plenty of time. Flexible, just want to check that I'm not just kind of rambling on because like I said, I will talk desk for hours like

    that's one of the good things like we'll have the recording afterwards. And then you did provide me with some handouts to send to everybody as well. So I'm excited to share those when we wrap up tonight as well. But I will go ahead and get started with introductions. I am Elizabeth Seljuk. I am one of the leadership committee members for the developing professionals and the development professionals are hosting a show here today to talk about disc and effectively communicating And if you are interested in becoming a member of the leadership committee, Amina is actually going to send out some information. I think she said on next Monday, she's going to make some of the applications available for like events and programming, which is what I do currently, membership experience, marketing roles. There's a variety of ways that if you're interested in helping out with the DPS, we can definitely use more volunteers to to grow the programming and what we're doing for 2022. And then she also mentioned that, if they are interested, if you want to kind of like feel out the Leadership Committee, they do we do have a meeting on Thursday, the fourth that you can join and say hello, kind of figure out kind of like what we're doing and what the plans are for 2022 So on could make a creative business commitment, because she has recently started a new job as well. So she's been getting settled into that one. Right. And so I would like to introduce Alicia hare. She's a training and development partner at Vixia. Did I say that right?

    Mix owl, this lady's management company. And she's actually

    in Phoenix, Arizona. So we've been talking about the weather and the timezone change, not changing with Indiana connection for that. And Alicia in her current role creates high performance training and development programs built to drive positive employee experience, and business impact. And so we talked about her onboarding for new employees and my experience with my current company doing that. So we've been kind of catching up on what that programming looks like. She is definitely passionate about disc and how understanding and supporting employees supports organizational culture, mission and objectives. So I'm very excited to welcome Alicia to talk to us today about this. And I hope we'll have an engaging conversation. And we should throw together like ground rules parameters you kind of want to mention before you get started, it's free.

    Yeah, awesome. Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for that fabulous introduction. And thank you everyone for joining today. As Elizabeth said, I am really passionate about this. And I think it's really great to be able to use these insights and practical ways. So we'll be talking about using the disc model to more effectively communicate with others. And if you do know your disc style, and can add it to your name in zoom, that's great. If you don't know your disc style, I do have a link to a free assessment in in this presentation that you'll get later. So I am excited to be here with pass the torch Foundation For Women. I'm a big believer in professional development and supporting each other. I do have a PowerPoint and a lot to share. But I'll be asking questions of the group and I welcome your questions. So you know, don't feel like inhibited if you have a question jump on in. And this topic is practical. But I also find it a lot of fun and hope you will too. So who has ever had a conversation that makes them feel like this? Or maybe for me, I think it's easier to ask who happened? In a survey of 1400 corporate workers 86% cited ineffective communication as a main cause of workplace failures. ineffective communication not only reduces our productivity, it makes the interaction more difficult and frustrating for the people involved and inhibits building trust and relationships. But what makes a conversation difficult versus successful varies between people what I find to be really effective in a conversation, maybe something that somebody else finds really irritating, because we're all different. So how can disk help? And why disk versus all the other options? What are the different communication styles? And what is your communication style me? How might that be perceived by others? And how can we recognize the style of others and adapt? I'm primarily going to use terminology around work situations today. But these concepts and methods work for all kinds of interactions, your PTA or volunteer group. It's all about people. So how many of you are familiar with the disc model? Yes, I know you are Elizabeth Aaron, and you are fabulous. So I have to admit, when I was first introduced to this, I thought it was way too simple. I came from a heavy focus and mild obsession with Myers Briggs. And I worked in organizations using Clifton Strengths and predictive index. And they all seem super deep and you know you love reading those profiles. When I first encountered this, if that this is way too basic, I'm going to stick to my Myers Briggs. But I worked in a team where it was decided by leadership We're going to do disk model. And as we are creating workshops using Disk and really focusing around organizational needs, I have the realization that this simplicity is it strength when it comes to real world application? Like how do you apply Myers Briggs in a meeting with someone you hardly know. Or even if you know, an entire project groups predictive index, you can remember every style and how to adapt to each. So disk gives us a simplified model based around external behaviors. The four styles on disk are based on two axes, whether a person is more active or forward, or more reserved for task and people oriented. So we have our DS being active, and task focused, and they're often described as driven, decisive, results focused. And then our eyes are also on that active and more forward scale. And instead of task focused, they're more focused on people. They're often characterized as friendly, enthusiastic, and collaborative. Still on that people side, but now moving towards more reserved, we have our C's, I'm sorry, our SS. So the S is the steady style, considered stable, sincere, accommodating. And the final type is see on the reserved and past focus side, seas are conscientious, careful and systematic. So was anybody surprised by their results in their DISC assessment?

    Previously, I've had been like, I was surprised that I moved. So forward to D. I don't know if it's because I was switching careers. And I had to really kind of focus what I was doing and how he's engaging with people. Awesome. Aaron, were you surprised that you were kind of like more centrally located with the floor.

    So what I've found and somebody had told me this is as you get older, you do tend to and the same is true with like Pei tend to start equaling out among them. And I think it's just partially getting older and adapting, you get better at adapting maybe I don't know. But I think Myers Briggs is not like that, though. That's one that stays separate. So that's where I put in the notes. I think Myers Briggs is good for getting to know yourself. Yeah, disc is good for adapting to other people. But I will say I went from like a tight CMS to a tight CI, so I even moved a little bit more, since the last time I took it, which is funny. One of these days, I'm going to be a CDL. So

    well, I have not found mine to change in 10 years. So I think I might be a little extreme. I'm one of those people, you know what we'll talk a little bit more about some of the ways as a type, you might be perceived in ways that you don't want to be. And I really feel that that that depends on how extreme you are, and that type. And I'm very extreme in my type. So those can always be you know, slightly painful. But sometimes those are good and self assessments.

    So I will admit, I was especially young, I was very high C and very low everything else.

    Well, it's good to have that out there. You know, I mentioned earlier, I think before we started that I actually 2% C. And so I do absolutely admire the sea and people and have really found that to be valuable when I'm working with cities. I've had some great sea partners on different projects. So and these are all all of them have valuable traits a person can bring to communication and collaboration. What this is really about is just the different preferences, and how they can be perceived that may cause just difficulties in the way you collaborate or even miscommunication. I at one point actually thought that people who are on this more reserved spectrum didn't like me or didn't like my ideas because they didn't immediately respond. I tend to gravitate towards working with other D eyes and those are the people I click with on a project we're just practically talking over each other and I'm like, Oh, what about this? No. Yeah. And so when I go about this to a seat and they board an S and they sit there and like, hate me. So, understanding that there are like these just different natural tendancies has been really helpful to me. And I think you said this word, that kind of a good segue into this next slide. So, self awareness, one of the first steps we can take to improving communication with others desk is simply that self awareness, like we were talking about, like, Oh, I do take a little bit more time to respond, or I do talk over people. So what tendencies are natural to me, that might not always be perceived well by other types. So yeah, there really is no good or bad disc type, it can be difficult, sometimes seeing some of our tendencies written out, especially when they really resonate, classic do that. The point is to understand ourselves, and how our sound may be perceived by others, and then evaluate ways in which we can be better universal communicators. So self awareness, not self criticism, the reminder for myself as well.

    So we're all a blend of the different styles, and each of us is unique, and how we express them. Some people have more balanced disc styles, which I always admire, and some of us are more extreme. So how you really exhibit the tendencies of your style is going to differ by person. There are some key communication strengths and tendencies and pitfalls and strategies for each step. So our DS, as we talked about before, are driven for results. And really great decision makers, ds get it done. They're great at taking charge of a situation. But these can also be seen as overbearing, dismissive, or, yeah, we said they take charge, but maybe it's not their time to take charge. And they're just kind of seen as taking over. I know that resonates with me. And so what are some strategies that D could do to not be seen as kind of domineering?

    Be patient, others to participate and provide feedback and don't jump in right away?

    Absolutely, yes. Elizabeth, I know that you also have, you know, been big into this. They could see your smile. Really? Yeah, I've read these. It's

    her nose for sure. Yes, I've definitely been told I've been overbearing and aggressive. And I don't wait for people to like, share their opinion or just keep going.

    Yeah, yeah. So one of the things that's been really cool with virtual work becoming just so much more prevalent is a mute myself. It just takes one extra little step and time for me to jump into something. And sometimes that's just a really great reminder. Like, I don't need to share right now. This isn't my This isn't mine, like, let go, Alicia.

    Really good point. Again, the mechanisms in place to kind of help change the behavior.

    Right, right back in the office. Oh, goodness, I have to tell you office spaces is a DI really hard for me. I keep seeing things online about how introverts don't want to go back to the office. And I'm like, How about as overbearing extroverts that are going to be distracted by every single thing around me. At home, I have no distractions. I'm gonna go to office There's me 75 conversations around me. Well, we'll we'll make it work. So I also really active like the DS, but are more about people. So they're very enthusiastic, optimistic, persuasive, to get everyone excited about the idea. But they can also seem unfocused, not serious about the talkative topic and too talkative. So kind of similar to the D is self editing contributions and tone, like, do do I need to share this opinion or story? Like it might be a really fun, semi relevant story, but does it add value? Is it going to make you look focused and on top of your game? Is it beneficial, and then focus and follow through, you know, the the up squirrel, that is kind of the eye, and it's not that an eye can't get something done? Eyes minds are just moving like a mile a minute, and they think of something on a tangent and I'm terrible about this. So really figure out your focus and follow through especially in a professional setting where you're trying to sort Build this image. SS people scale by reserved. So the Ss are seen as reliable and consistent and supportive. They are great listeners. I mean, I as the DI, I'm like, wow, those are those are great words. But I or SS can also be seen as too passive or timid, overly accommodating and not participating. And they often don't champion themselves. So the first to tell you, you did a great job, I loved how you did this on a project. But where I as a DI may show up to a team meeting and I'm super jazzed to tell everyone about this new accomplishment I did, it's very unlikely an S will naturally do that. And again, everybody's an MC. So you know, your s might might be a little more comfortable doing that. But by their nature, S's are really going to sit back, they're going to listen, they're going to support everyone. So as an S, think about preparing statements to particularly say no, disagree, or ask time for review. So you're not feeling just like pressured and put on the spot in the meeting, I actually find this tactic to be really useful for a lot of things when you feel uncomfortable, have sort of a catchphrase that you know, that you can go to in that moment when you feel pressure. So if you're an S, and you're not great at disagreeing with a decision, or pushing back on getting time for review, just have something ready, like, Hey, this is a really interesting proposal. I'd like to give us some more thought before we move forward. How would I get back to you tomorrow. Also, practice sharing successes, make that a habit in the professional world, we really need to be our own champions, even if it's not comfortable. And it's not bragging, or at least not bragging in a negative way.

    Our sees Erin and Elizabeth driven for quality and accuracy, detail oriented. These are fabulous. And especially right now with just data being such a focus ease, you've got it.

    That's how we know each other through process improvement.

    Process. Data. I mean, these are such huge areas of importance for pretty much any company. Unfortunately, oh, there and you were gonna say something?

    No, I was gonna say it's funny because the, the driven for quality and accuracy and the detail is what brought me into the process improvement. But the rest of the job that goes with process improvement is probably what's dragged me into the DNI categories. Because we facilitate a lot of meetings, we have to celebrate wins. Like all of the stuff that I was never comfortable. Yes, when I was in my 20s, I've been forced to do in my career.

    Exactly. That's where I was gonna get to where I had done my one assessment, and then now as a necessity, the job I've moved different areas.

    Yeah. That's great, though. I mean, and that's the thing, we aren't just one thing. And so sometimes it's like it, especially if you are an extreme on one of these skills, it can be like, gosh, all I am is thinking about data, and I'm critical. But we all have pieces, and each and every one. Although I think I found a fact that 1% of people are only one, like only one Distel I wanted to follow up on that more, but I was like, let's say even look like how does that happen? 1% seems like a very big number. I don't believe this. So we'll see. But generally, people are a mix. And I think it's really interesting that you you're both saying that you've changed through what you've needed to do for work.

    Yeah, and it changed like, like that does spill over into your personal because I remember the first time I did disk, it was like does does my family see me the same way is like if I answered this for work, but um, but I would say it spills over to the personal because, you know, when you get more outward at work, and you start seeing people differently, like, you know, if I if I'm chapter challenging executives on a regular basis, because that's my job, I suddenly become more comfortable challenging people in general. So it does kind of spill over into your personal life as well.

    Absolutely. And practice practice makes us good at those things that just aren't comfortable. I mean, frankly Most of us aren't really comfortable with almost anything from the start, you know, I will come as an I am pretty comfortable just being chatty. But professionally, we're all just developing our style and our comfort level at different things. So that's awesome that, you know, you've gotten to the point where you're so comfortable, it's become part of your, your DISC profile. So when the seas are being too critical, overly stuck on the data, the rules, the detail, and just overly cautious, cautious and risk averse, what are some things that you've done to kind of be a little more universal in your approach?

    You know, for me, in my previous job as a risk assessor, again, everybody in our group was pretty much a high C, because we were cautious. And we're having a look at the worst case scenario. And it was those ds that are like, Okay, you have to move past this, we had a facilitator, it's like, you just need to move forward, you can't have analysis, paralysis, and get all the data you ever want. Like, you just need to make a decision, the best that you can and go forward. So having somebody like, with an outside perspective, push us and be like, you're going to do the best, you can just keep going and you're going to get better.

    Oh, that's a really good point. I love that about like the analysis paralysis and getting past it. That's generally not something I have to struggle with finishing with, with my 2% C, on my 46% D 45%. I, I'm like, I'm excited. Let's do it. Like it'll be fixed. Whatever, it's fine.

    analyze all the variables, make sure you're making the right choice. Like question, if you don't make the right choice. What happens? Yes,

    no, no, I'm just kind of like, let's get a big picture and be excited and have a vision and we'll move move forward. And something's wrong, we can fix it later. So absolutely, yeah, look beyond that data, don't get stuck in the analysis, move forward to a decision. And I also put, be considerate with feedback. And, you know, and I think you can really tailor that to your audience, and be open to compromise. And Aaron also said something earlier that I thought was a really great suggestion was celebrating wins. You know, that's not necessarily something you always associate with this with a C. And but I do think that is really important. So awesome.

    It's important for the C to, yeah, if you're a D, and you have a C on your team, be like, Okay, I need to help help that person recognize when something great has just happened. Right, because they're so worried about all the scenarios coming after

    pulls away, pull them away, further analysis, they take a break, see, we're gonna celebrate, you know, I know you now thought of new things you can analyze, let's just take a break and celebrate what you already.

    Exactly look for the positive.

    So this has been about like, adjusting our own tendencies. And when working with others, we can not just adapt kind of to be more universal, but we can sort of tailor how we are working with them to be more effective. But how do we identify their types? You know, we're talking about, we're laughing about, you know, being stuck in data. And so there are some things that just from right off the bat, looking at how the disc scale is set up that you can guess and maybe somebody is really obvious, but maybe somebody isn't really obvious. And so you need to observe, like, what did they talk about? How do they say things? What is their body language? Are they kind of sitting back and maybe more closed off body language? Are they up at the front of the room gesturing with big facial expressions, and then bring all these things back to the disk axes? And you sees like this, that's when you start analyzing that data. You know, you like I said, there's some people that may be really, really obvious from the get go. But some people maybe not, but when you start to put it together, oh, they do talk really fast. And whenever they have something to say they just jump right in with it. They sit back or they lean forward. And when you start putting all of these together, that's when you can recognize which is likely their most dominant this style. You know, you're not gonna be able to sit down there. Sorry, seize and go play. I think it was 37% and 26%. US but you can get what They are really expressing in that moment so that you can tailor how you're working with them to be more fitting to their so. So ds ds tend to talk about their accomplishments, what needs to be done direct confidence. Your eyes, that's a person with the big gestures, very fast paced speech, a lot of inflection and superlatives. This is an area, I self edit far more than you would ever guess. You will hear me say a lot of really an amazing and awesome have actually cut those down. You know, people kind of joke about how we self edit emails and the exclamation points, we go through and I Oh, yeah, four exclamation points in an email. It's too much like I said that it also with the release, and very, and so superlatives very much in the eyes. Also activities and interactions. So your your eye is talking about who they met with what they've been doing, it may still be work related, but it's very people oriented. Your SS, talk more about relationships and family. And again, even even a professional setting, they may be talking about work. But they talk a lot about who they work with and how they've worked together. And often in just a very supportive way. They may be talking about how somebody did something really great on a project, or often that you did something really great. They are generally very calm and their demeanor very supportive. And they tend to lean in, and they do smile, but it's not the big giant facial expressions of the eyes. The C's tend to say only what needs to be said and mentioned more about potential issues. They tend to speak more slowly, less expressive and fewer words. I have a really detailed reference, I'm going to send y'all after this or Elizabeth well. So these are really just basics. But again, everyone's kind of a mix. What you're looking to target to is that primary style that they're expressing in your interaction. Oh, keep going the wrong way. So a couple of practice ones and these are pretty simple. But our first person here, Hema, she's energetic and talkative. You can see already big facial expressions. She uses a lot of facial. I said that already. She uses a lot of gestures. She shares a story and she asks about your life. What do you think her style is? My calling you Elizabeth.

    I was waiting. I was like, I'm gonna give myself five seconds. No, nobody else does. I was ready. I'm gonna say I because of the expressiveness and then like the leaning forward and being engaged.

    Absolutely. I would definitely say he met his and I. Oh, I don't know. I use my mouse today. Okay, so yes, I would say she's and I. And then we have Judy here. She smiles. She leans in. She's a good listener, and she seems genuinely caring. And she talks a lot about the team and we are in what would you guess is her dominant style? I can't Yeah, you're muted. I'm

    on mute. Eph.

    I actually read your lips. He said it very emphatic. Absolutely, I would agree. And Sharon hair has a bit more of a hard to read expression. She's saying only what's needed but asking clarifying questions. Why? Why did you come to this conclusion? How did this data come about? Are we recognizing her as a? Yes, yes, this is our see. So when we're adapting when we're adapting we can refer back to the task versus people and active versus refer reserved axes to give us direction to how we adapt. And this is especially helpful when you're not quite sure what someone's type is. You know, as we've talked about, someone can be pretty close on something. So a lot of times we can go through how they are expressing in that particular situation. But even then, we may not be sure, but we can definitely say, This person is more reserved. How about I give them more time to evaluate, before I demand a decision from them, you know, talking back to how do we sort of self edit to be more universally good communicators. I, when I'm working with a with another strong D, or I don't, I don't worry about it. But if I can tell somebody is more reserved, I remind myself, you don't need to demand an immediate reaction on an idea or proposal from everybody. It's not it's not fair. And I actually worked quite closely with a see when and, and very strong, just see, I mean, little bits, little sprinkling in the others, but very, very strong. See, when we were doing quite a bit of disk work, and she and I were fabulous partners, because Dee and I, I'm big picture and I'm enthusiastic, and she's making sure everything is done, you know, all of the little things are done. And at one point, I had this great idea, and I well, great idea, in my opinion. But I was very excited to share it with her. And I shared it with her and my very excited way. And I think I may have taken a breath after finishing explaining it to her. And then I was like, Do you not like my idea? What do you what you don't like it. And what was great is because we had done so much discord together, she was able to just go and see I am processing, I need some time. But most of the time, we don't have that language together. And we don't know exactly what somebody is. But using this, using the axes can be helpful. So like we were talking about, you know, give somebody who's clearly more reserved type time to process. If you can tell somebody very people oriented, you may be a DC. And you may have no need to start a meeting off with two minutes of personal chit chat. But investing that two minutes of personal chit chat time actually can be incredibly valuable. And so if you were a member, this may not be valuable from your perspective. But if you think about it in its value of building that relationship, or that connection with somebody who really really values that people side, it really is worth the time doesn't mean you have to invite them to lunch or over for a barbecue. And then of course, you know if you know that you are working with these task oriented, D's or C's, and be prepared with the details and action items. And not only will it help how you are working with them, it's actually going to help you feel a lot more confident in your own presentation. You know, if you go to a project meeting with with a DEA, and you don't really have any of those action items and what needs to be done and next steps and then they're suddenly demanding all of that for you. If you're just a strong See, you're going to feel kind of run over. So thinking about some of these things as we interact with people can make the communication better and make us feel more comfortable. So let's talk about some more specific ways of adapting.

    So again, adopting is modifying it's not changing yourself completely. You don't have to, you know, as an I become a C because they your project leader is a C, you don't just go I am now King about clean of all data. But can you think of some ways a si can improve how they work with an eye

    Elizabeth and Erin, I'm going to keep calling on you unless somebody else turns on their cameras and signifies they want to participate with us.

    I will go because I can relate very heavily to this and Aaron may be able to also talk about her personal experience of just like where she's gone in her path. But for me being more reserved and just to the point like few forwards like I have to really engage in that small talk and have those like personal connections versus just Getting down to what needs to be done. Like, that has been a very big struggle for me in my early career of making sure I'm connecting with my eyes in my life and at work and be like, okay, like, we can do this, we're building the relationship, we don't just have to, like, get down to business right away.