Man has been trying (over the past few thousands of years), to explain the behavior of their counterparts. Back in 444 B.C., the Empodocles believed that people would behave in a certain way when they get into contact with different elements like Earth, Air, Fire or Water. The Hippocrates, however, believed that it is the type of fluids - cold or warm, fast or slow moving fluids - that flowed in a person which determines how he/she will behave, giving rise to Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic and Melancholic types of personality.

In 1921 Carl Gustav Jung introduced 4 different types of psychological types of personality: Thinking, Feeling, Sensation and Intuition, that affects a person’s behavior. Finally in 1926, William M. Marston invented the Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance (DISC) personality system, which has benefited many organizations in better understanding their most valuable asset – their people.

Why DISC?

In the market, there are many different personality systems that can be used to explain the behaviors, so why DISC? Firstly, DISC is straightforward, and its simplicity renders it easy to understand and to apply. Secondly, given its longstanding and track record, DISC has been tested and proven to work. Thirdly, and most importantly, the premise of DISC is that behaviors can be changed, thus encouraging people to learn to modify their behaviors after understanding themselves, in order to leverage on their strengths and reduce their weaknesses.

Briefly, the different types of personality identified by Dr. Marston are: Dominance – people who are results oriented, direct and decisive Influence – people who are interactive, influencing and sociable Steadiness – people who are stable, steady and secure Compliance – people who are compliant, correct and controlled Understanding personality styles can, and has aided many organizations, both large and small, in many areas.

Finding the right team member

The DISC system has helped many companies to place the right type of people at the right job. For example, you may not want someone who is of the “D” type of personality (who tend to be very direct and task oriented, and may be impatient) to be your customer service officer. “I” and “S” type people who are more people-oriented may be more suitable for the position.

Teambuilding

To build an effective team, it is usually good to have people of different personality types to work together so that the team will be all-rounded. The “D”s will direct the actions, the “I”s will motivate the teammates, the “S”s will ensure that the targets are
realistic and the “C”s will look into proper documentation and compliance to policies and regulations.

Using DISC, participants learn about their own motivations and tendencies, as well as those of fellow team members. In this way, there will be better allocation of duties, sharing of work loads and monitoring of progress of work delegated to other team members.

Motivating a team

Using a banana to entice a cat to climb down from a tree would likely yield little result. Similarly, understanding what motivates different people can help organizations motivate their staff, in addition to just waving monetary rewards. Type “D” people look for positions of authority, “I”s tend to appreciate public approval and praises, “S”s greatly treasure family and relationships, they will do almost anything if they know that you care about them. The “C”s, on the other hand, need to be complemented for their almost perfect work.

Communication within and outside a team

In effective communication, we do not just need to give clear instructions. We also have to understand what people selectively listen to. Dominant people go straight to the point and may not require much detail to carry out a request. Influence type people will take the chance to talk to you about work, colleagues, family, hobbies, the day’s news and may forget about why he/she was asked to do the task, that is, if they still remember to do it. “S” types need to have specific instructions with clear areas of responsibilities to get into action and “C” types need to know exactly why certain things have to be done and its detailed repercussions.

Conflict Resolution/ Prevention among team members

Understanding how another colleague thinks and works can help to resolve certain conflicts and prevent misunderstandings. A “D” person may never know that he is driving his subordinates too hard, an “I” person may not know that he is driving his “C” colleague crazy by passing her stacks of messy scribbles to be entered into the computer.

Understanding personality types is not to stereotype one another, and neither should it be used as an excuse for our displayed behavior. in seeking deeper understanding of ourselves and others through the use of a personality assessment tool like DISC Personality System, we learn how to better adapt to our environment, appreciate one another, and actualize our strengths and combat our weak spots.

In short, this simple and easy to apply, yet powerful tool will prove valuable to organizations and teams of any size.

during the workshop, participants will learn:
• to read the profile instrument and learn about the personalities of themselves as well as their colleagues
• motivations of different personality types
• how different personalities process information and communicate
• how different personalities perceive confrontations and resolve conflicts
• learn to leverage on the strengths of one another and be better team players.
• learning values
- importance understanding one another
- motivating a team
- delegation of duties
- communication
- conflict resolution/ prevention
- being a team player

duration: 2hr to 3 hrs
venue: indoor
equipment required: lcd projector and screen
group size: 6 to 50
physical rating: very low (if done out doors)
ideal for: indoor teambuilding, leadership training, conflict resolution