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| December 2007 | français|
Quick Links Keep Your Secrets Safe View The CHRP & Professional Development View The Bench View Leadership’s Leading Edge: Five Trends in 2007/08 View How to Attract, Motivate and Retain Young Employees View How Becoming an ISO Internal Auditor Provided Valuable Insight! View ‘Human’ Resources View Knowing Me, Knowing You View Violence in the Workplace View Eight Rules for Leading Change View Required Professional Competencies – Raising the Bar in Human Resources View Is your business protected? Owners who plan avoid future turmoil. View Free Agency in Corporate Canada View CHRP Announcement View Congratulation to New CHRPs View ACHRA Award Winners View National Young Leaders Award Presented to HRANB Member View New CCHRA Manager Announced View CHRP Facilitated Learning Sessions View NB Paid Holidays Schedule View
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December 2007 Newsletter Knowing
Me, Knowing You
Would you like to have some of this information tucked away in your back pocket? Yes? Then you need to study the DISC language of observable behaviour and all will be revealed. As an HR professional I have always been skeptical of any so-called ‘psychometric test’ that claims to be able to tell me what I am like, and how I am likely to behave. I avoided using such tests for a number of years! That was until I started studying the language of observable behaviour known as DISC. To begin to understand the theory and application of the DISC language, now stay with me here, we have to go back to a time in history when people obviously had a great deal more free time than most of us HR practitioners do today! Throughout history, dating back to Empodocles (444 B.C.) and Hippocrates (400 B.C.), scientists and researchers have observed basic behavioural similarities between human beings. These observations were developed as time went by culminating in the work of one William Moulton Marston (1893-1947). Marston is regarded as the major developer of the DISC language. So what is DISC? ‘DISC is the four quadrant behavioral model’ that ‘examines the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation. DISC looks at behavioral styles and behavioral preferences.’ Wikipedia The DISC model classifies four aspects of behavior by testing a person's preferences in word association. DISC is an acronym for:
For the record there is no perfect behavioural type that will create a leader and no particular type is prone to being a good or bad person. Individuals within each category have the potential to be excellent leaders and great human beings. It is also true to say that each of us displays a combination of the four behavioural types - for example an individual may be a Strong C and S, with a low score D and I - to understand how this person will behave we would need to look at all four factors and how they blend with each other. Getting bogged down in the detail yet? Try this analogy … Welcome to Hollywood, DISC style! Instead of Dominance think of these individuals as Directors - They strive to get the movie made, they are direct and forceful in their communication, they won’t back down from a fight and will do whatever it takes to get the movie completed. They need others to provide them with all the detail; they don’t have the time or patience to concern themselves with the minutia. Instead of Influencers think of these individuals as Stars - They crave attention and are everybody’s friend, they love to talk and be the life and soul of the party, not so good at listening they need things in writing if they have to be done. Set the stage for them and watch them glow. Instead of Steadiness think of these individuals as Agents - They bring Directors and Stars together, they negotiate agreement, they prefer to take things at a slower pace and if given the option, would like the world to stand still now and again. They are the glue that binds the Hollywood team. Instead of Compliance think of these individuals as Producers - They are so organized and meticulous in all they do, quality is of the utmost importance, they will confront Directors and Stars if their work is not up to standard and will insist on editing and re-editing the movie until it meets their expectations. They can spend hours analyzing information to ensure that the movie is factually correct. Can you tell which behavioural category you fall into? Nowadays, the amazing language of DISC has been developed into computer software so that any individual can, after a brief test, be offered a wealth of information on their personal behaviours. There are a number of products on the market that will provide us with this opportunity. In the work environment it is not so much the DISC product you use but more, how you use it and do you have sufficient guidance, education and support to successfully integrate the product into your organization. As with any investment, spending time and money on analyzing behaviours must ultimately show an ROI and it is important that you measure and evaluate any of the DISC products you use. So, how can I actually apply this behavioural information at work? What is the point of understanding DISC? Bottom-line, anyone who interacts with other people (pretty much all of us) could use information on how they behave, so that they can enhance and build on their relationships with others. The ability to recognize a different behavioural type and ‘adapt’ your own behaviour to enhance a relationship with that individual can bring great rewards both professionally and personally. When applied to a recruitment or succession planning process at work, by understanding the behaviours that are necessary to carry out a particular job, we can measure and see if any potential candidates display the right behaviours. If we have a senior person that is retiring and we need to select his/her replacement - identify the behaviours of the senior person and then measure the potential replacements. DISC enables us to create behavioural benchmarks for success. An understanding of DISC has great value in so many of the things we all do every day. Understanding how we react when subjected to change, conflict, communication, teamwork, even a sales pitch from an over-enthusiastic salesperson, can help us make the most of these interactions and build successful and fulfilled relationships. To my mind, knowing me, knowing you, is what being a human being is all about. Vanessa
Pearson Further
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