DataDome Blog

Well after a lot of hype and anticipation the iPad a.k.a. the “game changer” hit the market and love it or loathe it, Steve Jobs’ new vision for how we interact with computers is making its mark on our culture. Apps are already appearing in abundance and legions of users are taking the plunge with the new device, including our old friends the High D, High I, High S and High C…

The High D was the first in town to get the iPad, but he didn’t wait in line – that’s what assistants are for, right? He wanted THE BEST model, but when his assistant called from the store to ask which configuration to buy he lost patience and just barked at the assistant to “get the job done and get back to work”. First app loaded: Dragon Dictation.

The High I was shopping at the mall the day the iPads came out, but she didn’t know it ahead of time. She just got there and saw a big line outside the store and struck up a conversation with some of the folks in the line. Before long she knew half the line by first name and was having such a good time she ended up at the counter before she realized it – and she just HAD TO show it to her co-workers so she bought it on impulse. Then spent the rest of the day touring the office so all her friends could see it. First app loaded: Facebook.

The High S is just getting comfortable with his desktop and is worried that the office IT department is going to switch him to a laptop, which would mean taking away the desktop computer. He wouldn’t say no of course because he wouldn’t want to upset the technician, but he has no idea how he would be able to get any work done on the new machine, and where would he put his sticky notes? When a friend showed him an iPad he was upset to see him touch the screen – you’re not supposed to touch computer screens, right? First app loaded: N/A, still using Lotus Notes.

The High C pre-ordered her iPad. She read up on the lines that formed when the iPhone was released and used the data to plan a meticulous schedule for an efficient pick-up the day her iPad arrived. She was originally going to pass on the iPad because a line-by-line comparison of specs with several tablet computers and netbooks revealed missing features. In the end her spread-sheet analysis of increased productivity due to the extended battery life won her over to make the purchase. First app loaded: Project Planner.

DISC behavior is seldom this polarized around a single behavioral style, but we hope you found this to be an amusing and informative speculation. Part of the remarkable value of DISC is that understanding a person’s profile can help anticipate behaviors even when someone is shopping for Apple’s hot new gadget!

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Sometimes around the office we find that people are “reaching their limit” or “at the breaking point”, but we don’t know why or how things got so out of control. Understanding the impact of various situations and how they relate to differing behavioral styles can help you to better understand your coworkers and perhaps recognize and avoid repeating patterns that in the past were inadvertently causing stress levels to rise.

Previously, as part of our “World According to DISC” series we discussed ways in which one can “stress out” a classic High D, High I, High S and High C (The World According to DISC™: How We Stress Someone Out in Style). But what if someone’s most telling category is one in which they score significantly low instead of high?

How to stress out a Low D:
Tell them that they have to “step up and take the reins”. Put them in charge of a team. Let them know that everyone is counting on them to the lead the way.

How to stress out a Low I:
Ask them to cheer up a co-worker or plan an office party. Give them a big enthusiastic pep talk. Give them projects that involve lots of team interaction. Ask them to drum up enthusiasm for a new initiative among the staff.

How to stress out a Low S:
Force them to work a highly repetitive task. Ask them to work a rigid checklist of activity. Make them wait for extended periods. Demand multiple layers of process and approval for very action.

How to stress out a Low C:
Put them on a quality initiative. Tell them that every fact must be rigorously checked and documented. Ask them to provide detailed annotations. Request that they adhere strictly to the facts and avoid injecting opinion.

Behave Responsibly
We certainly don’t advocate setting out to “stress out” your coworkers, but what we hope is that you will find these examples helpful in recognizing that sometimes, without meaning to, we can say or suggest the wrong thing in the wrong way and end up adding significantly to our coworker’s stress levels.

DISC profiles are powerful allies in learning how to adjust your communication and management style to meet the needs of your employees. Without taking the time to learn the styles and how best to communicate to each, it is too easy to find yourself bringing anxiety and stress when you thought you were bringing solutions.

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Art Schoeck was recently asked the following question via our Ask the Expert form:

“On the page that describes the two DISC charts, why are both the most (Adaptive) and least (Natural) scores presented? With today’s culture it seems to me that Most and Least really do not apply, especially with many people working from home, and other cultural issues blurring the line between home and work. Wouldn’t it be less confusing if only one score was presented?”

Art’s answer:

Actually for the very reasons you state it is more vital than ever to examine what adjustments individuals are making to survive/excel in this environment.

Although the two graphs may at first seem like a lot of information to take in, once you get comfortable reading the graphs you realize how useful they are in understanding any changes in behavior that are being caused by the demands of the environment – critical observations that provide important insights into everything from job placement and team fit to strategies for communication and remediation of undesirable behaviors.

These are hectic times that have changed the boundaries of the workplace, but working from home is still work and as such can require activities and modes of communication that are not necessarily part of our natural style. Analyzing our adaptive behaviors is required to see if the person assessed is adjusting as efficiently and appropriately as necessary to be successful, especially if the person does not have a boss and is having to self-manage. These critical comparisons could be severely hindered without the handy reference of both Adaptive and Natural behavioral profiles.

What’s your question?

Data Dome founder, Art Schoeck, often receives questions through our Ask the Expert form. We try to answer questions here on this blog that are representative of common questions regarding DISC and other assessment tools.

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A training manager recently asked the following question via our Ask the Expert form:

“I have some questions about the Employee-Manager profile version. For some reason, I have been receiving more and more questions about the Circle Graph on the back…must be having more C’s in the classes lately! At any rate, I want to know what the numbers mean around and inside the circle, as well as to have a better explanation of what the circle graph even means. Right now, I tell the participants that the closer together their star and their dot are on the circle graph, the less they are having to adapt/change between their natural and their adapted style.”

Art’s answer:

The Success Insights Wheel can be an intimidating diagram the first time you see it. The Style Insights assessment generates 384 different graphs and the Wheel showcases 60 of them (48 basic graphs with 12 exceptions).  The quadrant in which the graph appears is determined by the assessment taker’s individual high factor. To understand the Wheel it is important to identify its eight different spokes, which are:

• Relater Core I,S
• Supporter Core S
• Coordinator Core S,C
• Analyzer Core C
• Implementor Core D,C
• Conductor Core D
• Persuader Core D,I
• Promoter Core I

Each person has a Natural Style, Adapted Style and a preferred Work Environment. The Success Insights Wheel uses a star to indicate the subject’s adapted style and a circle to mark the natural style, so yes, if the circle and star are close together then the Natural and Adapted styles are closely aligned.

In addition, when profiling a team, the DISC practitioner can see the team’s behavioral composition and potential conflicts at a glance with the Wheel.

The word Cross or Flex often appear at the bottom of the Wheel Page. The definitions are as follows:

Cross: Two or three factors above the line, with the core factor’s opposite also above the line. This means that the person potentially has some type of Me-Me conflict. Numbers 57, 58, 59 & 60 are examples of potential Me-Me conflicts.

Flex: Three factors above the line, with the core factor’s opposite below the line. This means that the person is adaptable.

What’s your question?

Data Dome founder, Art Schoeck, often receives questions through our Ask the Expert form. We try to answer questions here on this blog that are representative of common questions regarding DISC and other assessment tools.

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Spring is coming, and with it the return of our popular Align to Thrive workshop.

This workshop, which will be held on April 14th, will show you strategies designed to strengthen businesses and increase profitability… despite the uncertainty of economic and market conditions.

Organizational Alignment is an empowering concept for realizing full business potential. An aligned organization is a fine-tuned machine driving forward with focus, discipline and responsiveness to customer values.

In this workshop, through theory and practical application, you will learn new tools to measure and achieve organizational alignment. Simple, intuitive and quantitative measurements can show you how well your organization is aligned to your customers? and employees? constantly changing needs. This is the vital data needed to make the critical decisions for success.

You can find more detailed information and request your seat by visiting http://www.datadome.com/align2thrive.php or calling 404-814-0739.

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It’s the classic maxim that we all grew up with, the proverbial Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” however, does it always apply?  If we are all individuals and we all have different communication and behavioral styles then perhaps what works for me might not go over so well with you.

What if we were to rethink this idea and turn it into “Treat people not as you want to be treated, but instead, as they want to be treated”?  This opens up a more expansive and empathetic idea, and if we look at the diversity of interaction styles that we can recognize through our study of DISC profiles then it is possible to adapt our communication approach to better serve the preferences of someone who is likely to have a different behavioral profile than ourselves.

To further explore these ideas you may like to read Art Schoeck’s article: Adapting the Golden Rule for Better Communication

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It happens a lot in this world of assessments and behavioral information, the high side of the scale seems to get all the press.  We spotlight the characteristics of the high D, we round up discussion samples of high I’s, S’s and C’s, but the low end of the scale is no less meaningful than the high end.   A low D, I, S, or C is just as indicative of behavioral style as are  their high counterparts.  So for today, here’s a little attention to the low D.

You might be a low D if…

• you always drive in the right lane
• when you and someone else step into a line at the same time you tend to let the other person go first
• your friends describe you as someone who “goes with the flow”
• you’re the one who holds the elevator’s “open” button while waiting for everyone else to get out. You might be an even lower D if you’re the one who stays in the back of the elevator and tells the person holding the door to go ahead.
• you’ve never asked for a raise
• you usually wait for others to stop talking before you join the conversation

Remember even people whose behavior in one quadrant is at the top of the high or at the bottom of the low is still also exhibiting a range of behaviors measurable in the other 3 quadrants. Further, motivations and environmental influences can significantly impact circumstantial behavior.  None of us are “one-trick ponies” when it comes to our behavioral styles.

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I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you about something new that we’re just getting started here at Data Dome.  In an effort to add more interactivity to this website and to answer the most pressing questions that you have about DISC we’ve put together an “Ask the Expert” form for this site.

Whether you want to know something general about DISC behavioral styles or something particular about a specific assessment tool we want to know what’s on your mind.  It is my hope that by getting your questions directly, we as a company will be able to provide the information you need to continue to grow in your knowledge of DISC and your ability to use it to help your organizations to thrive.

Although it may not be possible to answer every question individually, we will be using the “Ask the Expert” category of this blog to answer the questions most important to you.  Sometimes we’ll write a post, other times we may use audio, video or slide shows to help you understand the answers. As founder of Data Dome my commitment is to provide the best available information on behavioral styles and assessments.  I greatly appreciate your assistance in this effort and I look forward to reading the questions you submit.

~ Arthur Schoeck

President and Founder

Data Dome, Inc.

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Data Dome and Alignment at Work, Inc. are starting the new year right with the return of our popular Align to Thrive workshop.

This workshop, which will be held on January 18th, will show you strategies designed to strengthen businesses and increase profitability… despite the uncertainty of economic and market conditions.

Organizational Alignment is an empowering concept for realizing full business potential. An aligned organization is a fine-tuned machine driving forward with focus, discipline and responsiveness to customer values.

In this workshop, through theory and practical application, you will learn new tools to measure and achieve organizational alignment. Simple, intuitive and quantitative measurements can show you how well your organization is aligned to your customers? and employees? constantly changing needs. This is the vital data needed to make the critical decisions for success.

You can find more detailed information and request your seat by visiting http://www.datadome.com/align2thrive.php or calling 404-814-0739.

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Data Dome and Alignment at Work, Inc. are squeezing in one more Align to Thrive workshop before the end of the year.

This workshop, which will be held on December 17th, will show you strategies designed to strengthen businesses and increase profitability… despite the uncertainty of economic and market conditions.

Organizational Alignment is an empowering concept for realizing full business potential. An aligned organization is a fine-tuned machine driving forward with focus, discipline and responsiveness to customer values.

In this workshop, through theory and practical application, you will learn new tools to measure and achieve organizational alignment. Simple, intuitive and quantitative measurements can show you how well your organization is aligned to your customers? and employees? constantly changing needs. This is the vital data needed to make the critical decisions for success.

You can find more detailed information and request your seat by visiting http://www.datadome.com/align2thrive.php or calling 404-814-0739.

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