As a qualified practitioner in identifying and exploring personality traits, communication plays a big part in the work I do. Most people have a preferred communication style that they feel comfortable with but the secret is how to flex your style to get the best out of interactions with others. To help bring this to life, I wanted to introduce my dog, Marley.
Marley
Marley is a cockapoo, he is independent, strong willed and for some reason, has a huge dislike towards my friend's dog, an Alaskan Malamute called Gray. But on the other side, he has a loving obsession with my other friend's dog, Barbra. Marley communicates his dislike of Gray frequently, directly and normally in a disruptive manner. It is clear Marley is taking charge, assertively establishing his status as ‘top dog’ (the dog behaviourist is on speed dial as I write this!) Gray is humble, patient, observes and chips in when he is ready, to tell Marley to back off. Barbra on the other hand, well she is a fellow cockapoo - warm, affectionate, with a sense of over familiarity that Marley thrives off. Marley's initial interactions with the two dogs, couldn't be more different. But then something strange happens, after that initial meet, Marley drops his guard with Gray and they trot onwards together in harmony for the remainder of their walk. Marley flexes his approach and both dogs crack on.
Flexing our style
This got me thinking about how we need to do the same in the way we communicate and flex our style, to get the best out of interactions with others. But, first we need to be clear on what our personality profile or preferences are. Similar to the dogs personalities, each of us is different, a blend of styles and that's what makes us all unique. I trained to use a personality profiling tool called DISC, which can give us this insight into our personalities and is something I now use in my coaching work.
Learning about ourselves through DISC
A self assessment tool that measures how an individual prefers to interact with others, DISC is based on the DISC theory of psychologist William Moulton Marston, centred on x4 different personality traits.
D - Dominance - with personality traits such as being driven, decisive, direct
I - Influence - with personality traits such as motivation, imagination, impulsive
S - Steadiness - with personality traits such as stable, supportive, sensitive
C - Compliance - with personality traits such as considered, consistent, careful
How can its insights help?
Knowing what motivates people, what their preferred environment might be, how they might approach tasks or challenges, plus much, much more, is invaluable leadership, recruitment and performance insight. It can also be pivotal in helping resolve conflict within teams or working relationships. Once you have these insights, you can modify your approach to better manage a situation or individual. Similar to Marley with Gray.
If you are interested in learning more about DISC as a personality profiling tool and how it may help in your business with ‘doing a Marley’, drop me an email at Suzy.futureyou@gmail.com.
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