Behavioral Style | Guy Harris: The Recovering Engineer

Archive for behavioral style

Jun
2

Employee Motivation Tips: Their DISC Behavior Style

by Guy Harris

In previous posts, I have written about a model for understanding what motivates behavior and three clues you can use to find what motivates another person.

Today, I’ll share some quick insights about what motivates people based on their DISC behavioral style.

A person who has outgoing and task-oriented (Dominant) traits is often motivated by:

Solving problems
Conquering challenging situations
Getting results

And they will often prefer to work at a fast pace with a focus on quick results and direct action.

A person who has outgoing and people-oriented (Inspiring) traits is often motivated by:

The opportunity to interact with others
Public recognition
Varied activities

And they will often prefer to work at a fast pace with a focus on doing things in a fun way that does not require high attention to detail.

A person who has reserved and people-oriented (Supp0rtive) traits is often motivated by:

Teamwork
The opportunity to help others
Feeling appreciated for their contribution

And they will often prefer to work at a steady pace with a focus on doing the work process in a way that minimizes risk and strengthens relationships.

A person who has reserved and task-oriented (Cautious) traits is often motivated by:

Structuring or organizing things
Researching or searching for information
Finding the “right” solution for a problem

And they will often prefer to work alone with a focus on details and proper structure.

As you work to apply this information in your personal and professional life, remember that people have varying degrees of all of these traits in their behavioral style blends and that you are likely to observe at least two of the four styles to a significant degree in most people.

The information in this post is only intended to give you a basic framework for understanding what might motivate another person. It is not intended as a complete and exhaustive description of how the DISC model might reveal motivational patterns and preferences.

This article is from the Motivation series. Use the links below to read more from this series.

The 5 Be's of Motivation
The Positive Runs Out
A Simple Model for Understanding What Drives Behavior
You Cannot Punish People into Good Behavior
Three Clues You Can Use to Find What Motivates Another Person
Employee Motivation Tips: Their Personal Life
Employee Motivation Tips: Their DISC Behavior Style

1 Categories : Leadership Skills, Parenting

Mar
21

Using the DISC Model: Focus on Needs More than Behaviors

by Guy Harris

The DISC Model of Human Behavior is, as the name implies, about behavior. And, to apply it well, I suggest looking beyond behavior to the needs behind the behavior to really use it to connect and communicate with other people more effectively.

To illustrate the point, consider the refrigerator shown above. While this one has no food in it, I imagine you can think of a time when you opened a refrigerator door to check the contents. I also imagine that many of the times when you have stood with the door open were times when you were hungry and looking for food.

Looking in the refrigerator (the behavior) was the expression of an unmet need (you were hungry).

And, if you found an empty refrigerator enough times, you just might decide to escalate your behavior by leaving your house to get food.

People tend to behave in ways that get their needs met. When their needs are unmet, they will continue escalating their behaviors in an increasingly intense effort to meet their needs.

Food is a physical need, and we will act to get food when we do not have it. Likewise, we all have certain emotional/psychological needs, and we also act to get them met.

The DISC model is one tool that you can use to get an estimate of another person’s emotional/psychological needs so that you can take positive, intentional actions that increase your ability to effectively connect and communicate with him or her.

I only plan to hit some high spots with this post, and I certainly do not want to present this brief article as a comprehensive guide. There are many other factors to consider when it comes to understanding other people’s needs. And, the DISC model is still a good tool you can use to make an educated guess.

With that caveat said, here are some general needs you can consider as you work to understand yourself and others:

Outgoing, task-oriented, Dominant individuals often need:
choices, challenges, and control.
Outgoing, people-oriented, Inspiring individuals often need:
recognition, approval, and admiration.
Reserved, people-oriented, Supportive individuals often need:
appreciation, security, and assurance.
Reserved, task-oriented, Cautious individuals often need:
quality answers, value and excellence.

When you work to understand these needs and to see other people’s behaviors through the filter of their needs rather than your own, you can make the adjustments to your communication style that allows you to meet — or at least not challenge — another person’s needs so that you can create an environment for mutual gain.

Photo by RowdyKittens.

This article is from the Connecting With People series. Use the links below to read more from this series.

Connecting With People
Communication Tips: Connecting With Outgoing, Task-Oriented People
Communication Tips: Connecting With Outgoing, People-Oriented People
Communication Tips: Connecting With Reserved, People-Oriented People
Communication Tips: Connecting With Reserved, Task-Oriented People
Using the DISC Model: How to Create Stress for Other People
Using the DISC Model: Focus on Needs More than Behaviors

1 Categories : Communication Skills, DISC Model, Leadership Skills

Sep
9

Communication Tips – Using the DISC Model to Write Better Emails

by Guy Harris

Most of my writing about how to use the DISC Model to communicate more effectively has been focused on verbal communications. While the tips still apply to written communication, I haven’t written specifically about how to apply the model in emails and letters.

I might expand this thought further in later posts, but, for now, I thought I would share a quick tip to improve the odds that people actually read and take action on your written correspondence.

This tip is pretty simple and straightforward:

Put the main points and conclusions in bullet point or really short paragraph form at the top of the email and all supporting information below it.

Here’s my thinking on this tip.

Outgoing, fast-paced people don’t usually want to wade through the details to get to the conclusion. They will likely skim your email and then miss or misunderstand your point if you bury it towards the end.

Reserved, slower-paced people will probably want the supporting information. And, even they will probably skim the bullets first to decide if reading the details is worth their time.

Do your reader a favor, get to the point and then support it. Don’t build a case and then conclude.

(So, what if you need to build a case before you give a conclusion? If that’s your situation, I would question whether email was the best way to do that particular communication.)

Image by RambergMediaImages.

2 Categories : Communication Skills, DISC Model

May
26

DISC FAQ’s: Can I Change My Personality Style On Purpose?

by Guy Harris

Guy Answers the Question:
Can I Change My Personality Style on Purpose?

People often tell me that they believe that they have changed their personality style, and then they ask me if I think this is possible.

My general answer is this: It might be possible. I don’t think it is probable.

In short, I don’t think that your core, inner, basic personality style changes unless you experience some type of major psychological or brain trauma.

I do think that you can learn to behave differently in different situations. I think that you can learn to adapt, mold, and shape your behavioral style to increase your effectiveness in a broad range of situations.

However, changing your words and actions does not change your personality style.

Further, why would you want to change your personality style? Assuming that you fall in the range of normal human psychology, your personality style is just another expression of “normal.”

Wanting to change your personality style implies that there is something wrong with your natural one.

In the vast majority of people, there is nothing wrong with their personality style. So, why try to change it?

As we consider the question raised in the title of this post, we have to carefully distinguish between who we are and what we do.

Personality style relates to our perceptions, interpretations, priorities, and reactions to the world around us. Behavior style is often related to our personality style, and it is influenced by many other things. Personality style is part of who we are. Behavior style is merely what we do. They are definitely related. They are not exactly the same thing.

So, can you change your behaviors in response to the world around you? Absolutely you can!

Can you change your personality style? Not real likely.

This article is from the DISC FAQ's series. Use the links below to read more from this series.

0 Categories : DISC Model, Video

May
22

DISC Model FAQ’s: Is Changing Your Behavior Phoney?

by Guy Harris

Guy Answers the Question:
Is Changing Your Behavior Phoney?

As I teach, train, and coach using the DISC model, people hear me say that I encourage them to change their behaviors to fit the situation and to better connect with other people.

Sometimes, people ask me if consciously changing behavior is phoney or fake. This concern raises another common question about the DISC model, and how I recommend people use it to connect and communicate more effectively.

In answering this question, I often refer to a Thomas Jefferson quote:

In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.

As I see it, choosing a behavior, word, or tone that will improve your communication effectiveness is not a moral or ethical issue. It is just a matter of style.

We often change our behaviors for different environments. For example, most people recognize that appropriate behavior during a wedding ceremony is likely to be different from appropriate behavior at the celebration party after the ceremony. Different environments call for different behaviors.

As long as your intent is not to defraud, manipulate, or somehow deceive the other person, behaving in a way that might be uncomfortable or unnatural for you in the interest of connecting with them is not fake or phoney. Rather, I see it as working to create a better environment for the other person.