Guy Harris: The Recovering Engineer

Reflect, Respect, Reengineer, and Reinvent

This blog is about learning to take a close look at your thoughts, feelings, responses, and reactions to find better and more effective ways to resolve conflicts, lead teams, and clearly communicate to build and maintain both professional and personal relationships...[Read More]

Can work and home DISC styles be different?

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One of the questions that Kevin and I get asked frequently is, “Can I have a different style at work than I have at home?”

The answer is a qualified yes, and it gets to the idea of having a natural style compared to an environmental style.

Our natural style is the internal piece of us. It reflects how we perceive, interpret, and prefer to interact with the world. Our natural style interacts with our environment — the situations that we live and work within. How we respond, or behave, in our environment is our adapted style. Work and home environments are different, and you can have two different sets of behaviors in the different environments.

Here's what we encourage you to consider. If you haven't taken the assessment, try not to worry about one or the other. Simply ask yourself, “What is my natural approach? What would I do without thinking? What is my most comfortable way of acting and responding?” That's how we would encourage you to think about the quesion of different styles in different environments.

If you find yourself acting differently at work and at home, you're likely seeing your natural, preferred style versus your adapted or environment style.

If you do find yourself acting differently in different environments, you might ask, “Which style is my natural one? Is it my work style or my home style? Which one's the natural one?”

We would ask you to consider these questions:

  • Which one is the easiest?
  • Which is the one that you're not really thinking about it?

We have both worked with lots of people who say they are task-oriented and results driven at work and more people-oriented, or relational, at home and that they have to “turn it on when they get to the office.” To which, we would say, that sounds like your talking about your adapted style.

For example, (Kevin talking here)… Guy has a Cautious, or a C style. When he gets in a classroom, he's tremendous. He interacts with people, he makes jokes, and he smiles. And, at the end of the day, he's done. Exhausted. He can adapt to play in a world that demands a set of behaviors that are not his preference, and that takes lots of energy for him. He's really tired when the training day is over. That may be the same for you. You can have act differently in different environments, and there's probably, underneath whatever style you put on in the moment, a natural style, that's pretty consistent everywhere. You carry it with you everywhere. You adjust to what the environment needs or demands.

If you've taken a DISC assessment, and you feel like you want to do it again because you thought about it from either a work or home perspective, it's okay. It's okay if you feel like you behave differently at work and at home.

If you find that one of the environments (or behaviors) takes a lot more energy and drains you a lot or just seems harder, it might be because you're having to adjust your style to fit the environment.

Does Your Personality Style Change Over Time?

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After taking a DISC assessment, people frequently wonder if their style can change over time. The question shows up in two common ways:

  • I think I was more reserved (or outgoing) when I was a kid, and now I'm not. Could my adult style be different from my style when I was a kid?
  • I took the assessment a few years ago, and I was more ____ style than I am now. Could my style have changed?

The short answer to both versions of the question are the same: maybe, and not likely.

While it is not common for a person's basic, core personality to change after about 6 years old, it can happen. It's just pretty rare.

The more likely answer to what happened is that the person learned new ways to behave and interact with the world so that they are now behaving differently than they did in the past. In the language of the DISC assessment, their natural style probably doesn't change but their adapted style does. Their general preference for how they receive and process their experiences isn't different, their response to what they experience is.

For example, I'm really linear and logical. I'm not terribly emotional. In my family, we have a running joke that I have a feeling rather than feelings. I've always been that way. I was that way as a kid, when I was in high school, when I was in the Navy, when I entered my first professional job, when I was a new husband, when I was a new father, and today as a grandfather. My preferred way of receiving and processing information, making decisions, and communicating with others has not changed.

I have learned new things, gained broader experience, and matured in my thinking. I'm more comfortable processing, deciding, and communicating in ways that are not my most preffered ways. I have adapted to my world, my changing roles, and my context.

There is probably some deep philosphical discussion we could engage in about whether that makes me a different person or not. It's probably true that I am a different person today than I was 30 years ago, and still my preference for doing things hasn't really changed that much. So, my adapted style has changed, my natural style has not.

When I get a chance to have a conversation with people on this idea, I find that most (not all) people agree that this is true for them as well.

Can your DISC personality style change over time?

Yes, it can. That's probably not the full answer though. It's more likely that the way you express your style has changed rather than that your core, basic, and natural style has actually changed.

Why you should never try to beat or fool the DISC Assessment

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One question I often get when I'm discussing use of the DISC assessment and profile report is this:

“Can you fool (or beat) the DISC assessment?”

The short answer to that question is: Yes, you can “beat” the DISC assessment.

The question I would ask in response is: While you can do that, why would you?

The best use of the DISC model is to develop better self-awareness personally and better understanding of others so that you can communicate, build teams, lead, and resolve conflicts more easily and more quickly. The DISC assessment is just the tool you use to build better understanding of how you “fit” within the DISC model.

If you know the model well and/or have taken the DISC assessment (or other similar assessments) before, you can manipulate your answers to get any result you want to see. You can do that, and doing so only fools you.

If an employer asks you to take the DISC assessment as part of a hiring process or team building exercise, it might seem that they hope to see a particular result before hiring you or giving you other job related opportunities. In most cases, they are using the DISC assessment as one piece of the hiring process rather than as the deciding factor. In this situation, you might feel tempted to guess the results they want to see and then adjust your answers to give them the results they want to see. My advice is: DON'T DO IT!

The complete answer as to why I think trying to fool the assessment for a job application or opportunity is a bad idea is more involved than what I'm about to say here. With that qualifier, here are the two key reasons I think you should avoid the temptation to try to “beat” the DISC assessment:

  1. It's dishonest. If your employer or potential employer is using the DISC assessment as a hiring aid, you have nothing to fear from answering honestly. If they are using it as a hiring criteria (as opposed to one factor among many), they are using the assessment improperly, and you still have nothing to fear from answering honestly. Your DISC style might indicate what work environments you prefer. It might offer some perspective on your motivatations. It might reveal how you could fit into a team. And, the assessment is not useful for predicting your ability to do a particular job or task. Your DISC style can be one factor among many to evaluate fit between you and a job or task assignment. It cannot predict success or failure, and it should never be used as a “go/no-go” decision criteria for hiring or advancement decisions.
  2. It only hurts you.If you manipulate the assessment to create a specific result, you are lying both to yourself and to the person who asked you to take the assessment. Your style will eventually reveal itself to people who understand the DISC model. You cannot (at least for very long) “hide” your style. If your natural DISC style makes a situation or environment uncomfortable for you over time, it's best to either avoid the situation entirely or to enter it openly and honestly so that you can work with other people on the team to find a way to thrive in the environment. Besides, do you really want to enter a new role by lying about your true nature? When you try to “fool” or “beat” the DISC assessment, you hurt no one but yourself.

I recommend that you simply take the assessment, get the results, and use them to learn how to better connect and communicate with other people.

The DISC Test is an Assessment, It’s not a Test

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When I hear people talk about the DISC Assessment, I often hear them say things like: “Hey, how'd you come out on that test?” I really don't like that type of reference to the DISC model. While I understand the question, it makes me cringe a little bit because it's not really an accurate way to talk about the DISC assessment.

Here's why it bothers me…

We use tests to find out what you know or don't know. We also use them to figure out what is good or bad about something. We use assessments to learn about a perspective or way of thinking.

Tests have right and wrong answers. Assessments just have answers that are neither right nor wrong.

The DISC Assessment is an assessment. It is not a test.

It might sound like I'm making a point based solely on semantics, and that it doesn't really matter that much. I think the difference is critically important.

When people see the DISC assessment as a test, they tend to get nervous or over-think it because they don't want to get it “wrong.”

It's really an assessment. It has no right or wrong answers. You cannot pass or fail the assessment. Answering the questions only indicates a person's view or perspective. There is no way to get it wrong.

Talking about the DISC profile as a test gravitates towards stereotyping, labeling, and other negative applications. I can't stop people from labeling, stereotyping and judging others based on the results of a DISC assessment report, and I do not want to promote that approach for applying the information.

I would rather use the DISC model as a way to better understand people so that we can build healthier and more productive relationships. With that idea in mind, I prefer to call it a DISC assessment rather than a DISC test.

All of this discussion begs a question: “Why do you call your site DISC Personality Testing when you would prefer to call it an assessment?”

The answer is really pretty practical. It's based on how the world actually works than on how I would prefer that it work.

When people talk about the DISC model, they usually call it the “DISC test.” I live in a world where that is the common language even though I don't personally prefer it.

I have also learned that I have to first connect with a person the way they speak rather than insist on them speaking the way that I do. Then, after we have built a trusting relationship, I might get the opportunity to share my perspective with them. I work on connecting with people the way that they are likely to best hear me and then hope that we can have a conversation that leads to both of us understanding each other's perspective in a better way.

So, as a nod to practicality, I call my site DISC Personality Testing so that we can make that first connection with people rather than call it DISC Personality Assessments and miss the chance to talk at all.

Use the Right Style at the Right Time

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right-time

Every stage of team development has different characteristics. These different characteristics mean that every stage calls for leaders to behave in different ways to support team growth.

In From Bud to Boss, Kevin Eikenberry and I reference the Tuckman Model of team development as a useful tool for understanding what is happening in your team at each stage of development as it moves from a group of individuals working in the same location to a high-performing team working towards a common goal.  The four stages of team development – in order – are Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing

We also reference the DISC model as a useful tool for understanding both yourself and others so that you can adjust your communication style for maximum effectiveness. The DISC model is based on recognizing and adapting to both pace (faster or slower) and priority (tasks or relationships) differences between people. The four DISC styles are Dominant (faster pace and task priority), Inspiring (faster pace and relationship priority), Supportive (slower pace and relationship priority), and Cautious (slower pace and task priority).

By combining the models you can gain insights for how to best lead your team through each of the four stages. You will use many different leadership behaviors at all stages of team development. And, based on where your team is at a given time, you can focus your efforts for maximum effectiveness.

In the Forming stage, your team will likely exhibit polite, cautious behaviors and look to you for strong guidance and direction. Team members do not yet know exactly what is expected of them as they work together. While many of the concerns at this stage are related to relationship development, you can often help them best by giving clarity about what needs to get done. You can use Dominant behaviors – directing activities, setting goals, and solving problems – to help your team gain the clarity and direction they need to grow from a group of individuals to a high-performing team.

In the Storming stage, your team might experience conflicts and struggles. This is a very dangerous phase of team development because relationships can be irreparably harmed by conflicts, relationship struggles, and wrestling with organizational issues. To navigate these rough waters, you can use Cautious behaviors – asking thoughtful questions, carefully evaluating information, and developing processes – to guide your team on to the next stage of development.

As your team enters the Norming stage, they will focus more on task accomplishment and less on interpersonal issues. There might still be a few left-over relationship issues to resolve and some gentle guidance to offer to keep them growing. You can use Supportive behaviors – offering reassurance, encouraging, and listening – to solidify the team growth gains you made in the previous two stages.

Finally, your team moves into the Performing stage. They are pretty self-sufficient. They know what needs to be done and how to do it. They are almost totally focused on goal achievement. Now, you can use Inspiring behaviors – enthusiasm, cheerleading, and celebrating – to keep your team’s energy up for the long haul.

The suggestions I offer here are targeted at maximizing your leadership effectiveness based on the stage of team development by tying your leadership behaviors to an objective model. Use these suggestions to identify what your team needs from you at each stage.

With individuals, you need to adjust to their particular style without regard to the team’s stage of development.

photo credit: gfpeck via photopin cc

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