A few months ago I had the wonderful privilege of having an executive client come to my office for a full-day coaching session. The purpose of the extended session was to help her sharpen the skills required for her to advance as a leader in her company. My client is incredibly smart, a very hard worker, well respected and passionate about her longstanding role in this international organization. She is also the highest ranking female leader in her male dominated firm.
We planned to spend the day working on her soft skills so that she could improve how she interacts with the various behavioral styles within her company and executive team. One of the more powerful exercises we worked on was to dive deep into the DISC language.
If you are not familiar with DISC, I provided an overview in last week’s blog, Understanding DISC.
The breakthrough happened with my client when we looked at her assessment in comparison with the assessments of a few of her key team members, including her boss. The findings showed that she and her boss are wired very similarly (both high D’s) which helped her to understand why they have a tendency to butt heads. What surprised her was that he is a high I as well. This means he is more relational than she had thought.
Just by seeing this in writing, she began to recognize that maybe the cause for some of their past arguments wasn’t that he did not like or respect her, but that he wanted her to make time to better connect with him and other members of their team. He saw her creating great relationships with those outside of the management team, and he wanted her to bring that same warmth within.
I had dinner with her boss a couple of months later. He told me that he has seen huge improvements in my client. He said her progress has been “quite remarkable”. I love hearing this! She later let me know that she is enjoying her job much more since our day of coaching earlier this summer.
Some of you may be thinking, “Come on Harkavy, this is the touchy feely soft stuff.” And yes, it is. Remember though, that leadership is influence, and we influence people. Often what takes us from good to great as leaders is simply understanding how others prefer to communicate, and then mastering the ability to connect with each of those we serve.
Here is your Action Plan: Apply the DISC language within your team. You may want to schedule a full day of training to help your team understand how DISC can be applied to improve internal communication and relationships with your customers.
Click here to find out how the Building Champions team can set you up with DISC profiles and help you to make the most of this resource.
And now for my confession: I am a high D and high I as well, and I need to read this and work on it daily in order to better lead those I serve.
Connect and lead well!
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Tags: Coaching, Communication, DISC, Leadership, Teamwork
I found your blog via @MichaelHyatt. You’ve put together some extremely valuable information that all leaders should read. I’ll be sure to pass along the URL among my peers.
I’m not too familiar with the DISC assessment but routinely use the JI Index as well as Motivational DNA to help leaders both understand themselves and others as well as propel them forward. Nevertheless, I’m always interested in sharpening the saw. Therefore, I’ll be sure to read your Understanding DISC to brush up on my understanding.
God Bless!