Understand your people. Do you know what motivates your team members individually? The DISC provides information about motivational tendencies. For example, if someone is high in Steadiness, they likely place more emphasis on cooperation and sincerity than persuading others or competing. Or if someone has higher levels of Dominance they may push harder for outcomes or towards goals.

Enhance communication. A person’s DISC score may also provide insights into how to effectively communicate with them in a way that “speaks their language”. A team with a disproportionate amount of high D scores may dominate the conversation and not make a comfortable and safe environment for those with higher S or C scores to offer their thoughts or ideas. This can lead to groupthink or not surfacing great ideas that can be the difference in success or failure at the team level.

Depersonalize conflict. Yes, depersonalizing conflict IS possible and it DOES help you reach a resolution more quickly and painlessly! During an offsite or team meeting, try using your Cloverleaf team dashboard to display your team’s aggregate DISC results. Spend a few minutes highlighting some of the similarities and differences on your team in terms of conflict management style and conflict triggers. Then, invite your teammates to come up with a “conflict contract,” establishing some group norms for dealing with conflict. Getting everyone’s input on a set of conflict standard operating procedures will help generate buy-in by letting your team take ownership of their team culture!

Capitalize on cognitive diversity. A multitude of studies have shown that the more cognitive diversity that exists on a team the better the team outcomes. One such study from Harvard is an especially compelling case and you can read more about their results at this link. The use of the DISC assessment helps teams not only understand how much cognitive diversity exists on a team, but also how to harness that diversity in a way that improves team outcomes. By using the team DISC wheel you can see clearly where your team lacks certain styles or how a single team member may play a critical role for the team. Notice how the purple circle team member would play a much needed role for the team.

Define the right roles. Lastly get a better sense of how individual team members fit into the roles (both team roles and functional roles) you are asking them to play for your team on a daily basis. Asking someone that has a High C behavioral pattern to do Sales could conflict with their natural style and while they may be able to do the role well for short or medium periods of time it will likely cause internal stress and possibly lead to quicker burnout or possibly even turnover over time.