Delegating to and Acknowledging the DISC Styles

Published with Permission from Assessments 24/7.

This is a Monday blog series; our regular coaching blog will be published on Thursday’s.

This blogs series has explored DISC styles, working with and adapting to each, and how to develop, help them make decisions, and motivate people based on their DISC style.  Following are tips for delegating to and acknowledging the DISC styles.

Delegating to the four styles:

Dominance – High “D” Style

• Give them the bottom line and then let them do their thing.
• So that they can be more efficient, give them parameters, guidelines, and deadlines.
• Example: “We need to get that mall built a month sooner or we’ll lose our shirts. Fourteen tenants are threatening to bail out of their contracts if we do not open in time for the holidays. Don’t spend more than another $30,000, keep everything legal and out of the newspapers, and get back to me by Monday morning.”

Influence – High “I” Style

• Receive clear agreements; set up checkpoints/times to avoid long stretches with no progress reports.
• I’s are often concept people who come up with plenty of ideas, but not necessarily the means of carrying them out, so steer them toward ways of assuring the implementation of those ideas.
• Example: “Olivia, this proposal for the King Company looks good so far, but how about including more direct benefits for each employee. Marian has surveys filled out by each employee. Get together with her, bounce some ideas around, and then include more essential information about the eight or so key people in your proposal. Add some extra plus points on the others…12 pages in all. In this manner, you should do the job very well. Moreover, Olivia, thanks for making the extra effort on this project. It’s really important to all of us.”

Steadiness – High “S” Style

• S’s may be reluctant to ask others to do their own share of the work, so make a personal appeal to their loyalty and sense of sportsmanship.
• Example: “Al, you’re an example for this company of genuine cooperative spirit. Your staff wants to please you, so by giving everyone in your department just 10 of those names to call, you can all reach the goal together by noon tomorrow. Otherwise, you’ll probably have a lot more difficulty reaching all those people by the target date.” Give them the task, state the deadlines that need to be met, and explain why it is important to do it that way. “I’ll need 500 copies of these summaries typed and collated by 5 p.m. today. Mr. Jeffries is getting back from New York two days early and he wants them by tomorrow morning.”

Conscientious – High “C” Style

• Take time to answer the most critical questions about structure and/or guidance they require in a specific situation. The more they understand the details, the more likely they will be to complete the task properly.
• Be sure to establish deadlines.
• Example: “Angela, the court date on the Mortimer case has been moved up to Monday, so we have to respond by speeding things up a bit. It will proceed almost as efficiently as if you researched everything by yourself if we enlist two associates to work under your direction on tasks you delegate to them and then review. Before getting started, do you have any preferences on the who’s or how to’s of this process that you think are essential to check with me at this time?”

Acknowledging the four styles

Dominance – High “D” Style

• When it is appropriate to reward or reinforce their behavior, focus on how pleased you are with their results.
• Mention how glad you are to be a part of the process working with them to make things better for both of you through cooperation.

Influence – High “I” Style

• Focus on how glad you are they have succeeded in finding a pleasant solution to their concern or objective.
• Show you appreciate them for their openness and willingness to respond to you in a way that allows everyone to end up feeling good about the results.

Steadiness – High “S” Style

• Focus on how you sincerely appreciate their willingness to make things good for everyone
• Approach matters in a systematic, low-keyed, and understanding manner, and reinforce the importance of them sharing their ideas.

Conscientious – High “C” Style

• Focus on your realization of how difficult it can be for them to attempt to meet the high personal standards they set for themselves.
• Cite specific and appropriate examples that prove the point.

The next blog delves into Building and Maintaining Rapport with DISC Styles.