Tips for Getting to Know Your Colleagues: Communicating as a D-Style Individual

In our previous article, on virtual team building using EverythingDiSC®, we mentioned that this is a great way to get to know your fellow employees and team members by better understanding the benefits of diversity in the workplace. Team building in any form is an important practice to help foster better relationships and improve productivity within a unit. Ultimately team building is about improving communication. For you to get better at communicating with others who are different from yourself, it’s important to understand your own behaviour styles.
Behavioural styles in the workplace are assessed and evaluated using the DiSC model. DiSC is an acronym for four behaviour styles:

D – Dominance
i – Influence
S – Steadiness
C – Conscientiousness

Using the DiSC model, your behaviour style is determined based on the specific traits you possess. Everyone has some combination of the four styles. What sets you apart is the DiSC behaviour style that comes out as your dominant trait. It’s important to recognize that one style, or type, isn’t better than the others – all are valid and useful in the workplace.

Focus on D-style
According to the DiSC model, D-types or Dominant types are results-driven, love a challenge and are action-oriented. Some of these traits are shared with other behaviour styles – but for the purpose of this post, we will focus on the D only. For those where Dominance is your main behavioural style, how you get to know colleagues and communicate with others will differ from those with other styles and traits. In workplaces, you cannot insulate yourself and only cooperate with those who think and work like you, so you have to find ways to make it work.

When done well, working with different types of people will strengthen your team, as everyone will bring their own unique perspectives to the table. This is particularly good for problem-solving, as sometimes all it takes is for someone to suggest another way of approaching the problem for it to get solved.

Communicating with Colleagues as a D-type
At Satori Consulting, we utilize many of the EverythingDiSC® assessment tools available. The EverythingDiSC® WORKPLACE® assessment is appropriate for people at all levels of an organization. As an EverythingDiSC® Authorized Partner, we offer this tool to help you identify your workplace priorities. Basically, it will identify what drives you. This is offered as a facilitated workshop – allowing you and your colleagues to discover your behaviour styles and learn how to work together.

D-types value results and do what it takes to get things done. They’re known for being very direct when they speak – with the purpose of completing tasks as efficiently as possible. For you, as a D-type, this is the norm and it’s what you want and expect. However, for others with different values and personality traits, this can be seen as intimidating. Your colleagues might interpret your intensity as an annoyance, taking it personally rather than an honest assessment of them. Of course, that’s not your objective but is an example of miscommunication between colleagues. Communication is so important when working as a team – so as a D-type, it’s vital to use your strength as a direct communicator to let your team members know what your intentions are. If they can better understand why you’re so driven and the reasons behind your actions, your behaviour will be looked at as an asset rather than something to fear.

D-types have a hard time sitting back and listening without an opportunity to talk. It’s important to remember that all team members deserve to share their thoughts and opinions, so you need to practice patience and really listen to what others are saying. Your colleagues will appreciate your restraint. The D does stand for dominance, which can be an asset, but it can also be a flaw if other voices aren’t being heard.

Of course, the EverythingDiSC® WORKPLACE® workshop will dive deeper into improving communication with your team members. This is just a quick overview of why it’s so important that those with different behavioural styles be able to communicate well with each other in the workplace. This can be achieved through virtual team-building workshops.

With many people working from home right now, and business slowing in many sectors, you have a rare opportunity to do some serious work within your organization. You have the time and your staff are craving meaningful work that will improve colleague communication now and in the future.

Contact Satori Consulting Inc. to discuss how we can help your team through virtual coaching and team building.