Unlocking your Leadership Potential
We all know that the skills required to be a successful leader need to be learned. In this journey towards becoming a leader, we see that leadership styles are not set in stone. Instead, they are incredibly adaptable to various situations and environments and change over time as they are affected by both nature and nurture. Even more so is that leadership assessment becomes a critical tool for personal growth to maximize the strengths of leadership while encouraging growth in underutilized areas of leadership behavior.
A common misconception is that one personality type is most suited naturally to lead. In fact, most great leaders come from many personality types. These types can and have produced effective and capable leaders. However, their leadership styles can naturally differ significantly from one type to another. Whether you are looking to discover the ideal leader for a management promotion or working on yourself, discovering your own inner leader, the best place to begin is by identifying each personality type’s unique talents and what they bring to a leadership role.
Here I will be exploring a summary of the DISC personality types, so let’s dive into it, shall we!
- Dominant
They tend to be direct and decisive, sometimes described as dominant. They prefer to lead than follow and tend towards leadership and management positions. They have high self-confidence, are risk-takers, and problem-solvers, enabling others to look to them for decisions and direction. They are also considered to be self-starters.
Characteristics: dominant, direct, and decisive
Communication style: straightforward; quick to get started and hurry to get things done.
Style Measures: how aggressively a person responds to challenges.
What they desire: to compete against others and win
What they fear: being taken advantage of
When working with D: be direct, to the point, and brief. Concentrate on facts and talk about “what” instead of “how.” Emphasize business topics and try to be results-oriented. Make suggestions, be confident and focus on problem-solving, and get right to the point.
Personal areas of growth for the D: need to work on listening more actively. Additionally, they need to be attentive to other team members’ ideas and strive for consensus instead of making decisions alone or making strong statements. They need to be careful to explain the “whys” of their proposals and decisions. The D style can be controlling and domineering, and must watch their tone and body language when feeling frustrated or stressed out. The D style can lean toward being all business and goals, making them seem socially inhibited. They may need to center more on developing personal relationships and recognizing others’ opinions, feelings, and desires. It may take some intentionality to be friendlier and more approachable in social interactions.
- Influence
These leaders inspire greatness in their followers; in effect, they make great motivators. They know how to influence others and make excellent charismatic speakers.
Characteristics: influencing, Inspiring and impulsive
Communication style: verbal and persuasive, like to start new things but has trouble finishing.
Style Measures: a person’s desire to influence or persuade others
What they desire: to make new friends and influence other people
What they fear: social or peer rejection
When working with I: build rapport and be friendly. When approaching them, do so in a friendly and favorable workplace environment. Be sure to give them plenty of opportunities to verbalize their ideas. They are great problem solvers. Turning their ideas into action helps to write the details down or follow the inspect-what-you-expect approach to ensure all items actioned are being done on-point and to expectation. Allow time for social activities at work; they are great motivators.
Personal areas of growth for the I: as they tend to make decisions impulsively, they can benefit from some outside research and inner contemplation before acting. Also, they could benefit from setting small goals, breaking big goals into smaller steps, and keeping lists. They will need to exercise control over actions, words, and emotions. They tend to be swift thinkers and may need to slow their pace for other team members. As a natural talker, I style may need to concentrate on talking less and listening more. They tend to over-promise, often replying with “Yes” more often than they should. They have a tendency to take on more than they can accomplish and need to follow through with tasks.
- Steadiness
This type of leader enjoys leading by example. They are not too shy to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work. They appreciate their team member’s contributions and can build strong and loyal teams.
Characteristics: stable, strong, sympathetic, and supportive.
Communication style: patient and diplomatic, like to finish one thing before starting another
Style Measures: a person’s loyal or to keep things the same
What they desire: to feel secure and have good relationships with others
What they fear: sudden change or loss of security
When working with S: be personable and work towards building rapport. The sooner S style leaders grow comfortable with you, the sooner they will open up to you. This is especially if S style leaders see genuine and authentic interest in them as a person. Be mindful that they may require a bit of help getting started with new projects. Give them some time to ask the questions and process the information. Provide them with clarifications and specifics for tasks they are asked to do and explain the “how” questions. When giving feedback, do so in private with thoughtfully explaining feedback with patience, empathy, and understanding. If you are instituting change in the workplace, be patient with them, explain your reasoning, and give them time to adjust. It will make them uncomfortable at first.
Personal areas of growth for the S: they may struggle with change and, therefore, struggle with the adjustment. They will require working on flexibility and openness in this area. Because S style leaders desire positive personal relationships and avoid conflict, they may be overly agreeable or choose to put others’ needs before their own. S may need to adapt their communication style, to be more direct in their interactions, and to be aware of their wants and needs. It may take intentionality to express their thoughts, opinions, and feelings in situations, although they make excellent listeners to others. You may sometimes find that the slower pace of the S style may need to be increased to accomplish goals on time.
- Compliant
These leaders have studied and worked hard to develop skills and talents and are usually recognized as experts in their fields. They lead by their extensive knowledge and abilities. They are excellent planners, strategists, and tacticians. They are contemplative and are rarely caught off guard. They like to be in control.
Characteristics: compliant, correct, conscientious, and competent.
Communication style: precise and conscientious, likes to plan before starting something new.
Style Measures: a person’s desire to follow the rules or regulations
What they desire: is to follow the rules and be as close to perfect as possible.
What they fear: criticism and correction by others
When working with C: be prepared when possible. Prepare your case in advance by doing your research. C focuses on the details, so best to pay attention to them. It’s also helpful to support a statement or idea with accurate data or examples. Submit a report for the project to give them parameters and details, discuss how different tasks fit into the big picture plan. Be logical and systematic in your thinking and planning. When disagreeing, work with facts instead of people’s examples. Be patient, persistent, and diplomatic. Lastly, remember that they fear criticism.
Personal areas of growth for the C:
Because of their attention to the details, they tend to be over-critical of others. It’s easier for them to find all the faults this way. It’s essential to focus on doing the right things and not just doing something right. Regarding teamwork, the C style needs to be open to others’ methods and ideas and move quickly to accomplish the team’s goals successfully. The C may need to concentrate more on people to build strong relationships as they are seen as introverted, as they tend to be more task-driven and want to work alone. At times, the C will need to push themselves to be decisive and take risks, even if all the research isn’t there to support it.
Final Thoughts
Does any of this sound familiar? While brainstorming your list of qualities most sought-after, does flexibility, communication, organization, vision, or authority rise to the top?
If you are looking to find or wish to become the best leader for your organization, make time to think about what the organization needs in this area. Is your office environment chaotic? Then consider giving a leadership position to (or adopt the leadership traits of) a controlled C DISC type leader or even a stable S DISC style. They may just smooth things out. Perhaps you’re in need of leading the company through complex or significant change. Then D or I style personalities might be an intelligent choice.
The point being is that DISC helps you identify your natural leadership strengths. If you want to learn more about your leadership style, consider taking the DISC leadership personality test to find out your leadership strengths.
