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January 2008: Understanding Behaviour
Behaviour – do you understand yours, would you recognise others and can you adapt?
When considering the effects of behaviour in business, Coaches have long used behavioural profiling tools like DISC, to produce data which equips them to work with business owners, enabling them to get their staff to understand their own behaviour, recognise the behaviour of people they interact with and then adapt accordingly. This increases their credibility and improves communication.
Of course, this relates to the team as a whole, and recent research suggests that improvements in this area can have a significant affect on bottom line profits.
Understand
A DISC profile allows us to determine the factors that make up natural behavioural style and how we can adapt, in the workplace, to a situational (adaptive) style that we perceive more relevant to the role or situation currently undertaken.
DISC provides an overview based on a unique blend of the 4 behavioural factors that are present in us all. The relative levels of each of the factors in the blend – Dominance, Influence, Stability and Compliance, determines how we behave naturally and how we might be capable of adapting our styles when we see fit.
Recognise
By being able to recognise the behavioural style of somebody we are interacting with (given that we understand our own), we can develop a competitive advantage through understanding how we can adapt our own behaviour to a style that would be much more empathetic and resonant to our colleagues, clients, prospects and even family and friends. DISC allows us to ask 2 simple questions (of ourselves, in silence), which will then identify their style, so that we can adapt accordingly. It’s a bit like salespeople mimicking the body language of a prospective customer!
Adapt
Adaptability is probably the most important skill we can develop for improving relationships. It’s a two-part process – it combines flexibility with versatility.
Flexibility is our willingness to adapt – our attitude. Versatility is our ability to adapt – our aptitude.
Here are ten positive characteristics of adaptability – five for flexibility…..
- Confidence means that you believe in yourself and trust your own judgement and resourcefulness
- Tolerance means that you’re open to accepting opinions or practices different to your own
- Empathy means “I feel what you feel” or “I can put myself in your shoes”
- Positiveness is a mindset that leads to positive events in your life
- Respect for others is the sincere desire to understand and consider other people’s choices in relation to your own
and five for versatility……
- Resiliance is knowing how to overcome setbacks with perseverance
- Vision enables influence. Imagination and creativity produce alternatives and choices
- Attentiveness means knowing when and when not to act by paying attention
- Competence combines expertise with a can-do attitude that delivers
- Self-correction means striving to solve problems and asking for feedback rather than just being right.
Developing our adaptability allows us to understand how those with different styles would like to be treated and change our style in line with their preferences!
By Andy Willmore - Ology Business Coach, Worcester< back to latest news
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