Extended DISC - Extending People July 2010 "Extended DISC - Extending People July 2010") July 2010 NewsletterGreetingsHow often do we hear of a situation where a new employee starts with great enthusiasm but after a few months the exuberance wanes? This is often followed by a period of less than “average” performance and a further deterioration in effectiveness after an even shorter period of time. This month we look at the approach taken by one of our consultants in tackling such a problem. Extended DISC International continues to develop new and innovative products and one of these products is a report specifically designed for coaches. Coaches form a large percentage of our client base and this is also the trend overseas. We have set out some information on this new product as we believe the two reports (that are available for the price of one report) will prove to be very popular. A main objective in any coaching arrangement is to enable change in the behaviour of the client. Therefore it is crucial that the coach and client understand the natural and adjusted behavioural style of the client. Without this understanding, it is difficult for the coach to develop an understanding of the client’s approach to goals and achieving objectives. These areas are a major focus of the Extended DISC profiling system Our free monthly webinars are proving to be very popular and we recommend them as a part of a continuing education programme. These webinars are conducted by Madeleine Hathaway who holds a Master’s degree in psychology. Madeleine has a broad knowledge of Extended DISC and is always pleased to assist with any theoretical and practical questions. The Importance of Behavioural Styles in the Recruiting ProcessThere are many examples of the importance of employing people for their behavioural style rather than their skills. Obviously a certain level of skill is important in any job, but providing the person selected has a behavioural style that suits a specific role, they can be educated for that task. You can’t build a great company without great people! Many companies have asked themselves the basic question: “How do you know them when you see them?”. They’ve analysed what separates their winners from losers and good hires from bad hires, and they all arrived at the same answer: What people know is less important than who they are. Hiring, they believe, is not about finding people with the right experience. It’s about finding people with the right mindset. These companies hire for attitude and train for skill. We have quoted research completed by the Stanford Research Institute, Harvard University and the Carnegie Foundation in the past but they have proved that 85% of the reason people get a job, keep that job and move ahead in that job is to do with their people skills and people knowledge. That knowledge is based on behavioural style analysis. One of our consultants recently was engaged by an organisation that had employed a relatively new manager (let’s call him Brendon) for one of its large departments. The role required a person with  strong leadership skills and a decisive, goal-oriented behavioural style. The general manager, who employed the new manager, had a friendly, persuasive , social style, and as is often the case, employed a person with a style similar to his own. The general manger’s profiles are shown adjacent. The company, like many others over the last couple of years had been forced to review the performance of its departmental managers and Brendon in fact was a replacement of a manager who had been offered, and accepted, early retirement. They had not used any behavioural style analysis tools and relied mainly on the interview process and references which were mostly competency based. The general manager became concerned with Brendon’s apparent change in attitude after some four month’s into his role and this along with some other staffing issues were the reason our consultant friend was approached to review the company’s human resources challenges.  The very first thing the consultant did was obtain Extended DISC Personal Analysis Reports for each departmental manager, and the Profiles taken from Brendon’s Report are shown adjacent. The consultant immediately identified the reason for the change in Brendon’s behaviour and to more graphically illustrate the change Brendon felt he had to make, we have shown the Extended DISC Diamond taken from his report. It will be noted that Brendon had felt the need to make a very significant change in his behavioural style to cope with his new role, and this change had taken him a long way out of his comfort zone. (Brendon’s name on the Diamond is where his unconscious natural behavioural style fits and the end of the arrow shows where his adjusted conscious behavioural style fits).  Clearly Brendon was not going to last in his new role. He was already suffering from stress which led to fatigue and a lack of enthusiasm for the role. The consultant explained to the general manager the reason for Brendon’s inability to cope, despite the fact that he was well qualified for the role. Brendon’s responsibilities were reviewed and his role changed to suit his natural people skills. He has since become a valuable personnel manager in an adjusted role and a new manger with “DI” characteristics has taken his place. Both men are comfortable in their roles and the department is operating efficiently. When employing the new manager who took over Brendon’s role, the company obtained an Extended DISC Job Comparison Report which formed part of the Personal Analysis Report. This enabled them to ensure that the succcessful candidate’s “natural inclination” fitted the “job requirement”, - something they did not do when employing Brendon. As part of the successful applicant’s Personal Analysis Report, the candidate’s specific leadership style and management styles were also provided at no additional cost. Extended DISC has been used in many similar instances, not just in employment situations, but in the reallocation of responsibilities, for the promotion of team members, and for succession planning. It has contributed to increased efficiencies, improved communication and a more contented workplace by the simple principle of a better understanding of peoples’ natural behavioural style and ensuring the role fits that style. Please call our office for further information on the Job Comparison Report and specific style reports. Reports specifically designed for CoachesExtended DISC International continues to develop reports for specific industry groups and individual organisations. EDOS (the Extended DISC Online System) provides real flexibility in producing reports to the specifications of individual clients. Reports can be tailored to meet the requirements of organisations focusing on their specific core criteria. They can be branded for organisations and the format of reports designed to fit the objectives of the client. One of the products that has been designed for a specific industry is the Coach Report with corresponding Client Report. These are produced as two separate reports but relate to the coach’s client, and the cost for both reports is the same as the cost of generating one personal analysis report. The Coach Report is designed to help the coach in interpreting his client’s assessment. The Coach’s Client’s Report describes his/her natural behavioural style, and is based on the Extended DISC model, which helps people communicate, understand behavioural differences and develop personal awareness.  The Coach’s Report is not meant to replace a coach’s own experiences and methods as a coach, but rather complement them by raising new questions and ideas and by providing the coach with additional information. It prepares the coach for a discussion with his/her client. The Coach’s Report contains a workbook with helpful advice and suggestions that may be overlooked when interpreting his/her client’s report. The “discoveries/questions” section focuses on such things as the Flexibility Zones, the important characteristics, and how they shape the client’s daily work. The motivators and strengths focus on how the client needs to develop them to his/her advantage. The role in a team focuses on increasing awareness of his/her place in a team and how to utilise his/her style to help the team achieve team goals. There are many other aspects detailed in the Coach’s Report that can be easily overlooked in debriefing his/her client, and the report contains much of the data included in his/her client’s report, including a Task Related Section which looks at the client’s natural inclination measured against his/her job requirement. The Coach’s Client’s Report also contains a workbook focusing on interpretation instructions and self-discoveries. It helps the client understand the main reason for the report, and the workbook encourages the client to think about the specific information covered in the report that is specific to him/her. The function of the report is centred upon supporting the client in his/her work role and improving performance.  The benefits for the coach are:
The benefits for the client are:
In most coaching interventions the achievement of the client’s goals will be dependent on them working with other people, whether this is with a colleague, as a pair, or within a project or functional team. In these situations understanding the behavioural dynamics of other individuals, or teams is important. It is therefore valuable for the coach to recommend the use of different Extended DISC tools. Extended DISC will enable the client to understand how his/her behavioural style impacts and is seen by others, and highlight areas where changes will be easiest to implement whilst having maximum benefit. The resulting coaching discussions provide a major input to the coaching programme. Behavioural assessments are a cost effective way to quickly obtain a wealth of objective information about individuals, teams and organisations. Download our Coaches' Brochure and sample copies of the Coach’s and Client's Report.
|
