Photo by Antonio Arcos on Unsplash
DiSC Can Be a Livesaver for a new employee
Just over a year ago, I embarked on my first job out of college with FlashPoint Leadership as an Associate Project Coordinator. I can still remember walking into the foreign land of the FlashPoint office on my first day. I was greeted with many smiling but unfamiliar faces and each person telling me their name — I just hoped I could somehow remember all of them.
The first few weeks of work can be challenging in a new job, especially your first year of work. From learning new systems and processes to understanding the culture and working with many new people, it can be a lot to take in.
From the day I started up to today, I have worked with others constantly – whether on the internal project management team, with consultants, or clients. Most days, I find myself collaborating with someone, so understanding how people work and thrive has been a must.
Luckily, I had a leg up on this because of a friendly tool called Everything DiSC®. For the past 30 years, DiSC® has been helping people improve workplace relationships and connections. By learning your DiSC style, individuals learn about their workplace priorities and preferences, like the following:
- Dominance: direct, driven, forceful, results-oriented, and strong-willed
- Influence: enthusiastic, outgoing, sociable, lively, and talkative
- Steadiness: patient, tactful, accommodating, calm, and even-tempered
- Conscientiousness: private, reserved, accurate, analytical, and logical
After taking my DiSC® assessment in the first few weeks of work, I found out I am an S style.
S styles enjoy working on a team, offering support, maintaining stability, and being accurate. I quickly learned that my workstyle priorities suited me quite well for my role as a project coordinator. Even this matching of my DiSC® style and role gave me an extra boost of confidence in my position.
One of the biggest way DiSC® helped was that it allowed me to learn about people five times faster than I would have without the tool. I didn’t have to spend my workdays trying to decode how people liked to receive their information, or how best they worked in teams, or what their preferences were regarding work environment. I had DiSC® to help guide me through that process.
So now when I walked into the office, those unfamiliar faces quickly changed to familiar faces because I knew information regarding their work preferences and priorities right away. Learn more about the other styles by downloading an overview of Everything DiSC®.
Here are my two biggest takeaways after utilizing DiSC® for a year:
- Invest in learning your DiSC® style and the style of others
My DiSC style in in the middle of the S (for Steadiness) region, which means I find satisfaction in lending a helping hand and being a team player. I enjoy a working environment in which individuals can collaborate in a calm and harmonious environment, and I find gratification in being detailed-oriented and precise.
When I first received my DiSC® assessment back, I never thought to explain myself in terms of enjoying details, being accurate, etc. but after analyzing my report and reflecting on my past behaviors, I quickly saw that my actions and preferences aligned with the DiSC® report. The report also helped me realize some of the areas that I don’t have a natural strength in and should invest time in developing – i.e. being direct and straight-forward like a D style.
I also spent time going through my immediate team’s DiSC® reports, which helped me quickly acclimate well to my team. I’m on a team with two individuals – a DC style and iS style. By learning their styles, I knew that my DC style co-worker thrived on details and my iS style co-worker enjoyed collaborative work and generating enthusiasm for projects.
- Productivity and efficiency skyrockets when utilizing DiSC®
Working in a consulting firm means most of our thoughts revolve around giving both our external and internal clients a great experience in a productive and efficient manner.
With DiSC® I have been more efficient because I cater my style towards others, which in turn allows them to be efficient because the information, process, project, etc. was handled in a process they prefer. Since our whole organization utilizes DiSC®, my coworkers respond to me in ways that fit well with my style.
For instance, my S style comes out very much in regards to wanting to know about a project as early as possible. My co-workers are cognizant of this and try to give me as much time in advance to complete a project, which has in turn lead to a great client experience and increase in productivity and efficiency.
Reflecting back on my year with FlashPoint, learning my DiSC style made a difference by showing me what strengths to capitalize on and areas to improve. Knowing my DiSC style and my coworkers’ styles has allowed me leave each work day still full of energy.
I’ve learned that the more you invest in DiSC, the better your work and relationships are, ending ultimately in a great company culture, relationship, and client experience. I’m looking forward to seeing what I learn in year two of utilizing DiSC. Stay tuned for next year’s update.
If you are interested in reading more about DiSC, you can read our other blogs, including perspectives from FlashPoint employees with different styles and our infographic on the basics of Everything DiSC®:
5 Fast Facts About Everything DiSC® [Infographic]
What To Do After Learning Your DiSC Style
D Style Coworker: Using DiSC As a Salesperson and Remote Employee
i Style Coworker: Integrating into a New Team: 3 Tips from a DiSC iS Style
C Style Coworker: How Learning Your DiSC Style Can Make a Difference For a C
