EVER WONDER WHY? PART II, by Jerry Houston

In part one of this focus on the impact of behavioral style on Team interactions, we paid attention to your natural behavioral style and how it may be dissimilar from other styles and may create some natural conflict in your teams.  We talked about the DISC behavioral system and the four quadrants of behavior:

• Dominance – how we approach problems and challenges
• Influencing – how we approach and interact with other people
• Steadiness – the pace of performing actions
• Compliance – willingness to follow rules and procedures set by others

We learned from part one of this article that we make decisions and react, based upon emotions.  How we handle those reactions depends on the intensity of our behavioral style and also our level of emotional maturity.

When very opposite styles connect there is the possibility for conflict on the team because we receive information and react to it in different ways.  For example, a person who is very introverted, laid back, and easy-going will react to an interaction from a very outgoing, extroverted person as “overly aggressive or dramatic.”  From the other direction, a very extroverted, faster-paced person wishes the introvert would get moving and make a decision already!  If, on top of the behavioral differences, a person is challenged with being under-developed with regard to their ability to self-regulate their emotions (either over-react or under-react) we see even deeper divides on the team’s ability to work in harmony… So, what do we do?

It is very important to understand each individual’s style on the team and to adapt to that style, allowing you to get into the doorway of communications for that teammate.  In our example of fast-paced extrovert vs. slow-paced introvert, the extrovert needs to slow down and listen more than is typical for them to do.  In the other direction, the introvert needs to adapt, to communicate in shorter sentences, to be brief and to the point and then get going.

We strongly advise that you reach out to a competent consultant, such as HPISolutions, that is certified in four-quadrant behavioral style and seek assessments for each of your team members and a debrief of the various styles on the team and how to effectively adapt to each other.  This will be the beginning of greatly improved communication and interaction among team members on your teams.

Feel free to reach out to us at info@hpisolutions.com and we will be happy to discuss how we can assist you in this effort.