Question: How Can We Get Along Better at Work? (Hint: The Right Assessment is a Good First Step)
What makes an organization or team successful? Many different factors are involved in success. A quick google search shows over 144 million(!) results ranging from luck to common goals.
Do team members get along with each other? That is the organizational success factor that I want to dive into here. I am including peer to peer, manager and direct reports, and leader with the group as a whole.
A lot of my work with organizations is helping teams and individuals improve how they get along with each other so that they can focus on the substantive strategic, operational and other issues in order to meet their revenue and productivity goals. Research has shown that when people feel psychologically safe in their interactions with co-workers on the job, they contribute more and achieve more.
I frequently hear comments like these:
The boss: “My boss and his boss often don’t agree and that is so hard for me to navigate.”
The colleague: “She doesn’t report to me, so I can’t tell her what to do but she isn’t doing her job and that is affecting my team a lot.”
The direct report: “How do get my team members to work better together?”
What’s in my toolkit when I facilitate or coach on these “get along with” issues? DiSC assessments and 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team are critical components. Let me unpack this a little.
What is the power of Everything DiSC and 5 Behaviors?
Help gain awareness about ourselves (why do I behave like I do and what is the impact on others?)
Encourage us to value different styles in the workplace (how can I better appreciate behaviors and communication styles of others so that we can be more successful together?)
Improve employee satisfaction, collaboration and performance (what would work be like if our contributions were valued and appreciated?)
In a nutshell, these tools can help unlock a culture-driven competitive advantage for your organization.
Which DiSC product should we use and when?
The starting point is a conversation with me to assess where you and your team should focus your professional development resources. Having said that, here are some guidelines to consider.
Workplace DiSC is a great starting point for a team, department or entire organization that wants to help individuals better understand their own behavior and communication style, and the styles of others. The goal is to leverage this awareness to work better together.
More specialized assessments are available specifically for people responsible for sales and customer service and for those focused on building their interpersonal leadership skills.
363 for Leaders is a scalable online 360 tool that is easy to use, provides objective feedback and development strategies. It is based on The Work of Leaders framework. This robust 360 tool can be used to launch a coaching process and/or be used as part of the performance management process.
Do you or your team struggle with handling conflict? The Productive Conflict assessment focuses on helping individuals identify and change automatic thoughts so that their responses in conflictual situations can be more productive.
Finally, 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team is a program to help teams develop the behaviors needed to ensure that teamwork is truly your competitive advantage. Your team can re-take the assessment down the road at no additional cost to assess progress.
I just returned from Wiley HQ in Minneapolis where I became an authorized partner for DiSC assessments and Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. I am passionate about the benefits that these tools can deliver to you, your team and your organization. Please reach out to me if you want to continue this conversation.