When You Absolutely, Positively Have To Change Things Overnight
Allyn Cutts
Today, businesses and individuals face new challenges for staying ahead
of that speeding bullet known as change. In the past, change was evolutionary,
occurring gradually in a natural flow that allowed time to reorient, prepare
and adapt. Used to be, you could see change coming.
Now, fired by technology, global thinking and communication at “Internet
speed,” change is revolutionary. Multimedia, multi-channel, multinational.
Technology-rich. Acquisitions, alliances and affiliate marketing. Downsizing,
up selling, Reengineering, both the train and the station are moving.
Are you onboard?
If it’s your job to facilitate, lead, influence or model change,
whether unexpected or planned for, you’re more likely to succeed
if you take time to communicate in a way that helps you build-- or be
part of-- a strong, smoothly functioning team.
Your Communication Style Can Speed,
or Stall, Cooperation
Let’s face it. As humans, we’re all different. But did you
ever notice that’s it’s easier to trust and cooperate with people
who seem to be like you? People who share your views and approach problems
in the same way you do? Who use the same language? Who think, talk and
work at the same pace?
Stands to reason then, that the most effective way to win the trust and
support of others as you plan for change is to communicate with them in
the way they find most comfortable—in their natural behavioral style,
not yours.
To be able to do that effectively, however, you must first accurately
determine, define and understand your own style --and all the styles used
by others.
“Whether you are aware of it or not, you have a predictable pattern
for responding to specific situations, people and conditions,” explains
Allyn Cutts, founder of the Cutts Group, and Proper People Placement.
“Challenge, stress, conflict and certain personalities all trigger
response actions. Your past actions, if observed and noted, can accurately
predict how you are likely to respond to these same stimuli, under similar
circumstances, in the future.”
Cutts points out that your patterns, or behaviors, are observable and
quantifiable. They provide clues for the way you view the world and the
roadmap you use to navigate it.
Your behavioral style explains why you can easily connect with and influence
some people, but intimidate or anger others. It explains why you are dynamic
in some situations, but seemingly dysfunctional in others.
Breaking The Human Behavior “Code”
The key to understanding your behavior and how it impacts others can
be found in the breakthrough behavioral research of Dr. William Moulton
Marston. His findings unlocked the secrets to human behavior, establishing
a readable DNA for how we do what we do. This DNA provides shorthand “code”
for understanding the different ways we all behave when responding to
problems, people, pace, and procedures in our environment.
Simply stated, there are four basic behavioral styles we all demonstrate
to some degree:
D - Dominance, or how we respond to challenges and problems
I - Influence, or how we react to people
S - Steadiness, or how we respond to the pace of our environment
C - Consciousness, or how we respond to procedures and rules
“Based on an individual’s responses, our system allow for 19,680
different graphs to be plotted. Due to the magnitude of those numbers,
our system condenses the information to produce 384 different reports.
Research indicates that 53% of the population will fall into 16 common
graphs and reports. The remaining 47% of the population is distributed
throughout the remaining 368 reports,” adds Cutts. “The best
systems for evaluating and assessing behaviors highlight the variations
and blends for each style. The comprehensive evaluations prepared by the
Cutts Group, for example, are among the most detailed and pinpointed in
the industry. They’re designed to make you aware of the highs and
lows and overlapping for each of the behavioral styles. Our evaluations
and explanations can help you more readily explore the needs driving actions
and behavior.”
Yes, we behave the way we do based “how” we view the world,
as it relates to problems, people, pace, and procedures. Our need for
results, acceptance, security, approval or other things also benefit us
in some way.
There is no “right” or “best” behavioral style. Dominance
in any of the four reveals information about natural tendencies and needs
only. The language of DISC is as neutral as it is universal. The world
over, from culture to culture, DISC provides keys to understanding the
“how” of our actions.
Getting To Know Yourself
Once you understand the methods for determining your own style, you can
objectively evaluate that style’s limitations and unique advantages.
Knowing yourself will help you adjust or adapt your behavior in order
to more effectively relate to and influence others.
Remember, when you interact with any group of people, whether at work,
at home, socially or politically, you are rarely in a group that is homogenous.
Most of the time, you are interacting with individuals who have diverse
behavioral styles and emotional hot buttons. These individuals don’t
come equipped with an Operator’s Manual. Some you’ll understand
well because they mirror your particular style. These individuals are
easy to interact with. All the pieces fit together without effort. Other
people will confound and frustrate you. You’ll shake the box, looking
for missing parts.
Relax. There are proven systems with strategies and tools that provide
valuable directions for understanding all types of people. Utilizing these
will help you see things from the view point of those whose styles seem
in direct counterpoint to your own. In-depth, insightful information about
human behavior will shine a light on the how and why of interpersonal
dynamics from many points of view.
“Well developed diagnostic and measurement tools give you a solid
foundation for understanding the underlying reasons a person may function
well on one project, but fizzle out or be ineffectual in another,”
says Cutts. “Studying the information generated by this type of profile
reports can prepare you for what to expect. The best reports deliver key
insights that will help you create the best environment for each behavioral
style. You will be able to create an environment that makes it easy for
each individual to function most productively.”
Mapping an individual’s style, helps adjust your expectations. What
you expect from each individual can be calibrated to more accurately fit
the way a person is likely to respond or behave in specific situations.
Knowing what to expect, knowing the talents, skills and weakness of different
individuals opens the door to more effective dialogue. Effective—and
open—dialogue makes it easier to gauge how well your plans for change
are working. You’ll be more able to adjust, reorient or refocus—rather
than relapse into old patterns.
Detailed information about human behavior can help you build success
into every project and relationship. The knowledge of behavioral differences
helps you interact with each individual at their pace and level of natural
interest, not yours. You’ll know what factors to observe for each
individual, so you can be more generous, and more specific, with productive
feedback.
How To Improve the “Flow”
And Keep Things Moving
Understanding patterns of behavior helps you diffuse resistance, conflicts
and misunderstandings before they can disrupt the harmonious flow of work
as your organization or group moves in the direction of change.
Keep in mind; if your project derails because of conflicts and any movement
towards the goal stops, you’re not just standing still, you’re
falling behind. That’s because everything around you--including the
competition, your overhead expenses, and trends in the industry and consumer
interests-- remains in motion.
Why let disputes, clashes of “behavior” and miscommunication
caused by differences in “style” inhibit or slow down the change
you are attempting to implement. Using the proven effective methods, like
Proper People Placement, can save precious time by ensuring that everyone
on your team moves in unison in the direction of the shared goal. The
ability to identify, recruit, and motivate the best people, including
people whose styles differ from yours, is essential for maintaining influence
and cooperation for change.
Your ability to communicate with people based on their communication
style is the key to getting the results you want. Accurate assessments
and evaluations enhance your understanding and acuteness of behaviors
and skills, making you keenly aware of the different ways individuals
within your group approach problems, procedures, people, and authority.
You’ll have the knowledge you need to effectively pace, or adapt,
yourself so you are in tune with each person. This breaks down barriers,
helping you more quickly win the trust, cooperation and commitment of
everyone on the team.
You’ll be able to more easily recognize potential leaders and decisive
decision-makers; you can nurture and support individuals who lack confidence
or need extra feedback. Your new knowledge will help you build more effective,
high performance teams.
Aware of your own style and tendencies, you can more easily monitor your
behavior to keep your style flexible. With a flexible style, you can present
strategies in a way that motivates each person based on their needs, rather
than yours. You can begin implementing change in a way that engages and
supports rather than conflicts with behavioral styles that differ from
your own.
Sound complicated? Not really. Good strategic systems with accurate diagnostic,
assessment and measurement tools turn complex data into simple blueprints
for understanding modes of behavior. Armed with these blueprints, you
can begin to create the situations and environments that are most favorable
for introducing and implementing the change you want.
*******************************
If you’re looking for a turnkey, proven successful system, Proper
People Placement can help. Proper People Placement is a comprehensive
system that utilizes the most advanced, accurate and in-depth diagnostic,
assessment and measurement procedures and tools available. For more information,
contact the Cutts Group at (800) 482-7280 within US, or (610) 437-4106
or visit us on the web at http://www.cuttsgroup.com.
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