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Is building a high-performing team important?
Yes, it is! It has been recognized as the driving force behind the success of companies, not today but for years. For instance, investors in startups prioritize the team’s quality and the synergy among its members over the business idea itself.
Research shows that the management team’s quality is the most critical nonfinancial factor in evaluating an IPO, with 1.9 times increased likelihood of achieving above-median financial performance when the top team works collaboratively towards a shared vision. This further highlights the vital role of a superior team in achieving success.
Building a high-performing team is challenging, despite its value. Hiring the best-fit results in a diverse group of energetic, ambitious, and capable individuals who need to work together effectively.
It requires understanding each employee’s mental makeup and triggers to help optimize their performance and set up team dynamics.
One helpful approach is to use behavioural assessment tools, such as DISC Profiles, grounded in behavioural psychology. This method helps in understanding team dynamics and building a high-performing team.
Team profiling is a powerful tool for building a high-performing team. It offers a detailed understanding of each member’s unique attributes and how they mesh to form a cohesive unit. It identifies the team’s strengths, areas of effectiveness, and potential growth points. By bringing to light individual differences, it enhances team dynamics and helps make informed managerial decisions.
Related: How do you make managerial decisions?
The DISC behavioural Assessment, commonly used in corporations, originates from psychologist William Moulton Marston’s theory in the 1920s.
It uses a four-dimensional model to measure Dominance, Influence, Submission, and Compliance that Dr John Geier refined in the 1970s.
The assessment involves answering a questionnaire with 24-28 questions to determine an individual’s preferred style.
The result is a graph displaying their DISC pattern, including the public self, stress response, and self-perception. These graphs can vary depending on the individual, making the assessment an effective tool that helps understand team dynamics and improve performance.
The assessment typically yields three graphs:
These graphs can vary significantly based on the individual.
The DISC model categorizes individuals into four primary behavioural styles, with everyone representing a combination of these types. These types are viewed on a continuum, with individuals typically showing one to three dominant styles. DISC assessments place individuals into 12 “zones” based on their prominent traits.
To build more effective relationships, dominant individuals require to work on developing softer skills and adopting a collaborative, win/win approach to leadership development.
They enjoy being around people and are skilled at influencing and persuading others. They thrive on building relationships and are often the life of the party.
However, they may struggle with follow-through on tasks or become disorganized under stress. They may also become overly expressive or reject fear. To improve their effectiveness, they could focus on developing their organizational skills, prioritizing their workload, and respecting boundaries set by others.
However, their aversion to change and tendency to avoid conflict can hinder their growth and development.
Their growth areas include: – Building self-confidence – Learning to cope with change – Expressing opinions and feelings more openly. These activities can help them become more assertive and effective in their roles.
Under stress, Conscientious people may become rigid and process driven. They focus too much on data and details and become risk averse.
Their growth areas include developing their ability to delegate tasks, balance their attention to detail with the big picture, and avoid getting stuck in over-analysis or excessive criticism.
DISC profiling is a valuable tool for effective leadership and creating high-performing teams. It allows leaders to customize their approach to each team member’s unique DISC style, enhancing training, task delegation, conflict resolution, and motivation.
Related: How to be an effective leader in the Workplace
Leaders can optimize team performance and job satisfaction by recognizing and playing to each member’s strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, DISC profiling aids in navigating conflict and stress, tailoring resolutions, and support to individual interaction styles.
For teams, DISC profiling offers a comprehensive framework to understand the motivations and preferences of team members. A high-performing team is a diverse tapestry of capabilities harmonized by a common purpose.
DISC styles guide deftly navigating the intricate web of team relationships, driving the collective towards its goals. Each DISC dimension embodies a unique role, reinforcing the importance of equilibrium within the team.
DISC profiling promotes mutual understanding, enabling team members to communicate effectively and adapt to each other’s work styles.
It also allows leaders to relate better with their team members, appreciate their unique strengths, and provide tailored support for their professional development.
This results in teams transitioning more smoothly from the challenging ‘storming’ phase to a more harmonious and productive state, ultimately contributing to the broader organizational performance and success.
Conclusion
By utilising DISC profiling, teams can unlock their full potential and work together harmoniously. This tool helps leaders communicate, guide, and motivate their teams. It leads to better performance and a shared culture of success.
Investing in DISC profiling is essential. It promotes progress, enhances team dynamics, and cultivates a culture of understanding and respect. Teams that appreciate and embrace their diverse behavioural styles become more adaptable, innovative, and resilient, leading to increased organizational performance.
Understanding is the starting point for building a high-performing team, and DISC profiling provides a roadmap for this journey.
