I’ll bet you know someone who seems to have positive and productive relationships with just about everyone at work. Ever wonder why? Maybe it’s their natural personality. Maybe they learned through trial and error what works and what doesn’t. Maybe they have no clue.
Or maybe they have special knowledge and skills that allow them to easily form positive relationships.
As a practitioner of DiSC, did you know you already have the tools to connect more easily with just about everyone? In DiSC training, we learned that the four DiSC styles tend to communicate in very predictable ways. Once we “tune our ears” to those communication preferences, we can temporarily adjust our communication style to dial up positive chemistry and effectiveness with our colleagues. The secret is in learning how to people-read those around us. And what's one way we can do that?
Notice the questions they ask.
D-STYLES ASK "WHAT" QUESTIONS
They are direct, goal focused, quick, and decisive. They tend to think of themselves individualistically. Therefore, D-styles tend to ask questions that affect them directly. They don’t want details, just the facts they need to know. D-styles will ask “what” questions like:
What’s the goal?
What’s the bottom line?
What do we need to get there?
What is your team doing to meet the deadline?
What’s in it for me?
i-STYLES ASK "WHO" QUESTIONS
They are social, energetic, and talkative. They like to be liked, and can sometimes focus on interactions over tasks. They are very relational, so it makes sense that they prefer to ask the "who" questions. The i-styles tend to ask questions like:
Who’s on the team?
Who will this impact?
Who can we partner with?
Who will be at the meeting?
Who is leading this project?
S-STYLES ASK "HOW" QUESTIONS
They are reserved and prefer to have as much understanding as possible before making decisions. They will ask questions to make sure the decision is right for them, but also for the people close to them. S-styles tend to ask the "how" questions:
How will we get this done?
How will this affect our team?
How can we support you?
How can we not disrupt things too much?
How will this change improve things?
C-STYLES ASK "WHY" QUESTIONS
They are analytical and logic focused. They want to know as many facts and get as much data as possible to make the correct decision. C-styles are cautious and will ask many questions. They ask "why" questions to ensure the path forward will achieve the highest quality outcomes.
The questions people ask give us valuable clues to their DiSC styles. Once we know a person’s style, we can adjust the words we use to better match up with their preferences. When that happens, the path to positive chemistry instantly becomes easier to navigate.
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