Ever wondered what drives your behavior? For most the answer would be, “No, I just do what I do when I do it!” Have you ever wondered why everyone doesn’t think and act the same way that you do?

Have you ever wondered why certain people do what they do? And have you wondered why some people love and get along with most people, while others find something wrong in almost anyone they meet? People challenges are everywhere and if you don’t understand what motivates, drives and inspires other people, relationships can be challenging.

Many people have told me they have actually thought… Relationships would be easy… if I didn’t have to deal with the PEOPLE issues! Some of us say, that understanding what drives our behavior is a lot easier than trying to understand the behavior of other people! Yep, you could be right there. However once you have a few clues in how to “read others,” life can take on a new meaning. My Blog posts are all about the dynamics of personality, the art of being human and tips on how to improve our relationships.

Since everything in life is a function of relationships, then developing the skills that give us self-confidence because we truly understand ourselves, would be helpful don’t you think? Having the ability to read others (people read), and understand ourselves (why we do what we do), just might be the keys to getting the results we want with all our relationships!

SO…WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?

Have you ever wondered why some people you know are so predictable and easy to relate to, and others you know do things all the time that absolutely drive you crazy? Have you noticed that once you get to know some people better, and they personally share with you what’s important to them, you have far more tolerance for their behavior?

My goal – and if you want to practice developing behavioral flexibility – is to help you find out all the strengths of your personal style and learn the potential blind spots that occur from an over-use or under-use of your style. Once we can learn to recognize them, we can adapt them so we don’t unconsciously do something that might upset other people and ruin a relationship.

Once you see your own behavioral styles and how they might impact other people with opposite tendencies, then it gives you more power in the matter of choice – and the quality of your relationships. Life is relationships…whether at home or at work we must relate to others where ever we go. So if you are team leader or manager these blog posts will give you insights in how to relate and get the best from others. Ok, some of you might be asking yourself, what does tendencies mean? Good question. The meaning of tendency is an inclination towards a particular characteristic or type of behavior.

So, let’s start by introducing the DISC Model for describing observable behavior and our personality. DISC is a simple, practical, easy to remember and universally applicable model. It focuses on individual patterns of external, observable behaviors. DISC is: needs-motivated, observable behavior and emotion. It is a combination of nature (inherent) and nurture (learned). DISC is NOT: a measure of intelligence, skills, education or experience, or an indicator of values.

DISC is an acronym and stands for: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. These are the four primary style types, and you can identify your DISC Style by completing a simple online DISC assessment. Each of the D,I,S, and C make up our personal style. Here are each of the DISC style’s strengths…yep we all have them to a degree…

1: Dominance – High “D” Style

Dominant Styles often prefer strong directive management and operational tendencies and work quickly and impressively by themselves. They try to shape their environments to overcome obstacles en route to their accomplishments. They demand maximum freedom to manage themselves and others, using their leadership skills to become winners. Additionally, Dominant Styles often have good administration and delegation skills. This matches their motivating need. In fact, if they could delegate their exercise regimens or visits to the dentist’s office, they probably would.

These assertive types tend to appear cool, independent, and competitive. They opt for measurable results, including their own personal worth, as determined by individual track records. Of all the types, they like and initiate changes the most. We symbolise this personality type with a lion – a leader, an authority. At least, they may, at least, have the inner desires to be #1, the star, or the chief.

2: Influence – High “I” Style

Influence Styles’ primary strengths are their enthusiasm, persuasiveness, and friendliness. They are idea people who have the ability to get others caught up in their dreams. With great persuasion, they influence others and shape their environments by building alliances to accomplish results. Then they seek nods and comments of approval and recognition for those results. If compliments don’t come, Influence Styles may invent their own. “Well, Harry, I just feel like patting myself on the back today for a job well done!” They are stimulating, talkative, and communicative. A porpoise -playful, sociable, and talkative, can represent this type.

3: Steadiness – High “S” Style

America’s favorite “Uncle,” Walter Cronkite, was a classic example of a low-keyed, sincere-acting, Steady Style. He visited millions of homes each weeknight via TV for decades. People still reminisce about his soothing voice and comforting delivery. Whether the news was good, bad, or indifferent, his manner had a unique way of adding a sense of stability, calmness, and reassurance to the evenings at the end of our busy workdays.

Like “Uncle Walter,” other Steady Styles also naturally “wear well” and are an easy type to get along with. They prefer stable relationships which don’t jeopardise anyone, especially themselves. The Steady Style can be represented by the koala with its accompanying slower, steady pace; relaxed disposition; and appearance of approachability and warmth. They have a tendency to plan and follow through. This helps them to routinely plug along.

4: Conscientious – High “C” Style

The Compliant Styles’ strengths include accuracy, dependability, independence, clarification and testing skills, follow-through, and organization. They often focus on expectations (e.g., policies, practices, and procedures) and outcomes. They want to know how things work so they can evaluate how correctly they function. We picture a fox as an appropriate symbol for the Compliant Style – cagey, resourceful, and careful. Because they need to be right, they prefer checking processes themselves. What style do you think you are? You might want to complete one of our online DISC Assessments. It only takes 10 minutes, so you can even complete it on your mobile phone while you’re on the train or bus travelling to work. Just make sure you are in a good frame of mind. Visit our website to choose the DISC-Self with Guide Report: http://bit.ly/DISC-Self-Report-and-Guide

Thanks for reading my Blog! I hope you’ll visit me next time as I will be sharing about why some of your relationships aren’t that great! You will like this one as I’ll give even more tips on turning those relationships that are a bit “rocky” into smooth sailing ones. Until next time…may all your relationships be magnificent!