Category Archives: Personality Types

Unleashing The Power Of Your Potential

brian smith-pld, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Planning, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Have you ever wondered why you do what you do and why you do it the way you do it? We become who we are at a very young age. We get accustomed to behaving a certain way, communicating and interacting with others a certain way, which eventually becomes us. An individual’s personality remains relatively stable throughout their lifetime. You are who you are – embrace it. Understanding your behaviour and how it impacts you and the people around you can be the catalyst to unleashing the power of your potential.

Worth Remembering: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.’ – Carl Jung – Psychologist.

Have you ever scored an assessment tool to help identify your preferred behavioural style? They are designed to assess a person’s personality – how you communicate, interact with others, manage others and how you want to be managed. Some popular assessment tools are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Clifton Strengths and the True Color Personality Test. However, I prefer an assessment tool based on Dr. William Marstons DISC theory because it is easy to administer, and you don’t need a Ph.D. in behavioural sciences to interpret the results.

Worth Remembering: “Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of your personality can make your perceptions clearer, your judgements sounder and your life closer to your heart’s desire.” – Isabel Briggs Myers

Behavioural assessments are not an exact science – just a great indicator of a person’s strengths. I’ve worked with several organizations that use them in their hiring processes to help identify their ideal candidate.

Based on Marston’s DISC theory:

D – Dominant Styles feel most content in authoritative positions and are best suited for entrepreneurs, lawyers and police or any work that displays power.

I – Interpersonal Styles prefer occupations that entail teamwork and collaboration and are best suited for public relations, sales, and marketing professionals or any position that involves working with people.

S – Steadiness Styles have a way of making others feel comfortable and at ease. They are best suited for a nurse, counsellor, therapist or any position that involves helping others.

C – Conscientious Styles are true perfectionists. Their analytical skills make them outstanding planners and problem solvers, and they are best suited as an engineer, systems administrator, actuaries or any position that requires maintaining standards and accuracy.

Stick with what you are good at and put your strengths to work for you. Scoring a behavioural assessment and determining where your strengths lie and what career path you may be best suited for is an excellent way of unleashing the power of your potential.

Want to discover your strengths? Click on the link and download a “Free” DISC E-Book. https://briansmitpld/free-download/

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. To learn about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com.

The Key To Building Strength-Based Teams

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Competitive Advantage, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Managing and leading others is not about you – it’s about the people you’re leading. By understanding our different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, we can all become more effective when working with and interacting with others. Different is just different – and different is ok. How does each team member prefer to communicate and socialize with others? Are they introverted or extroverted? What do they do well and not so well? How do they like to be coached or managed? The key to building strength-based teams will depend on your ability to navigate through those differences.

Worth Remembering – “The task of an executive is not to change human beings. The task is to multiply performance capacity of the whole by putting to use whatever strength, health or aspiration in individuals.” P. F. Drucker

I use a behavioural assessment tool Dr. William Marston developed because it is easy to administer, and you don’t need a degree in behavioural sciences to interpret the results. Marston believed that there are four distinct styles of behaviour. Each has its natural unchangeable personality, and while each has the same factors comprising their personalities, they react differently to the environment around them. When assembling your team, the key is to recruit team members based on their strengths and then put them in positions that utilize them and avoid weaknesses.

Worth Remembering – “Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of type can make your perceptions clearer, your judgements sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire.” I. M. Briggs

Caution: A strength overused or used in the wrong situation can become a weakness.

Utilize their strengths.

D – Dominant: They prefer to lead, take risks and are action orientated.

I – Interpersonal: They are great communicators and excel at motivating others.

S – Steadiness: They follow directions and stay within guidelines and procedures.

C – Conscientious: They are exceptional at planning, setting standards and ensuring accuracy

Avoid their weaknesses.

D – Dominant: They can be blunt, demanding and appear unapproachable.

I – Interpersonal: They can be disorganized and lack follow-through.

S – Steadiness: They can be indecisive and resist change for fear of failing.

C – Conscientious: They can be overly concerned with perfection and prefer to work alone.

Your most successful championship and gold medal-winning teams are those teams that filled their roster with role-players. If you use that same concept when building your team – your organization’s competitive advantage will be your strength-based team.

Visit my website and download your “FREE” DISC Assessment and discover your strengths and the strengths of those on your team. https://briansmithpld.com/free-download/

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a training provider for you and your team? To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com or email him at – brian@briansmithpld.com

How To Work With Your Boss And Live To Talk About It

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Working with and being managed or supervised by someone with a different way of communicating and interacting with others can be challenging. You need to keep one thing in mind – you aren’t going to change them. The key is to work with them the way they like. How do they want to communicate and receive information? How do they prefer to interact with others? How do they like to be managed? I believe we develop our way of communicating and interacting with others at a very young age which heavily influences how we manage ourselves and others.

Worth Remembering – “When you change the way you look at things. The things you look at change.”

Understanding yourself and the behaviour of others, especially your boss, will give you valuable insights into adapting your behaviour to be more in tune with theirs. I use a behavioural assessment tool developed by Dr. William Marston called DISC. It identifies the four distinct styles of behaviour, how each type prefers to communicate and interact with others, and how they manage others and like to be managed.

Here are a few tips to help you work with your boss and live to talk about it.

D – Dominate personalities are direct, results-orientated and uncompromising.

  • They prefer bullet points. Don’t ramble on – keep it short and get to the point.
  • Be prepared and organized. Don’t waste their time.
  • They aren’t big on small talk., so don’t try to build a personal relationship.

I – Interactive personalities are collaborative, enthusiastic and talkative.

  • Help them get organized and put details in writing.
  • Provide ideas for implementing their action plans.
  • Allow time in their schedule for relaxing and socializing – relationships are important to them.

S – Steadiness personalities value teamwork and a quiet, calm environment.

  • Don’t interrupt them when they are speaking.
  • Show sincere interest in them.
  • Ask specific questions to draw out their goals and objections.

C – Conscientious personalities are detail-orientated and meticulous.

  • Approach them in a straightforward, direct way.
  • Don’t force a quick decision. Be clear about deadlines and expectations.
  • Provide information backed by data, facts and reliable sources.

Remember – you will not change your boss, but you can learn to work with them and live to talk about it.

Copyright (c) 2023. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. If you want to learn about DISC and how it can help you communicate and interact more effectively with others, please contact me – at brian@briansmithpld.com – Visit my website and download a Free DISC Ebook – “Understanding Behaviour and How It Impacts Performance.” – my gift to you in celebration of #internationlwomensday2023 – https://briansmithpld.com/free-download/

Different Strokes for Different Folks – The Sweet Science of Great Coaching

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Mentorship, Personal Development, Personality Types, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized

Think of a coach you admire – what about their style that you like? What don’t you like? If you were to write down ten key traits that you believe a great coach should possess – what would you write down on your list? (Traits like patience, open-mindedness, flexible, empathetic, good communicator, excellent listener, a problem solver, knowledgeable, etc.) I don’t believe you are born a great coach. I think great coaches are made. You can be the kind of coach you want to be. You don’t have to be the most intelligent person in the room to be the most successful coach.

Worth Remembering – “The main ingredient for stardom is the rest of the team.” – John Wooden

I believe we are born with a particular style – a particular way of behaving – that heavily influences how we communicate and interact with others. Great coaches can assemble a group of people with different personalities, different skill sets, and varied backgrounds and mould them into a cohesive, collaborative team by identifying how they prefer to be coached and working with them in the way they like. If you can adapt your coaching style to be more in tune with how they want to be coached – chances are they will be more receptive because you are coaching them the way they like.

Worth Remembering – “The task is not to change human beings. The task is to multiply team performance by putting to use whatever strength there is in individuals.” – Peter Drucker.

Understanding yourself well and the behaviour of others will improve your relationships at work and home by increasing your willingness to change how you interact and respond to others who have a different type of behaviour than yours. Several assessment tools are available to help identify a person’s behavioural type. I use an assessment tool based on Dr. William Marston’s DISC Theory. Marston believed that are four distinct styles of behaviour: Dominate, Interactive, Steadiness and Conscientious, and each type communicates, interacts and prefers to be coached differently.

Worth Remembering – “To reach your goals and dreams, you must learn to assist others in reaching theirs.” – Joe Gibbs

If you are a coach that believes in science, then you should have four different approaches to coaching.

Dominate Personalities: Be direct. Make communication brief and to the point. Respect their need for autonomy. Be clear about rules and expectations. Resist the urge to micromanage.

Interactive Personalities: Be relaxed and friendly. Let them verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Provide written details. Keep the conversation light – use humour.

Steadiness Personalities: Provide a consistent and secure environment. Be logical and systematic in your approach. Be patient and let them adapt slowly to changes. Provide written instructions.

Conscientious Personalities: Give clear expectations and deadlines. Be precise and focused. Let them know your high standards are not negotiable, but how you accomplish them could be.

If want to be a great coach, then remember different strokes for different folks and the sweet science of great coaching.

Copyright (c) 2022. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a corporate trainer for yourself or your team? To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit https://briansmithpld.com