The D Style Does Really Care
I have joked over the thirty-plus years of using DiSC, that we should begin a D-Style support group.
It’s easy to understand why we’d consider this. This style has a strong ego and likes to move quickly to achieve results. Some other behavioral styles get bothered by the extreme focus on results. To them, it appears as a lack of empathy for others.
Are individuals with the D-Style Narcissists?
In a recent DiSC Training, a learner pointed out, as he reviewed his Everything DiSC Workplace assessment, that he felt his D-Style could be perceived as narcissistic.
Let’s recall where this word originates. It was from Narcissus, a figure in Greek Mythology, who was a hunter. Narcissus became so enthralled with his beauty that he gazed into a pool of water…and could not break this gaze. He died staring at his own reflection.
Now, consider what you know about the D style. If you had this style and were a hunter, would you stop to stare at your reflection? Not likely. You would be so focused on the successful outcome of the kill, that a singular goal would consume you.
The D-Style and Empathy
Let’s examine another trait the D Personality Type worries about: empathy. While using more empathy is undoubtedly an opportunity for those of us with this style, it is also an opportunity for ALL of us.
The Global Risks Report of 2019, published by the World Economic Forum in partnership with Zurich Insurance Group, has found an alarming drop in empathy that they attribute to an increase in personal technology devices. They cite, in their report, that levels of empathy fell by a whopping 48% between 1979 and 2009.
While Zurich did not use a DiSC Profile on all those folks with falling empathy scores, they did suggest that this drop has relevance to our increased use of technology, something that all styles encounter and have integrated into their daily lives.
It might also be helpful to recall the title of the book that William Moulton Marston wrote that featured his original work as he developed the DISC model: “The Emotions of Normal People.”
We all have some degree of character flaws. So, you could argue that it is normal to be flawed. Marston was referring to folks without diagnosable mental health issues in his book title, and if he were contemporary today, he might even rethink this. After all, all of us exhibit a personality defect, even those with a diagnosis.
Perhaps after 35 years, we never formed the High D support group because each style has baggage, not just the D Style. Each style can use support. Each style can practice greater empathy. Each style can be less narcissistic.
Using Catalyst for Support
In 2020, the Everything DiSC Catalyst platform was released to help make virtual teamwork easier during a time of immense change. Today, the platform makes it easier than ever for teams to use it in a way that could be described as a self-initiated team support group.
Teams can initiate meetings around topical areas affecting their ability to collaborate and work effectively. No formal facilitator is needed.
Teams can explore the group continua and discuss how these affect their decision-making ability, set up projects, and more.
Imagine all these discussions taking place without a formal facilitator or within a formal DiSC Training!
Catalyst empowers teams to work on their character flaws as a group, recognize that they all have things to work on, and then support one another as they do this.
