How DISC Helps Managers Communicate More Effectively

Adam Stamm

Managers Have Communication Issues: DISC Can Help

DISC is an assessment-based tool that promotes self-awareness and communication. These two areas are vital for ensuring a manager’s success.

Managers who are effective communicators save their companies tens of thousands of dollars per employee each year and promote a more engaging work environment for their employees.

Unfortunately, a sobering statistic from Gallup’s annual survey of managers and leaders shows how much support managers need to improve their communication:

only 29% of employees stated that they felt their immediate supervisor kept them informed about what was happening in the organization.

This data shows that managers need more training in soft skills like communication.

Regardless of a manager’s knowledge about the organization’s direction, behavioral modeling tools like DISC help managers understand their communication preferences. We all have these tendencies; DISC helps managers understand when these preferences weaken or strengthen their ability to communicate.

In addition, it helps them identify their employees’ unique stressors (and motivators) and provides a key to responding to them.

With this knowledge, managers can adapt their communication to meet their employees’ needs. This doesn’t require them to have all the answers. Instead, it helps them maintain a strong connection with their employees during times of change or tension.

In this article, I will outline how DISC supports managers with steps they can take (for free) to get started.

How DISC Helps Managers Communicate Effectively

Step One: Self-Awareness

Imagine if your company posted lower-than-expected profits last quarter.

If you are a manager or director of the team responsible for driving sales, this situation could cause concern for the entire team (i.e., layoffs, reorganization, sale of the company, discontinuation of a product, etc.).

Many managers want to communicate what they know. However, they often speak using the communication style they are familiar with and used to.

Here are some examples:

D-Personality Manager Communication Style

In times of stress, this personality type will be frank and show a strong sense of urgency. They may dismiss other topics during the conversation that don’t match their focus on tackling the sales issue.

I-Personality Manager Communication Style

This style might lean into their optimistic viewpoint and focus on taking quick action to bounce back from one down quarter. They will try to motivate their team that success is right around the corner.

S-Personality Manager Communication Style

This style might want to avoid taking quick corrective action. Instead, they may want to focus on ensuring the team feels supported and will seek a way that promotes stability rather than more uncertainty.

C-Personality Manager Communication Style

Similar to the S-Style, this style won’t want to take any quick action. Instead, they will communicate their preference to understand the problem more deeply before taking action.

Some of these communication styles from managers may resonate with you. Some may irritate you.

The point is that how managers deliver messages matters. Effective communication requires adapting our message to the person’s preferred communication method.

This is what DISC teaches. If you don’t know your DISC Style, you can learn it by taking our free DISC Profile. It’s the first step in becoming more self-aware. Unfortunately, the next step is much more challenging.

Step Two: Adapting Your Message

Once you know your DISC Personality Type, you are now presented with the task of learning how to adapt your message to meet the needs of your employees.

Thinking back on our example of the missed sales goal, the manager must personalize their communication to meet the needs of their employee’s different communication styles.

Here’s how it would work:

Speaking with D-Personality: Share their need for results. Find ways to promote their need to work quickly and assertively. Challenge their need to move quickly if time is needed for further discussion or analysis by outlining how it will help promote success.
Speaking with I-Personality: Share in their sense of optimism. Make sure this individual is heard. Gently promote objectivity with them or focus on tasks if these areas are getting in the way of success.
Speaking with the S-Personality: Ensure your communication is sincere. When possible, promote harmony and stability. This style fears rapid change. If change is inevitable, ensure that the outcomes are understood – not just the process.
Speaking with the C-Personality: Ensure your communication promotes a process and logic. When possible, add objectivity to what you are saying. This style fears being wrong and strong displays of emotion. If the individual made a mistake, don’t publicize it.

The DISC Leadership report provides these tips and more information. This report goes deeper than the free profile and is a worthwhile investment for any manager or leader who wants to understand their leadership style better and adapt it to meet the needs of their direct reports.

Alternatively, DISC Ai can provide these DISC insights seamlessly whenever managers email, videoconference, or prepare to join a meeting. This subscription DISC product integrates with many communication tools to provide immediate insights to help managers communicate more effectively.

Regardless if you or your managers subscribe or purchase these tools, it’s essential to think about how you are communicating based on the behavioral needs of the listener. This perspective allows you to speak directly to the motivations, fears, and behavioral needs and increases the odds the communication is effective.

Should a Manager work with a DISC Coach?

Great managers aren’t bosses. They are coaches, consultants, and investigators to their employees.

A DISC Coach can support the growth of any tenured-length manager in these areas. Learn more about the process of a DISC Coach →