The pandemic sure has made us aware of our deep need for each other. Maybe that’s why working remotely has made some of us feel isolated and disconnected. And when we finally do connect, it feels awkward; a bit like learning how to dance the 2-step again. Who leads? Who follows? Hard to bond again. A key to how DiSC helps team bonding is that you get to know and accept each other. As you really are. Emotionally mask-free.
Hiding in plain sight
Even under the most ideal circumstances, connecting with other people as the real you, is risky. Long before the onslaught of COVID-19, most of us wore masks with our body language. And body language isn’t limited to the body.
Houses, cars, jewelry, wardrobes, smiles, handshakes. College degrees and pedigrees. We’ve worn these masks proudly and wielded them like weapons to gain access to the ladder of success. COVID-19 stripped away a lot of this protective armor and now here we are. Exposed. Raw. Real. Imagine putting that on your resume!
Reality check: how DiSC helps team bonding
There’s a common belief that a crisis brings out the very best and the very worst in people. Even if you turn out to be a real hero in the face of uncertainty, being introduced to the real you can be down right traumatic. DiSC personality profile training can help you cope with what you discover about yourself and accept what you see in others.
Know anybody with a Dominant personality? Know an uber-Influencer? How about Supportive or Conscientious types? Actually we all know people like this. In fact, each of us is a unique combination of the 4 basic personality types which make up the acronym DiSC
A clever physiological psychologist named William Moulton Marston developed the DiSC concept back in the dark ages—1928. And in the 1940s an industrial psychologist and behavioral pioneer named Walter Clark began to craft personality profiling based on the DiSC model.
Over the last 4 decades some 50 million people have benefited from this amazing tool. From ExxonMobil to General Electric to Walmart—most Fortune 500 companies use DiSC to screen applicants and identify candidates for prospective promotions.
Inclusion: how DiSC helps team bonding
But DiSC isn’t some kind of weed-whacker. It is not a weapon designed for rejection and exclusion. DiSC makes it easier for everyone to feel included and accepted by revealing those idiosyncrasies we all have and teaching people how to deal with them. And the pandemic has made this especially important for millions of remote workers around the country.
Recently, Forbes Magazine reported that a survey by TELUS International, revealed a vast majority of workers (80%) would consider quitting their current position for a job that focused more on employees’ mental health….4 out of 5 workers find it hard to “shut off” in the evenings and… half of the respondents cite that their sleep patterns have been interrupted due to COVID-19, and 45% say they feel less healthy mentally while working from home.
And McKinsey.com reported …an interesting study where more than 40 percent of folks surveyed described a decline in mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. Even more shocking, nearly 40 percent of respondents said no one had called to ask, “How are you doing?” No supervisor. No one. And the folks who hadn’t been checked on had a 38 percent higher likelihood of reporting that they weren’t doing well. Checking in on people is so important. It’s amazing, the extent to which it makes a difference—and also the extent to which it’s not being done.
Emotional outreach: how DiSC helps team bonding
As challenging as these times are for small business owners and corporate executives, they all must be alert to the needs of their employees right now. As the level of emotional vulnerability rises among virtual workers, the need to reach out and reassure them is more crucial than ever.
And employers need to make their employees feel safe—not stigmatized—if they need to seek professional help from psychotherapists, psychologists, or emotional support groups. The last thing they should have to contend with is being even more isolated and alienated because they need emotional and psychiatric support!
And DiSC personality profile training can become a guidepost for both supervisors and peers to reach out to fragile workers in a safe, non-threatening way. DiSC provides eye-opening insights into the emotional makeup and character.
If your emotional IQ is low, you may not be as sensitive or empathetic as your staff member needs you to be. DiSC can boost your IQ and teach you how to tread lightly with vulnerable workers without your feeling trod upon yourself. The worker is the focus but the goal is to help them get the job done the way you need it done. DiSC strengthens team bonds, boosts morale, and increases profit margins.