New Year. New norms. New clients. New customers. New quotas. New bosses. New coworkers. New Year’s resolution: DiSC personality profile training. It’ll make all the other new stuff go down a lot easier.
New reality
Imagine having to live, work, and play at least 6 feet away from friends, colleagues, and even family indefinitely? Unimaginable? A social distance of 6 feet can feel like miles of separation and “indefinitely” can sound like “forever!”
Remoteness at home or in the office is the new norm. New protocols for entering buildings, conference rooms, bathrooms, fitness areas, cafeterias, and elevators. Door handles, fingerprint scanners—suddenly the whole place is like a minefield!
The rules of engagement will change at water coolers and break rooms. And what about new office hygiene? Clearing your desk is one thing, but cleaning it—as in disinfecting it—is quite another.
Newly installed kiosks for frequent temperature checks and hand washing stations. Making sure that workers understand that the procedures are mandated by the laws of your state versus your CEO.
New habits aren’t easy to remember under duress, but they will become part of our muscle-memory over time. Perhaps we can program our wearable tech to alert us when we’re too close to each other—like some of our computerized cars do now.
Flexibility in work assignments. Deadlines when workers need to work remotely and sick leave policies. Mental health breaks. A new world that is both brave and grave is upon us.
How DiSC can help you cope with COVID-19 in 2021
Orientation and re-training
- When the surreal becomes real it’s harder for some of us to adjust than for others. Understanding each other and ourselves may make it a lot easier to cope and to support each other.
- The first quarter of a new year is a great time to reassess skills gaps in your workforce and reassign or retrain. Incorporate DiSC personality profile training into orientation sessions about new rules, regs, and behavioral policies. It’ll personalize the whole process and smooth the way for each transition.
- DiSC provides comprehensive knowledge about how each worker ticks which will make adjusting to each new procedure easier—more intuitive—for you and everyone else.
- Insights from DiSC training can help you bring out the best in each employee. Results: increased productivity, reduced stress, and enriched client and customer service experiences.
Self-awareness: DiSC and you!
- As a leader, the best way to make DiSC work for you is for you to work your own profile. That is, dare to be honest with yourself about who you are and the way you are. Then risk being honest with your staff.
- Transparency sounds noble but it’s difficult to achieve, so don’t push yourself too hard. Just open up as much as you can and then be intentional about recognizing its impact on your team.
- People process information differently. They filter and follow it differently. DiSC will prompt you how to communicate to your individual team members, one by one and understand what they’re getting or not getting—one by one.
Don’t treat feedback like pushback
- Ask for it and then accept it, while considering the source—their temperament and their professional agenda.
- Learn and accept each team member as a unique personality, then watch how seamlessly the group bonds as a team.
- If you’re bold enough to announce an open door policy, be bold enough to do it. Open your door and your mind. You’ll be amazed at all the things you can learn personally and professionally.
New Year’s Resolution: Disc personality profile training for your whole staff. The first step toward a fresh start. This may be one of the most important resolutions you’ll ever make if you stick to it. Happy 2021.