M.B.A. All-Star Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
When designing a team, employers should prioritize soft skills with hard skills, such as personality and thinking styles. Well-placed team members will flow well with the company culture that you want to create or maintain.
To build your team effectively, you need to incorporate complimentary DISC personality styles with strategic thinking styles. Teams should include a mix of personality and TEAMS thinking styles, including Theorists, Executors, Analyzers, Managers, and Strategists. A recent PeopleKeys 4D statistical analysis study shows data correlation of specific DISC personality styles with team roles. However, any DISC style can evolve with mentorship and training to fit a team’s particular position needs.
Below are five team roles and the personality types that harmonize with them to consider when building your team:
The strategist in a team is known to conquer obstacles and do it at the snap of a finger. They work well under pressure and do not have a problem with being a natural leader. This role in the team harmonizes with the D personality. The D DISC profile does not see a problem as a hindrance but rather more of a challenge to overcome and make the team stronger. When a conflict does arise, they make decisions based solely on logic. You can depend on the D DISC profile strategist to carry out tasks and handle problems even at a lower level.
The theorist is the creative thinker and “idea person” who comes up with many solutions in a company. They can not only form one solution to a conflict but, at times, will provide you with multiple. This type of team role thinking style aligns well with the I DISC personality. They are perceived to be someone who can be trusted and are positive and encouraging. I styles are the group’s influencers and social butterflies; they are naturally active and creative. If you are looking to develop ways to form a company culture, the I’s may provide various team building ideas.
The executor in a team likes to complete tasks, primarily if they have been provided clear objectives, guidelines, and goals. Of all the DISC behavioral types, the S DISC personality style has been linked to a natural fit in this team role. S styles are the worker bees of the group and are very loyal to those who prove to be trustworthy. S personalities are vital to a team because they provide reliability and steadiness and are very process-driven. An employer can depend on an S personality type to stay with a company over a long period, show up to work on time, and, most importantly, complete a task on time. They are also very friendly and team-driven, which makes them easy to work alongside.
If you want every detail of a project to be triple-checked and exceeding the highest standards, you want the Analyzer on your team. The C DISC profile most correlates with the Analyzer thinking style because they are meticulous and love to explore details and data. You can depend on them to produce excellent results. Although C DISC personality types are typically known to be reserved, they will not lack confidence when presenting a project as a subject expert. They are confident in their ability to perform in the workplace and are valuable to keep the performance reality check on a team. It is vital to keep them focused on the big picture because they can get lost in the most minute details, causing delays in project completion.
With only a little over 4% of the population categorized in this rare Thinking Style, usually complex work style blends such as CSI/SIC, CSD/CDS, and SCD/SDC can correlate to it and measure one’s ability to balance the status quo while ensuring progress. Managers enjoy monitoring processes, supervising, interacting with team members, and otherwise ensuring that the team moves to meet the set goal on time. Their skill set allows them to move between Theorist, Analyzer, or Strategist roles when necessary, and they will feel comfortable enough in that role for some time. Their core strengths align with I and S styles with their ability to communicate well, and their inner drive aligns with D’s. Simultaneously, their superior attention to detail is related to their C personality traits.
PeopleKeys believes that success is a team effort, and we want you to build the right team to meet your organization’s objectives. “Where there is agreement, there is power,” says Dr. Sandy Kulkin, Co-Founder of PeopleKeys. When you become DISC certified, you will acquire the skills necessary to place talented individuals to utilize their natural strengths. Learn more about our DISC certification training to help you learn how to read the Four-dimensions of personality assessment tool and lead your company on the path to success.