Value of a Team Map – Understanding Your Team Using DiSC
DiSC is a great tool to help individuals figure out how to communicate and work better with one another. And when a team comes together to experience DiSC, a team map can be created to help team members – and the team leader – understand some of the strengths and weaknesses of their team.
If a team’s DiSC styles are well distributed across all four quadrants – it is likely that the team will have a fairly balanced approach in how it works together. If a team members’ styles concentrate together in one or two quadrants, they will find that certain activities are easy for them but have blind spots or gaps in other areas. For example, a team that has a large number of S and C styles may find they don’t push themselves to take risks very easily, yet they are very effective at creating and complying to processes that increase their overall efficiency.
A Deeper Dive into Team Analysis
Analyzing a team map is fairly straightforward once we understand some of the shared tendencies of the four styles.
If we draw a horizontal line through the DiSC map, we see that the D and i styles share the tendencies of being more faced-paced and out spoken.
They initiate – and easily adapt to – change, they like to keep things moving quickly and get excited by new initiatives. But they may lose interest in projects that require attention to detail, routine or long cycle times. The S and C styles share just the opposite tendencies. They prefer repeatable, dependable processes, creating organized approaches that will help insure quality results, and have the patience to think through problems, analyze details and seek others’ input before taking action.
If we draw a vertical line through the DiSC map we find that the left side of the map – the D and C styles – tend to be more work or task focused.
They quickly focus on the work at hand, trying to solve problems – gathering facts and details – driving toward results. On the opposite side of the map, the i and S styles tend to be more “people” focused. They naturally look to collaborate – easily understanding how to bring people together to get buy-in. Their team approach helps build relationships – encouraging participation across team boundaries.
The Strengths and Challenges for Your Team
As you review your team’s DiSC map, use the questions below to help think through how you can lead your team forward in different ways.
- Where do the members of your team land on the DiSC map?
- What can you infer about the pace of your team?
- What quadrant of the DiSC map is the hardest for you to manage? Do those team members drive you crazy? Why?
- When or in what situations does your team excel?
- When or in what situations does your team stumble or experience conflict?
