Disc Paper

DiSC® Platinum Rule Assessment

Society as a whole exhibits multiple behaviors that affect not only the business world but personal lives also. Not all individuals choose to be treated in the same manner. The Platinum Rule focuses primarily on the patterns of behaviors by using scales of directness and openness creating a better means of understanding those around us. The primary behavioral styles consist of the Dominant, Interactive, Steadiness, and Cautious styles. When working within teams throughout the business world, these styles can affect not only teamwork but also the productivity flow of the team. The first behavior style that will be addressed is the dominant behavioral style.

The primary focus of this behavioral style is a no nonsense approach which shows no fear in bending the rules while accepting challenges and problem-solving. The Dominance style member of our group, Terry, is most comfortable when in charge of people or situations due to being goal oriented and exhibiting a desire to achieve. This individual is quick and self motivated and enjoys working alone. She is often a perfectionist and has little tolerance for slower or less adept individuals. This individual's strength lies in her ability to take charge and to make decisions. Weaknesses noted for the dominant style are as follows: impatient, non-flexible, and lack of sensitivity toward others.

The pioneer, which is Terry's primary sub-style has a tendency toward change and prefers to work to her own higher standards. This individual has the ability to remain detached emotionally from others and becomes dictatorial and more aloof as the pressure mounts in any given situation. A pioneer sets very high standards, which can also cause her to feel more negatively about herself. Since Terry is both cautious and dominant she is much more likely to be task and not people oriented.

Some beneficial skills for Terry to learn would be to problem solve with others and enhance people management skills. She must become more adept at tapping into the unique and creative skills of other workers. As a way of becoming more personable it would be a benefit for this individual to show some interest in the people around her. A skill that makes the dominant style individual a good leader is in her ability to think and act quickly when it is required. If the need to control can be held in check it will aid in her management style and will make her appear more reasonable and sensible. The main things that a dominant individual can do to make relationships more harmonious would be to explain oneself, keep emotions in check, include everyone in projects and try not to create conflict amongst team members. Behaving in such a manner will make a dominant behavior style more adaptable when working with other behavioral styles. The next behavioral style that will be discussed is the Interactive behavioral style. This style is the predominant style of behavior for two members of our team.

The Interactive style members of our team are enthusiastic, friendly individuals who enjoy being acknowledged, admired or complimented by peers. Being more relationship oriented than task oriented Cassandra and Paul work well in groups by staying optimistic, persuasive, and charming. They are charismatic and gifted in both communication and people skills. These idea people excel at getting others motivated to accomplish goals.

One sub style of the Interactive style is the Impresser, which not only is less open than the other Interactive styles, but also less direct. Winning with a sense of flair without hurting other's feelings is the primary motivator. This can be both beneficial and a burden to the team. The Impresser will work harder while working in groups and judge members by their ability to create the best way to accomplish a goal. Assigning parts on a project comes easily to Cassandra and Paul.

Shortcuts appear to be cheating and they can get so involved with achievement the truth may become stretched. Behavior such as this is not beneficial for the team working at accomplishing an assigned task. Restlessness, short tempers and lashing out while under pressure complete the overall behavior pattern for Impressers who need to adjust this for a harmonious work environment.

While Impressers are concerned about making a negative impression, they are also hard driven and may blow off steam due to stress caused by such problems as an approaching deadline. The best way for Impressers to overcome this would be through time management courses to deal with pressure, pacing the work schedule to maintain the overall perspective and in acting less emotional or intense over issues that are not as critical to the productivity of the team. A way in which to help our two team members with time management and means of relaxation bring the discussion to the third behavioral style of the Platinum Rule, the Steadiness style.

The Steadiness style individual is supportive, warm, and nurturing. Other attributes of such a person includes; a good listener, devoted friend, and loyal employee. He or she can be an excellent team player; Anil has a relaxed disposition, which makes him more approachable and able to develop strong networks. This supportive person might tolerate environments that are unpleasant rather than risking change due to the distress caused by such disruptions.

One of the sub styles for the Steadiness style is Go-Getter. Anil is the Go-Getter within team A. This sub style represents a desire to tackle more accomplishments by keeping the flow of work steady. Even though this member possesses an indirect nature that might affect the task at hand, he will think through the project by focusing directly on the tasks to be completed. Moreover, this individual excels in short-term planning to reach the goal for project completion along with identifying roles, resources, and time lines. Since self-reliance comes naturally, this member does not depend on others to achieve the quality desired, or for the completion of a task. The steadiness behavior style individual is known for his aversion to risk but also by his composure and stability.

His discomfort when multitasking and performing complicated tasks along with becoming too protective