Recently, I had the opportunity to join assistants at the Executive Assistants Organization (EAO) Educational Retreat held in Carmel, CA, to present a workshop on communication. What a delightful weekend shared among peers in a beautiful setting.
The tips and tricks to communicate more effectively shared in this workshop came from the DISC training certification program I attended several years ago with a colleague in Southern California led by Bonnie Burn. During the DISC training certification program, we learned about a tool that could help individuals to interact more effectively in the workplace.
Do you ever wonder why your boss or coworkers don’t see it your way or do you feel like you are the only person who cares about the details?
Successful administrative professionals know their strengths and know how to work most effectively with others. They have learned to approach others in different ways by flexing their communication style to meet the needs of the other individual.
What is your self-awareness related to your communication style? Do you strive for results? Do you think logically? Do you seek enthusiastic situations and people? Do you prefer to do things yourself? Do you tend to make decisions quickly, or do you take time to analyze decisions before you make them?
Many organizations who have highly engaged employees often times use assessments in their organizations. Some of those assessments include: StrengthsFinder, DISC, and Myers Briggs. At the City of Rancho Cordova where I am employed as an executive assistant, we have used a variety of assessments to increase our self-awareness related to our communication style and how to best communicate with others. In addition, the City of Rancho Cordova has also used the DISC as one tool in our recruitment and hiring process.
The four styles of the DISC include: Dominant, Influence, Steady, and Conscientious. I have taken the DISC assessment in a variety of different ways—hard copy and electronic and at different times throughout the last 11 years. I tend to score high in the steady and conscientious areas of the DISC assessment. The executives that I have supported tend to score high in the dominant and influence areas of the DISC assessment. Our partnerships over the years have been very collaborative, but it has required a tremendous amount of understanding to learn we don’t all communicate in the same way.
Another good assessment tool is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter®-II (KTS®-II). You can take a FREE online assessment to learn more about your personality type.
How many of you have taken some or all of these assessments as shared in this blog post? What have you learned about yourself? What have you learned about others? I believe assessment tools can offer us some insights that can help us to be more effective in the workplace.
If you haven’t already made the investment in taking one, two, or more assessments, I would encourage you to take one today.
I took the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and found out I am a Guardian. They use their skills to keep things running smoothly!
Michelle, Guardians definitely have valuable skills. Thanks for sharing this information.
I took the Predictive Index and learned that I have high patience. My boss’s PI had low patience and a dominant personality. He was comparing our scores and I told him it was good we were opposite because there was balance.
I also learned that I don’t like change which I thought was funny because I deal with it all the time. When reflecting on this I realized although I can handle change these are high anxiety areas for me until I have a new process nailed down.
I love assessment tests!
Anne, thanks for sharing your experience. Assessment tools are fantastic.
Great post, Stacy! I am a big fan of the DiSC Assessment which reveals insights to your workplace personality. In fact, we include it with every registration for our Be the Ultimate Assistant workshops. I don’t know any other way to get that much objective feedback in that short a time for that little cost. And best of all, 9 out of 10 students report “spot-on” accuracy of the report. I love the online test because it only takes 10 minutes to take and the report comes immediately. I think every assistant needs the DiSC tool in their arsenal of resources. Feel free to contact me if you want more info; bonnie@bonnielowkramen.com