When You Absolutely, Positively
Have To Change Things
“Overnight”

By Allyn Cutts
Cutts Group, llc

Today, businesses and individuals face new challenges for staying ahead of that speeding bullet known as change. In the past, change was evolutionary, occurring gradually in a natural flow that allowed time to reorient, prepare and adapt. Used to be, you could see change coming.

Now, fired by technology, global thinking and communication at “Internet speed,” change is revolutionary. Multimedia, multi-channel, multinational. Technology-rich. Acquisitions, alliances and affiliate marketing. Downsizing, up selling, Reengineering, both the train and the station are moving. Are you onboard?

If it’s your job to facilitate, lead, influence or model change, whether unexpected or planned for, you’re more likely to succeed if you take time to communicate in a way that helps you build-- or be part of-- a strong, smoothly functioning team.

Your Communication Style Can Speed,
or Stall, Cooperation

Let’s face it. As humans, we’re all different. But did you ever notice that’s it’s easier to trust and cooperate with people who seem to be like you? People who share your views and approach problems in the same way you do? Who use the same language? Who think, talk and work at the same pace?

Stands to reason then, that the most effective way to win the trust and support of others as you plan for change is to communicate with them in the way they find most comfortable—in their natural behavioral style, not yours.

To be able to do that effectively, however, you must first accurately determine, define and understand your own style --and all the styles used by others.

“Whether you are aware of it or not, you have a predictable pattern for responding to specific situations, people and conditions,” explains Allyn Cutts, founder of the Cutts Group, and Proper People Placement. “Challenge, stress, conflict and certain personalities all trigger response actions. Your past actions, if observed and noted, can accurately predict how you are likely to respond to these same stimuli, under similar circumstances, in the future.”

Cutts points out that your patterns, or behaviors, are observable and quantifiable. They provide clues for the way you view the world and the roadmap you use to navigate it.

Your behavioral style explains why you can easily connect with and influence some people, but intimidate or anger others. It explains why you are dynamic in some situations, but seemingly dysfunctional in others.

Breaking The Human Behavior “Code”

The key to understanding your behavior and how it impacts others can be found in the breakthrough behavioral research of Dr. William Moulton Marston. His findings unlocked the secrets to human behavior, establishing a readable DNA for how we do what we do. This DNA provides shorthand “code” for understanding the different ways we all behave when responding to problems, people, pace, and procedures in our environment.

Simply stated, there are four basic behavioral styles we all demonstrate to some degree:

• D - Dominance, or how we respond to challenges and problems
• I - Influence, or how we react to people
• S - Steadiness, or how we respond to the pace of our environment
• C - Consciousness, or how we respond to procedures and rules

“Based on an individual’s responses, our system allow for 19,680 different graphs to be plotted. Due to the magnitude of those numbers, our system condenses the information to produce 384 different reports. Research indicates that 53% of the population will fall into 16 common graphs and reports. The remaining 47% of the population is distributed throughout the remaining 368 reports,” adds Cutts. “The best systems for evaluating and assessing behaviors highlight the variations and blends for each style. The comprehensive evaluations prepared by the Cutts Group, for example, are among the most detailed and pinpointed in the industry. They’re designed to make you aware of the highs and lows and overlapping for each of the behavioral styles. Our evaluations and explanations can help you more readily explore the needs driving actions and behavior.”

Yes, we behave the way we do based “how” we view the world, as it relates to problems, people, pace, and procedures. Our need for results, acceptance, security, approval or other things also benefit us in some way.

There is no “right” or “best” behavioral style. Dominance in any of the four reveals information about natural tendencies and needs only. The language of DISC is as neutral as it is universal. The world over, from culture to culture, DISC provides keys to understanding the “how” of our actions.

Getting To Know Yourself

Once you understand the methods for determining your own style, you can objectively evaluate that style’s limitations and unique advantages. Knowing yourself will help you adjust or adapt your behavior in order to more effectively relate to and influence others.

Remember, when you interact with any group of people, whether at work, at home, socially or politically, you are rarely in a group that is homogenous. Most of the time, you are interacting with individuals who have diverse behavioral styles and emotional hot buttons. These individuals don’t come equipped with an Operator’s Manual. Some you’ll understand well because they mirror your particular style. These individuals are easy to interact with. All the pieces fit together without effort. Other people will confound and frustrate you. You’ll shake the box, looking for missing parts.

Relax. There are proven systems with strategies and tools that provide valuable directions for understanding all types of people. Utilizing these will help you see things from the view point of those whose styles seem in direct counterpoint to your own. In-depth, insightful information about human behavior will shine a light on the how and why of interpersonal dynamics from many points of view.

“Well developed diagnostic and measurement tools give you a solid foundation for understanding the underlying reasons a person may function well on one project, but fizzle out or be ineffectual in another,” says Cutts. “Studying the information generated by this type of profile reports can prepare you for what to expect. The best reports deliver key insights that will help you create the best environment for each behavioral style. You will be able to create an environment that makes it easy for each individual to function most productively.”

Mapping an individual’s style, helps adjust your expectations. What you expect from each individual can be calibrated to more accurately fit the way a person is likely to respond or behave in specific situations. Knowing what to expect, knowing the talents, skills and weakness of different individuals opens the door to more effective dialogue. Effective—and open—dialogue makes it easier to gauge how well your plans for change are working. You’ll be more able to adjust, reorient or refocus—rather than relapse into old patterns.

Detailed information about human behavior can help you build success into every project and relationship. The knowledge of behavioral differences helps you interact with each individual at their pace and level of natural interest, not yours. You’ll know what factors to observe for each individual, so you can be more generous, and more specific, with productive feedback.

How To Improve the “Flow”
And Keep Things Moving

Understanding patterns of behavior helps you diffuse resistance, conflicts and misunderstandings before they can disrupt the harmonious flow of work as your organization or group moves in the direction of change.

Keep in mind; if your project derails because of conflicts and any movement towards the goal stops, you’re not just standing still, you’re falling behind. That’s because everything around you--including the competition, your overhead expenses, and trends in the industry and consumer interests-- remains in motion.

Why let disputes, clashes of “behavior” and miscommunication caused by differences in “style” inhibit or slow down the change you are attempting to implement. Using the proven effective methods, like Proper People Placement, can save precious time by ensuring that everyone on your team moves in unison in the direction of the shared goal. The ability to identify, recruit, and motivate the best people, including people whose styles differ from yours, is essential for maintaining influence and cooperation for change.

Your ability to communicate with people based on their communication style is the key to getting the results you want. Accurate assessments and evaluations enhance your understanding and acuteness of behaviors and skills, making you keenly aware of the different ways individuals within your group approach problems, procedures, people, and authority. You’ll have the knowledge you need to effectively pace, or adapt, yourself so you are in tune with each person. This breaks down barriers, helping you more quickly win the trust, cooperation and commitment of everyone on the team.

You’ll be able to more easily recognize potential leaders and decisive decision-makers; you can nurture and support individuals who lack confidence or need extra feedback. Your new knowledge will help you build more effective, high performance teams.

Aware of your own style and tendencies, you can more easily monitor your behavior to keep your style flexible. With a flexible style, you can present strategies in a way that motivates each person based on their needs, rather than yours. You can begin implementing change in a way that engages and supports rather than conflicts with behavioral styles that differ from your own.

Sound complicated? Not really. Good strategic systems with accurate diagnostic, assessment and measurement tools turn complex data into simple blueprints for understanding modes of behavior. Armed with these blueprints, you can begin to create the situations and environments that are most favorable for introducing and implementing the change you want.

If you’re looking for a turnkey, proven successful system, Proper People Placement can help. Proper People Placement is a comprehensive system that utilizes the most advanced, accurate and in-depth diagnostic, assessment and measurement procedures and tools available. For more information, contact the Cutts Group at (800) 482-7280 within US, or (610) 437-4106 or visit us on the web at http://www.cuttsgroup.com.

The Cutts Group partners with clients who are committed to continuous growth. We provide the organizational development, team building, employee selection, executive coaching, and sales training resources our clients demand for measurable results and return on investment. Satisfaction and investment are always guaranteed, always.