Does Your Boss Have a Dominant Personality Style?

(Part One) You may be called strong-willed, a natural leader or a bull-in-a-china shop. But are you a Dominant/Directive personality style?

I once had a client who managed a large department for a financial services company. She was a wonderful lady to work for — fun, smart and very good at her job. We got along great. While debriefing her results on the DISC personality assessment, she said something that surprised me.

“Laura, you’ve said it’s important to greet people when I come into work and ask how they’re doing. I make the effort, but it’s not really important to me. However, I do it because I know it motivates my people. It’s what some need from me to do their best work. And, I do it because I know it gets results.”

She knows it’s what good leaders do. They adapt to what their employees need, even if it’s not something that comes naturally or is important to them personally.

This supervisor’s motto was “Git ‘er done!” She was all about results and getting down to business. Protecting people’s feelings was not her main concern. Her focus was on the work.

But she knew not everyone on her team had the same style and would respond to the same kind of treatment. Some appreciated the “touchy feely” approach to know their manager cared about them as a person. So she adapted her style to match what her people needed.

My client was a high “D” or Directive/Dominant personality style.

Benefits of the Directive/Dominant Style

These folks are often selected as leaders due to their take-charge approach. They are action oriented, wired to take on challenges and willingness to overcome opposition. They move through the world quickly and love to solve problems. They’re task-oriented (vs relationship), thrive on a variety of assignments and pursue opportunities to excel. Good with change, they will challenge the status quo.

They are great entrepreneurs because they don’t get easily discouraged. They possess a great deal of “bench strength” and self-confidence. Control, power and authority are important to them. They’d rather ask for forgiveness than seek permission. And many believe that rules are meant to be broken — or at least bent.

They feel the need to push harder and will rely on their own internal fortitude vs outer forces (like research or committees) to accomplish their goals. They respect people who challenge and stand up to them.

Our “High D” folks make things happen. They are decisive and they are drivers. They persevere and overcome overwhelming odds. They take on large responsibilities, seize the reins of leadership and achieve great things.

Introducing The Evil Twin

But just like all our personality styles, some behaviors of the high “D” style, taken to extremes, reveal a dark side or “evil twin” that can impact their success. Some may perceive them as lacking empathy and being overly forceful.

High “D” people can be intimidating. One supervisor I coached was surprised her team members wouldn’t bring their problems to her. She said, “I don’t understand why they don’t come to me.” Well, she came on SO strong that it made it doubly difficult for an employee to raise issues. She was too abrupt. Her preference for short, direct answers made it difficult for some to explain their circumstances without feeling cut off.

They can show impatience. Because they don’t like to waste time, they’ll cut to the chase and don’t care for a lot of detail or backstory. When handing out results of the DISC Personality Assessment, I try to walk people through the report in a logical sequence. My High “D” folks have already flipped to the back and are ready to move on.

High “D” people may become workaholics. Task accomplishment is primary and relationships often take a back seat. They are driven. Success may be defined as status, titles and public achievements. They push themselves and can go overboard engaging in activities to earn recognition at the expense of other priorities. They are achievers.

Question: Do you know of someone with High “D” traits? No need to name names, but what do you love about them? What frustrates you?

How to Get Constructive Outcomes

To get better results, the Dominant/Directive style leader needs to listen more to others, take time to build relationships, get input, include people in the decision-making process and explain their reasoning.

Since most of us have a secondary style, our High D folks can call on different traits to work better with others. They don’t have to change their personality, but can adapt to use strengths that complement their hard-charging nature.

Half the battle is to become aware of how others see us. Ask more, tell less. Seek out those with opposite styles vs “clones” to join your team. Recognize your definition of success is filtered through your personal preferences and you could get better results by experimenting with another approach.

Final Point

There is no one “best” personality style, but knowing more about ourselves makes it easier to learn what jobs to pursue, why some friendships last longer than others and what we can do to build self-confidence. We also raise our chances of success by better understanding our kids, customers, co-workers, spouses and business partners.

Ultimately, turning the lens inward and building self-awareness turns life into a happier production!

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Please give it a like, comment or share with your followers. I’d really appreciate it since it spreads the information further to those who might benefit from it. Thank you so much! -Laura

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Before you go, consider this…

Want to clarify your strengths, career choices, leadership style, relationship skills, dating preferences, or parenting approach by taking an online DiSC Assessment? Get the profile along with a 40-minute call with me to discuss your results and future decisions. To learn more, visit https://www.lauralollar.com/disc-personality-styles-assessment/