Believe it or not, your personality not only dictates your behavior, but also the way you teach, the classroom environment you create, and even the results and motivation of your students. The more you understand who you are and the more you learn about behaviors in general, you will become a more “behaviorally intelligent” educator by applying DISC theory in your classroom environment and beyond. Have you ever had a student you just couldn’t seem connect with, no matter what you’ve tried? It may actually be a clash with your personality types, and you simply need to adjust your approach.
Based on how the student reacts to your approach, you could find your own personality beginning to change and adjust to meet theirs with understanding. Easily discover which type of teaching style best relates to your personality type, and how can you apply it to the classroom by first taking your DISC Assessment. Then, read on to learn which of the four DISC personality types or combination of styles resonates with the style of teacher or educator you might be:[…] Read more
The American Psychological Association labels psychological
resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity,
trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as
family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace
and financial stressors.”[…]
Read more
Is your team better at dealing with stressful situations as they are taking place? Or, they are better at “getting over it” once they’ve had time to “cool down?” Psychological resilience is one of the key strengths we should all learn during our lifetime. Let’s take a closer look at how stress affects a team’s resilience and ability to overcome obstacles.
A candidate’s resilience strengths should be taken into consideration during any hiring process, especially when positioning new hires into immediate areas of concern and/or high-stressor environments. Team resilience development can also be applied when optimizing the existing workforce, replicating top performers and developing new leaders from within.[…] Read more
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES ARE PUBLISHED TO THE DISC INSIGHTS BLOG, OWNED BY PEOPLEKEYS.
Jessica is passionate about “people” and helping them to evolve professionally. Her “I-style” personality trait has led her to 15+ years of service to public relations, social branding, and design strategy. In love with technology, business, and career development, Jessica has contributed to a number of online platforms and is a part of PeopleKeys branding team, as well.
Most people enter a relationship thinking “this just might be
the one.” In the very beginning, both people seem to be in-sync, but
over time the combination of differing personalities and communication
issues cause most couples to become out of sync. It’s this moment in
which couples may turn to a counseling service, and understanding their
different personalities is the first step in helping the love birds get
back on track.[…]
Read more
Hiring has always been a two-way process, even though many HR
professionals, coaches, and business owners can be making the mistake of
accepting it as a one-sided road. There is a switch in the hiring
market, and most companies don’t really want to talk about it –
especially when hiring for high-level positions.[…]
Read more
Every hiring manager knows it can be a daunting task to sift
through resumes all day. Many recruiters use a benchmarking process to
narrow down the talent pool and know in advance not only what kind of
background and information they’re looking for, but also the type of
personality best suited for the job at hand.[…]
Read more
Easter is a celebration of rebirth, and is a good time to also
renew relationships by showing people around you your understanding of
their personalities. DISC theory, a universal language of communication,
teaches us everyone has their specific preferences, approaches and
little quirks. This also applies to the types of gifts they enjoy to
receive the most! At Easter, it is a tradition to give a basket to
colleagues, family members and kids as a sign of appreciation. Here are
few ideas you can use for Easter baskets, based on the personality style
of the recipient:[…]
Read more
When it comes to dealing with stress, change and volatile
situations, understanding DISC personality styles and communicating
change in the proper way is always necessary. When you coach against
life changes, a behavioral approach not only builds trust amongst all
involved, but it allows each personality to contribute without the fear
of conflict or confrontation. As we previously discussed in our blog
about coaching life changes for the active personality styles, according
to DISC theory personality styles can be separated into Active and
Passive styles. The active “D” and “I” styles tend to react quickly to
challenges and being stagnant drives them crazy. At the same time – the
passive styles – “C” and “S” are more reserved and slower to accept
change. Your main task as a life coach will be to help them understand
that sometimes taking too much time to process an idea can become
detrimental to progress and counterproductive to the situation. See more
life coaching tips below.[…]
Read more
It’s not always easy to adapt to change, especially if it’s all
happening at once. Sometimes change can be overwhelming. There’s no
guidebook as to how our lives are going to change every step of the way,
and there’s no deadline to prepare for. This is a moment many people
turn to a life coach or a behavioral consultant to guide them through
and support transition. There are a lot of guidelines coaches implement
to help handle transitions and support their clients from point A to
point B. Let’s see how a coaching professional can best utilize the
personality approach to guide change.[…]
Read more
When a client of ours, let’s call him Joseph, took over a
company project, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to turn things around. The
design team had fallen behind over the course of a year and a half. They
were just six months away from the final delivery date originally
committed and had blown through more than half-a-million dollars
originally allocated to the entire project. Yet, there was still nothing
ready to deliver to their client. There was a huge liability sitting on
the table…one that would ruin the company entirely.[…]
Read more
No matter the realm of your operations, you are going to
eventually be working within a team. With a larger group, more
personalities will come to the table – and with a greater number of
personalities, we see an increase of ego, thirst for power,
miscommunication and lack of vision.[…]
Read more
Behavioral selling is presenting your product or service in a
way your customer can relate. Show them benefits, such as how your
product will help them meet their goals or how your service will more
than exceed their expectation. Some clients will want it now – give them
examples and samples.[…]
Read more
Let’s be honest – unless you sell something that is scarce or in high demand, such as power or bottled water in the desert, people may not really care if they’re going to buy from you or someone else. That’s why your approach means everything and understanding your clients will provide the best path to success. People have problems to solve, not products to buy. That’s why a good salesperson will use the proper approach and provide information in the right way to open doors. Let’s look at some common approaches of highly successful sales people to boost your sales.[…] Read more
Have you ever noticed the difference in day-time advertising,
as opposed to the advertising you see at night? Some commercials last
longer at 1:00 PM than they do at 5:00 PM… and there are many variations
depending on the channel. Well, there is actually a reason for that and
it’s not as far-fetched as one might believe. This is part of
behavioral selling, where the way you deliver your message can make the
difference between attracting a new client or losing them before you
even opened your mouth. This same model can be successfully applied to
boost your own bottom line.[…]
Read more
Employers are saving both time and money by implementing tools
for predictive hiring into their regular hiring practices, and to get
past the obstacles met within the initial screening of candidates,
hiring managers have begun applying a number of pre-hire assessments
into final decision-making. These assessments serve as indicators of
what a person may or may not bring to the table, how they will interact
with an existing workforce and how they will perform in particular
environments.[…]
Read more
Every educator deals with a wide range of personalities and
behaviors on a daily basis. There are always some overachievers, as well
as those students who need just a little bit of a push in the right
direction. They require undivided attention, but sometimes are
overlooked. If they are meeting the milestones provided by academic
boards, the educators’ efforts are considered a success. Some students
aren’t given the right support, as an individual, to compete against
their peers academically. Truth is it’s not that they can’t comprehend
what’s being taught to them, as much as it is how they are being taught.
Many of these kids are recklessly thrown into programs and classrooms,
and aren’t encouraged to go that extra mile towards success. See below
for a few suggestions on how to improve this situation.[…]
Read more
We live in a versatile economy. It’s not unusual for companies
to hire on a project-by-project basis or let their employees work
remotely. Thus, they are minimizing overtime pay and overhead, and in
some cases eliminating costs associated with office space or tax laws.
In return, their employees are enjoying a little flexibility, taking on
more than one project at once, and often earning more than they would as
a full-time employee with the company. Remote or temp employees and
project-based managers are in more demand than ever. While many
companies actually have a full-time project management office staffed
with in-house professionals, it’s becoming the norm to hire project
managers that may not ever reach a physical office or those who control
remote teams, globally dispersed around the world.[…]
Read more
One way coaches have been finding new clients – and immediate
success – is through already established channels that allow them to
earn while building their brand from the ground up. Once you get
certified in DISC Behavioral Analysis, you have the unique chance to
start developing multiple streams of income with the application and
expert knowledge of the PeopleKeys DISC system. Gain the insight you
need to begin capitalizing on your knowledge and experience with the
PeopleKeys Business Partner Training and try some of the strategies
below.[…]
Read more
There are many approaches a coach can apply to expand their
coaching network. In addition to gaining online visibility and creating
content for different digital channels, there’s no better promotion than
that earned through word-of-mouth and referrals. As a Certified
Behavioral Consultant, you may and must network within the community and
establish yourself amongst people who may already be familiar with your
previous career, reputation or history. Depending on your personality
style and your internal passions, this type of awareness is up for
interpretation.[…]
Read more
If you build your brand, people will come for you to coach
them. While we’re referencing the movie “Field of Dreams,” as a
Certified Behavioral Coach you will need a strategy to help you gain
momentum, credibility, and increased revenue in a field of your own and
develop your coaching business to the level you want it to be. As we
provide you with a brief insight on brand awareness, social branding,
and public relations tactics, please envision yourself as a brand and
compare these topics to what you are currently doing. Apply these
strategies to your own business and watch your portfolio grow.[…]
Read more
Many coaches get accredited in DISC Behavioral Analysis as a
first step or as a part of their coaching training. Once they complete
their training as a Certified Behavioral Consultant or as a Certified
Behavioral Life Coach, one of the most often asked questions is how do I
reach my potential clients. We, at PeopleKeys, are here to help while
you’re expanding your coaching network. One of the first places you
should start developing your brand is on social media, and here are a
few points for you to consider.[…]
Read more
Many coaches who feel confident providing business expertise in
sales, strategic planning, and growth but are reluctant to venture into
hiring, despite the impact hiring can make in each of these areas.
Could DISC for Hiring be the missing piece of your puzzle for success?
Effective hiring strategies can have an immediate and long-lasting
impact on growth and productivity. Many DISC Certified Behavioral
Consultants are tasked to manage the hiring process of their clients, or
at least provide advice for the best fit (especially for top management
positions). As you are probably quite aware by now, and from your
training with PeopleKeys, DISC system is one of the most effective ways
to gage human behavior and develop improved communications amongst
teams. It’s effective for operations and sales, and it’s definitely
effective in predictive hiring processes.[…]
Read more
Networking can be an uncomfortable feat for many coaches
entering their first few years in business. They’re intimidated by
titles and worried decision-makers are unapproachable. In fact, making
more connections means growing your coaching network and increasing your
potential client outreach. Following up with your network not only
warrants eventual contracts in the future, but it also keeps interested
parties “in the loop.” As your coaching network begins to grow, your
efforts will not go unnoticed. You can build your network by
participating within local chapters and organizations, frequenting
mixers and events, and even socially through sites such as Alignable and
LinkedIn. While we have heard the cliché, “it’s not about what you
know, it’s about who you know,” there is truth to the matter. Here are a
few points to consider:[…]
Read more
Let’s be honest – unless you sell something that is scarce or in high demand, such as power or bottled water in the desert, people may not really care if they’re going to buy from you or someone else. That’s why your approach means everything and understanding your clients will provide the best path to success. People have problems to solve, not products to buy. That’s why a good salesperson will use the proper approach and provide information in the right way to open doors. Let’s look at some common approaches of highly successful sales peopleto boost your sales.[…] Read more
Research by the Harvard Business Review shows that acquiring
top talent could ultimately be the difference between success and
mediocre result. In fact, vetting and positioning incoming talents,
based on strengths and abilities, isn’t always enough. With every
“ying,” there’s a “yang.” Therefore, both are necessary in finding the
right talent for your organization.[…]
Read more
A new year means new opportunities, a fresh start, and new
beginnings. For many organizations, this also means new relationships,
as companies seek to partner with like-minded associates in the
expansion of ongoing business initiatives. Finding the support of new
products, services, and community-based programming can often be a
daunting task. So, forging strategic partnerships can be a godsend, when
teaming up with just the right brand.[…]
Read more
According to Sandy Kulkin, CEO and Founder of PeopleKeys,
“People are different, but they’re predictably different.” They’re
different in the ways they carry themselves, the ways they are
motivated, how they interact with others, how they deal with stress, and
even how they seal the deal. But on the other end of the spectrum, the
various personality types have been prewired in our systems from the
time we were born through our years of “adulting.” The experiences we
encountered in childhood tend to dictate how we deal with stress, and
our trust in others will come from the adversity we have faced over our
lifetime.[…]
Read more
You’ve implemented various strategies, utilizing DISC methods
for sales, leadership, and predictive hiring – but, now what? How do we
gage our performance and determine the results of our efforts? How do we
use these results to improve our business over time?[…]
Read more
You may be surprised but the truth is that anyone can be
successful at sales and you can certainly predict a sales team’s
effectiveness. It may not happen naturally or overnight… It takes is a
little bit of awareness, training, and willingness to adapt to other
personas. While some personalities are natural-born influencers, even
the most driven sales professional will run into clients who are
difficult to read and a little rough around the edges.[…]
Read more
The hiring manager is often undervalued, because the
recruitment process is so complex. Not many realize what it takes to
find qualified talent or how to develop a meaningful hiring process that
proves itself over time. Likewise, Human Resources can also go
unappreciated for their role in employee retention and/or turnover
ratios. Yet, together, these two forces make all the difference in the
world.[…]
Read more
Dr. William Marston developed his DISC theory while at Harvard
University as a method of identifying major human personality traits and
translating them into predictable behaviors. It is true that people can
be predictable, but they are also predictably different. Being able to
read through their personality differences is a key to good
communication and building successful relationships, partnerships,
families… Have you determined your DISC personality, yet? If not, the
DISC Personality Profile will take you about 10 minutes to complete and
get a full report of your combined personality style.[…]
Read more
Active listening is an interpersonal skill that every top
professional needs. No matter if you are a business professional, sales
person, executive coach or business consultant, active listening is an
essential part of utilizing your knowledge of human behavior. It allows
us to take both verbal and non-verbal cues from clients and begin to
understand their every need.[…]
Read more
Continuing our series on global expansion by utilizing DISC, we
already reviewed the importance of DISC for strategic planning and
applying behavioral analysis for hiring and teambuilding in part 1, and
focused on some strengths of the different personality styles for
business development in part 2. In addition, we must understand that
some countries are more family-oriented than others. These cultures may
be friendlier, ambitious and centered on people. Other cultures can be
more impersonal – especially in business. They want to know numbers,
there is very little eye contact and they can be somewhat aggressive.
Short and to-the-point, we need someone to present them with the facts,
while onboarding them for ongoing business initiatives. In addition, see
also How do DISC styles vary by country.[…]
Read more
Once we begin to expand into new territories, we need to really
do our due diligence to understand the local communities, traditions,
business practices, and hierarchy. We need to position our leaders,
based on the needs of businesses in outside cultures. Keeping our teams
integrated by hiring locals will eliminate much of our burdens in the
marketplace. Keeping our teams happy will build trust in nearby
territories. Together, we can position our brand for greatness and
eliminate cultural discrepancies in the process. In Part 1, we discussed
why DISC theory is important to globalization and gave few tips and
tricks for teambuilding & interaction with “the locals,” and here we
will continue to dig further in utilizing DISC in your global
expansion.[…]
Read more
Tariffs aside, globalization is here to stay. With the
evolution of technology, our world gets smaller and smaller. Likewise,
even the smallest business is now able to reach territories further and
further away. This means connecting with people and authorities of all
cultures, some that you may not yet be familiar with. But how do you get
along with people that can be so different? Here’s a simple answer –
DISC has always been a tool to understand people and predict their
behaviors. We can fairly state that DISC is the international language
of human behavior and no matter of cultural differences, DISC
personalities speak the same language.[…]
Read more
As many organizations are finalizing year-end strategies and
developing next year’s business plans, others have already taken a
running leap into 2019 with iron-clad initiatives for growth and
expansion. No matter which phase of strategic planning you are in,
please don’t forget that “people” are our most significant investment
and that our businesses are defined most effectively by our workforce.
According to Human Resources Today, the macrotrends for workforce
optimization in 2019 are dominated by record-low rates of global
unemployment. Simply said, this means that workforce optimization, in a
tight labor market, must be a top priority for any business entering the
new year.[…]
Read more
Are you ready to listen, yet? As we enter 2016, our social media strategies had better include social listening. Otherwise known as brand monitoring, brands have been finding added value in social media by paying attention to what their enthusiasts have to say.
Whether seeking validation for our future marketing campaigns or
looking to improve product delivery, brand monitoring has been
benefiting brands across the web for some time now. Business 2 Community
recently broke down ten ways social listening can benefit your
business. As brands improve the customer experience, we need to improve
our customer service strategies, as well. How else can we improve
customer service without getting to know our customers intimately?
In early 2015, a telecommunications company (name withheld) lost many
customers who were no longer locked into a two-year agreement, thanks
to horrible customer service techniques. Not only did their service fall
short of expectation, but they faced multiple overcharge and device
failure – gaining the brand a bad reputation.
In many cases, refunds were in order for customers spending hours of
talk time with customer service, repeating their nightmare to
representatives, while pleading to be heard. They often received no
follow-ups and were therefore never refunded.
As one of the top three service providers in the United States, they
began losing the favor of a loyal fan base. On top of this, potential
customers wanted no part of what the brand had to offer. We saw botched
marketing campaigns. ROIs suffered.
Social media can be a son of a gun when it comes to marketing to the
masses. Every campaign initiated via social media was flooded with
negative feedback. Social commenting and storytelling put the brand into
overtime and urged them to hire a cloud contact center that could fix
their painful dilemma.
Per one negative comment, a minimum of two positive comments must be
made to dissuade public opinion. In fact, a “no comment” is better than a
negative comment. Negative commenting can bring irreparable damage to a
brand via word of mouth experiences.
The brand didn’t listen to begin with. Social media led to further
damage. But, when it was adopted as a tool, this brand found the power
of social media to be beneficial in repairing their image. It totally
turned around the experience for millions of customers, who have since
been returning to the network and bringing friends and family with them.
Once the brand began listening, they publicly showed concern with the
customer experience – earning back brand trust, bit by bit. They also
learned what can be done to improve their brand and what the customer
needs.
They learned that towers weren’t feeding devices the way that they
should be; and customers were paying for services that they weren’t
receiving. They learned that existing contracts with television
providers were causing damage to service potential. This led to
expedited contracts in fulfilling service plans. They were going to
continue losing customers and owe for unfulfilled servicing of their
plans.
Because of social media, they were able to identify common issues
amongst a network of users. They also learned that their outsourced call
centers weren’t living up to the expectations that they once had.
They avoided a PR catastrophe by simply listening. They were
protected against competitors, who could easily capitalize off of their
weaknesses. With a website that showed nothing but ways a customer would
benefit from service, the full picture was gained through social media
access. Competitors monitoring this brand could have easily intercepted
customers by enacting social listening strategies and jumping into the
conversation.
Listening and intercepting the conversation halted “bad mouthing” to
friends and family, further allowing the brand to dissuade the
conversation. They now control that conversation. This has allowed them
to gain new customers. Positive experiences continue the flow of
incoming sales leads for the brand and has been the turning point in
major decision-making.
Since this experience, this company has become extremely social
savvy. They have been showing appreciation for their consumer bases,
making them feel special through social sharing of user-generated
content and by joining in the fun with memes that their customers can
appreciate.
They have been able to leverage key advocates and supporters,
influencing new audiences for the better. With new product and service
lines, plans have been maximized to better meet customer needs and
provide consumers with the exact product that fits their lifestyles…
especially those niche lifestyles… all of which lead to brand tenure and
continued loyalty.
Social listening is very important and needs to be implemented
immediately. If you’re not engaging in some form of brand monitoring in
2016, you will most likely fall behind.
You know, there is a law that you should
ALWAYS be responsible to uphold. As a Marketer, there will always be
projects that come your way. Many of those projects will be more
lucrative than others. But, what will you do with those offers? Do you
accept them or not?
As a Marketing Expert, it is your responsibility to act responsibly for your brand. As you recall from previous articles, your company and clients aren’t the only brands you should be worried about.
YOU are a brand. As a matter of fact, YOU ARE what they call BrandYOU.
In accepting gigs, please pay attention to the “Law of Quality.” This doesn’t mean that the product has to be quality. But, the morale behind it should also be quality.
Who and what is this product benefiting and why? Does it relate to your branding structure? For example, you work on mostly Non Profit projects and projects for churches and religious groups. But, you have a very lucrative “adult” project thrown in your direction. Do you take it?
You have to understand that any project you work on will affect your name, as your brand is your name and is attached to all that you work on. Your client base, and even competitors, will become responsive to your releases and contributions.
Word often spreads. Will your accepted projects take from the brand you have created? If you are a “Sports Marketer,” but do projects for a cosmetic company, you can never be called THE (with an emphasis on the “e”) Sports Marketer, because now you show no specific niche. Who is your specific target market?
While it is important to act responsibly for your brand’s sake, this does NOT mean to turn down gigs as they come to you. This actually means the opposite.
Why not build a portfolio in another niche? Wait? Did I just say that? How can you build a portfolio in another niche without confusing your expertise amongst audiences?
Easily! Check this out:
1. Choose an Alias/Penname and establish a “Doing Business As” Business Entity through your local government.
2. *Optional* get an EIN and bank account related to that name — unless you are okay with your current being used.
3. Alternatively, sign Non Disclosures with the firm/client seeking business with you to mask business between entities.
4. Accept the business and do it as a “side project” keeping your name off of it.
5. Choose to work at a higher rate and give credit to the person hiring you.
6. Network with others in your industry. Collect a “finder’s fee” and hand off clients. Most will return the favor!
It’s as simple as that! Keep your
brand’s best interest at mind and the archetype specific. Don’t be a
“jack of all trades, master of none!” Good luck!
