DiSC Training Exercise: Adapting Your Management Style

Here's an effective role-playing exercise that helps managers learn to adapt their management style to meet the needs of employees.

DiSC Training Materials

• Everything DiSC Management Profile - one per participant
• Everything DiSC Management Interaction Guides

DiSC Training Pre-Work
Have each participant complete their Everything DiSC® Management Profile prior to the training, and let them know they’ll receive their report during the training session. **When assigning access codes in your EPIC Account, make sure your participants cannot view their reports upon completion.

Setup The Training Exercise

Tell the group they're going to practice adapting their DiSC® styles to meet the needs of employees with different DiSC styles. In pairs they'll practice having one-on-one conversations with employees with different DiSC styles. Have the pairs choose from the following list of situations:

1. The employee successfully completed a long-term project
2. It’s time for the employee’s yearly performance review
3. There has been an organizational change in procedure
4. There is a conflict going on between the employee you’re talking to and another employee
5. The employee is being promoted
6. You’re asking the employee to take the lead in a last-minute project
7. You’re letting the employee know that you’re adding a new team member, and team members’ responsibilities will be shifting
8. The employee doesn’t appear to be enjoying work
9. You received a phone call from a customer who raved about the employee’s great customer service
10. You received a phone call from a customer who complained about the employee’s customer service

Ask participants to consider their natural DiSC management style and tendencies. Using the information found in their Everything DiSC Management Profile and Everything DiSC Management Interaction Guides, have them practice adapting their style to employees of all four DiSC styles.

Large Group Training Debrief

Ask a few people in the group to share what they learned from the Everything DiSC Management activity.

Encourage each manager to take what they learned into their real management relationships, and adapt their style to meet the needs of their employees. Remind the managers that they may need to adjust a little more after their first try. Coach them to take some time to reflect and take notes on what worked and what didn’t, so they'll have maps of how to work best with each employee.

Share Your Ideas
Where do you think this activity would be especially useful? Submit additional role-playing topics using the comments link below.