Rainbow Thinking is a term that encompasses the ability to champion neural diversity within a team as a means of delivering high performance. In this series of 6 blogs, I'll discuss this in more detail using DiSC® as a tool to highlight our different styles, ways of thinking, approaches to different situations, how we interact with each other. The subject requires more than I can deliver in a series of blogs and so there workshops that can be delivered to bring this to life within your own team. In the meantime, I hope that some of this reasonates with you and your sales management life. Let's look at the first DiSC® style - The D Style.
Sales Leaders have typically been defined by their ability to lead from the front, to have all the answers, make quick decisions, be personally accountable to deliver results and to be personally rewarded. Most sales leader have a strong element of the D Style in the DiSC® model in their character, hired through a job description that prioritises personal dominance, results orientation and action.
About the D Style
D in DiSC® stands for Dominance and a strong D style person prioritises getting immediate results, taking decisive action and challenging themselves and others to get things done. Where a 'D' goes, others are expected to follow, it's 'their way or the highway', and they are fearless at doing what's necessary to reach their objectives. A 'D Leader' will drive the team to make things happen, will make decisions quickly and will be fearless at challenging old ways of doing things and overcoming obstacles to success. Organisations needs D Leaders to get things done especially where difficult and disruptive change is needed and change is critical to the success of the business.
The is the archetypal sales leader style, often depicted as an alpha male white, loud, brash, forceful, etc. I've worked for several sales leaders who were strong D in style but I've known women sales leaders who are also strong D style and in reality this style is not confined to one gender, culture, or colour.
A strong 'D' will get results, but potentially at what cost? At worst an autocratic D will make decisions quickly but won't ensure they included input from people around them, so potentially
it could be a repeat of previous approaches because they have not brought in the creativity and collaborate nature of the 'I' style people in the team. A D leader may find an I style person to be disorganised and a bit 'flaky' - this is a common mistake
It could ignore negative impacts on people, the feelings of the team, their buy-in, aspects which people with a more 'S' style would bring to the process. 'S style people are usually very quiet and reflective and so a strong D risks overlooking or dismissing these important members of the team. A D leader may find an S style person to be weak and very maliable - this is a common mistake
It could be made without enough due diligence and analysis, evaluating all possible options to find the best decision, which the 'C' style people within the team could bring the process. A D leader may find an C style person to be pedantic and negative - this is a common mistake
My Experience
I was part of a leadership team once which went through a DiSC® style assessment and the result was that everyone was heavily ‘D’ weighted. We were all extroverted, go-getter and results oriented individuals, we all got on very well, we worked hard and played hard, we were a mix of men and women. We worked in a challenger vendor so we were the underdogs in a competitive marketplace. We were very successful, but we made mistakes which can be attributed to lack of diversity in outlook. We made decisions fast but without all the facts, so we missed things which we should have captured, we all felt the same about things so we missed alternative ideas and creativity, we made decisions which upset people and did not get buy-in from everyone that was effected.
D Style Leaders
A leader with a Dominant style, can make great decisions and leverage all their positive traits but they need to flex to include diversity of thinking in the team and the each of the team get to contribute. A 'D' Leader therefore needs to temper their desire to steamroller over questioning and dissent to get to a fast decision and take a breath to include the views of those around who have a stake in the outcome, recognise that 'I's can have some great creative ideas, 'S's will really think about wellbeing and people's feelings but may not speak out, that 'C's will analyse all the detail and think about all the implications to get the best decision. So a D Leader who surrounds themselves with people representing the other styles, rather than hiring 'in their own image' will make the best decisions and create a supportive high performance environment which achieves results (the main motivator for a D style person).
D Style Salespeople
Individual contributor salespeople with the D style are typically the high profile, driven by results and commission salesperson, they can often be the lone wolves of the team and have little time for rules and process. They will often be the people on the road the most and with customers for more time than others. They are usually forthright in their opinions and their ego can sometimes get themselves in trouble. They are hard to manage and won't believe that they need much coaching (their results speak for themselves), but helping them to understand that to gain advancement in any organisation will require them to be a more rounded character.
Different types of the D style
Not all people with a 'D' style think the same either, there is a spectrum of colour within this quartile dependent on how influential the other styles are to a person's makeup, and the D quartile is divided into 3 sections, D, DC and Di.
A person who has a strong D style but has strong influence of the C style (DC) is a driven individual but is more detailed oriented, more argumentative, will move quickly and decisively based on accurate data not instinct, and is a person where trust has to be earnt not given. Leaders with a DC style are typically very successful in well established and operationally driven organisations, are often the most accurate forecasters, but can be difficult characters to like or to manage.
A person who has a strong D style but has strong influence of the I style (Di) is a driven individual but will be motivated by new challenges and less structure than a DC, will be impatient and keen to move to action with less data, need creative space, and make decisions with a higher degree of gut instinct. Leaders with a DI style are well suited to start-ups, unstructured environments or environments where higher risk is acceptable.
D Style sales leaders and salespeople are forceful and motivated go-getters who will take action to achieve results. By understanding this and the styles of the rest of the team, they are able to adapt to harness the overall spectrum of thinking and styles of the people around them to achieve the results that so strongly motivates them.
Does the D, DC or Di style ring any bells with you? Who do you know with this style and how well do you relate to them?
If you want to get more specific, I can provide a full individual Workplace Profile for you and one for each of your team, with a team DiSC® map and an individual feedback session for each person. This can be followed by a half day team workshop which is fun, light hearted but informative and impactful.
To find out more, please contact me directly at timhearn@skylark-development.co.uk
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