In the movie The Wizard of Oz we all sat glued to the television set while the Scarecrow found his brain, the Tin Man found his courage, the Lion found his heart and Dorothy realized there was no place like home. Creating an award-winning culture in our businesses can sometimes feel like we need a Wizard! Someone behind the magic curtain whispered those words of encouragement that eventually helped us realize what we had all along!
Years ago, if you would have told me that my company would be consistently awarded for the type of culture we created- I might have looked at you as that brainless Scarecrow- wondering what in the heck you were thinking! Why? Because before we implemented DISC (a Wizard-like tool) and a myriad of other adjustments, our culture felt more like the Wicked Witch with her crazy monkeys! (OUCH!) I saw everything through my own point of view and anyone that did not walk, talk or think like me was, in my mind, flawed in some way.
It was not a pretty picture and a happy ending where everyone realized their strengths and truly loved working with and for me- was not in the cards. Perhaps you are seeing some of the results of a workplace culture that is less than inspiring?
- Tardiness
- Lack of Teamwork
- Missed Sales Goals
- Poor Service Levels
- Lack of Inspired Work
- Daily Conflicts
- Turnover
Those are just a few of the symptoms of a workplace environment where some special tool or magic is needed! There is no one size fits all tool that fixes everything but I wanted to share our experience with the DISC Model of Human Behavior and how this tool, in particular, helped our company cultivate an incredible workplace culture.
BEFORE DISC, we had all of the items listed on the checklist above going on in our company and the truth is that a majority of the issues stemmed from my Leadership style. I wanted people to do what I said, how I said it, and as fast as I expected it to be done. There was no room for the fact that every individual was wired differently and had different motivations. I remember thinking why can’t my team just make a decision and get things done?
AFTER installing (more on that later) DISC into our company things started to change. As we followed the proverbial ‘yellow brick road’ we began to see a reduction in staffing challenges, an increase in productivity, and most importantly an increase in engagement. Not only were more things ‘GETTING DONE’ but people were enjoying it and as the business owner- I was not the only one making forward progress.
It takes COURAGE to be who you are wired to be and to recognize different gifts in others. As business leaders, we begin to capture the HEARTS of our team members when we see who they truly are and play to their strengths. We do NOT need a Wizard to tell us how to handle the challenges and the people in our lives and we do not need a special pair of magic shoes to realize that there is NO PLACE LIKE our business to build and create the life we imagine.
Follow the YELLOW brick road to EASE the pain of HIRING & RETAINING HELP! Click here to join us for our FREE DISC workshop, to learn how this tool is a game-changer in attracting, engaging & retaining talent.
