Licensee Badge
Submitted by summer on
in

Forums

I want to share something with you about my experience with the DISC profile approach and also the latest series on High ... Manager Downfalls.

When I got promoted into a management position a year ago, one of the first thing I realized was: Before, when I was in a purely technical position, I was really proud of myself when I could solve a technical problem faster than anyone else. But now, if I would solve such a problem myself, then there's no added value from me (I didn't actually learn anything new) and it is actually bad for the team. Because it would mean that no one from my team had the opportunity to tackle this problem (i.e. to do their job). I would actually deprive them of either an opportunity to learn something or to feel the joy of achievement. Moreover, the time I spent on the problem is time I am not spending on the work I should do, which is at least coaching my team members 

So I really enjoyed listening to the High C Manager Simple Downfall. I still remember vividly how I struggled to live happily with the thought that "not the way I would have done it" works just fine and actually even better for the team as a whole.

I knew I am a high C from the first time I heard Mark and Mike explaining the DISC profile 2 years ago (later confirmed by the first DISC profile test I took). I could also easily recognize the high D's and high I's, but I never really understood what a high S person would be like. The typical example that Mark gave about  Mother Theresa didn't ring any bells.

That is why 2 months ago I was quite surprised  when I took another DISC profile test and 3-2-7-6 came back as a result. The explanation and description given in the DISC profile report was understandable and recognizable but still ....

Then I listened to the High S Manager Simple Downfall yesterday and ... oh my god, those are the exact the words I am using - I don't want to overburden my team"  - "I don't want to overstress X, he is already heavily charged", etc etc. I knew I was probably not delegating enough, I also knew that it was no longer because I don't trust the other's work, but I didn't realize fully that overprotecting the team was an equally bad reason for not delegating.

While listening to Mark and Mike and their recommendations, slowly an idea formed - yes I could ask X to do this - I could delegate a part of what I'm doing now to him. It would give him the opportunity to grow in his current role and be prepared when we are facing another reorganization.

So today I followed through with that idea during the scheduled one-on-one. I used the delegation model and (as is usually the case with MT recommendation) the result was really positive. He gladly accepted the new responsibility and actually mentioned that it would be his first time and he really looks forward to learning something new that would be very useful for his future career.

Thank you MT!

paffett1069's picture

So that explains it, I've become a High S without even noticing.  I've always been a High C and never delegated enough. At first it was because I wanted to make sure it was done right and now it is because I don't want to overtask my team.