DISC Patterns Explained – Elevated DC Pattern

Elevated DC Pattern

This predominantly U-shaped pattern of individuals who have Elevated Dominance and Compliance factors, and comparatively lower Influence and Steadiness factors, is not especially rare or unusual to find in people.

It is the typical pattern of a highly disciplined and well-prepared individual with a direct and sometimes frank, honest, no-nonsense communication style. This type of individual prefers compartmentalization between their business and personal life. A person with this type of pattern will often be extremely private, preferring to keep personal matters to themselves. This personality tendency might be perceived by others as being distant, unfeeling, overly private, or not sharing in the typical way team members often do.

Charles Barkley is a person whom I have met who has the Elevated D and Elevated C personality.

He was very driven and disciplined in his NBA career while playing basketball. In his personal life, he is very organized and focused. When he returns from trips, the first thing he does is unpack his suitcase. He notices when people set drinks down on the coffee table without a coaster underneath it. He likes everything a certain way and is very dominant about his views on how things should be done. Barkley has opinions on a wide range of issues and toyed with the idea of going into politics so that he could be instrumental in changing the rules that govern how he thinks elected officials should behave and how the country should move forward.

For the Elevated D, Elevated C individual, they tend to be private individuals and guard their privacy as a matter of course.

It is extremely important for them to safeguard what they consider personal information from those they work with until levels of trust between them and the other person are extremely high. They don’t like information to get out about how they think and the rules they prescribe to so that others will not turn this information into tactics to their detriment. This pattern might be reluctant to share even to the detriment of team spirit and camaraderie unless someone explains the consequences of doing so. They will prefer to keep their own counsel, rather than confiding in others, and even when others share such information, they will refrain from revealing their personal information.

As such, they will avoid situations where they will be forced to communicate with other people about private information and they will tend to avoid mixing business with pleasure.

Barkley keeps his personal life and professional life separate. He often leaves work at work and home issues at home. Crossing over either of the two worlds would most likely cause him stress and make him uncomfortable. There are a time and place for everything and he likes them to be separate.

Associated Sub-traits: Opposing Sub-traits

Necessary for Adaptation:

D>i – Efficiency I>d – Friendliness

D>s – Self-motivation S>d – Patience

C>i – Accuracy I>c – Self-confidence

C>s – Sensitivity S>c – Persistence

Elevated DC Patterns are Motivated by:

An Elevated DC individual doesn’t consider it necessary to relate to people on a personal level unless there is a purpose for such communication. They just don’t see this as a high priority or beneficial in any form. Therefore, when they communicate it will primarily be when it is essential. Furthermore, such communication will tend to be specific, brief, well thought out, with a focus on getting the job done, and concisely to the point. Elevated D, Elevated C individuals are highly motivated by efficiencies, personal achievement, and are results-oriented, just as are all Elevated D personalities.

Most of Barkley’s public relations are NBA based. After he retired from playing basketball, he chose to become a sports announcer for major games. His communications are specific and brief, mostly on what he knows, specifically sports tactics and how to best win the game.

The elevated dominance aspect of their personality can be toned down or mitigated by the elevated compliance factor since compliance traits will it compete for attention to detail and necessity for preciseness. If you’ve ever seen a team member who insists on correcting other people’s errors or pointing out flaws in other’s proposals, this is most likely an Elevated DC individual.

So, how would you motivate an Elevated DC individual? As in common with all elevated dominance individuals, these individuals have a burning desire for results, personal achievement, and success. Combine this with the fact that they also must believe the tasks being completed has relevance, value, and will provide a return on investment for their time and effort.

Unfortunately, for managers leading these people, it can be extremely difficult to determine whether they are motivated or not by your leadership.

Although you might be tempted, don’t take this personally. It is difficult to tell whether these individuals become motivated for any particular set of circumstances because they hold so much of their personality is — often not willing to share any of their personal feelings — especially about whether they are emotionally engaged or not; motivated or not.

It will take an astute manager to read the subtle signs which these individuals will display. Look for a willingness to open up about their thoughts and their feelings of success, and when this occurs, take advantage of the moment to delve a little bit deeper.

And don’t forget to give an “Atta boy!”, or “Atta girl!” whenever warranted -, especially in writing. When people they respect show gratitude, they will respond with a warm feeling even if they don’t immediately show it. They will reward you with extra effort if you take the time to say, “thank you!” recognizing their efforts. As an Elevated D, they will most certainly appreciate the recognition it even if they hide their pleasure when receiving it.

Like other athletes, Barkley enjoys good press and recognition for his efforts during major games. Being an athlete, it proves that all his hard work and training paid off and he was successful. Barkley was very popular with fans and media when he was recognized for his good game day skills, his drive to be the best, and to play for the best team, as well as his winning attitude.

Possible Weaknesses for an Elevated DC Pattern:

Unfortunately, the combination of Elevated D, Elevated C factors in this profile can manifest itself as the individual being perceived as highly skeptical or distrustful of other people. If this person is in a situation where they are skeptical or distrusting, they might not share their personal information too easily. Unless this tendency can be curtailed, it often erodes other people’s confidence in the individual and creates a division within a team.

Barkley is very organized in his own home and knows exactly where everything goes. He can get annoyed when he sees that something has moved and gets frustrated when no one owns up to it or puts it right. Barkley has a hawk’s eye for things no longer in their place is not where he put it the last time. He intensely dislikes asymmetry and easily notices that something is not right or out of balance. I have seen him move many things unconsciously to just the right distance apart or to put them in a more harmonious placement. If he doesn’t he is not at peace in his surroundings.

People with this pattern will also have the tendency to correct others, no matter how inconsequential, trivial, or unimportant the error or oversight might appear.

If this behavior is seen as a petty habit, others might discount the person’s ideas even if they have merit. On the flipside, and an effective melding of meticulousness and accuracy with effectiveness, good organizational skill, and competence, can prove to be highly effective, especially if the person’s assertive and forthright communication style enables them to overcome obstacles and persuade others to do the right thing. The consistency and forthrightness of their personality can be a formidable asset — especially when combined with expertise or proficiency. In other words, when they are right, they are right; and when they used this communication style effectively, people sit up and take notice when they speak.

Another example of a person who displayed Elevated D and Elevated C factors was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

FDR made his own rules as to how he thought America should be run. His goal was to make American the Arsenal of Democracy. He launched the “New Deal” to produce relief, recovery, and reform after the Stock Market Crash. This was done how he wanted it done because of his elevated dominance and compliance factors. He wanted to change the way that America lived.

FDR created “The Coalition”, which united labor unions, city machines, white ethnics, African Americans, and rural white Southerners. He also launched the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security. He strove to make huge changes in the United States and created more of his own rules about how the country should be run, all due to his elevated dominance and compliance factors.

Contact details:

HELLEN DAVIS

CEO, Indaba Global Coaching, LLC

Info@indabaglobal.com

Office:  727-327-8777

Founder DISCflex

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