How to Relate Effectively with Others

Relating effectively with others is essential to creating a healthy and productive work environment. To build good relationships with colleagues and employees, one must first undertake introspective work, starting with a self-assessment journey that provides a clear and comprehensive picture of oneself, ambitions, and expectations—the fundamental premise for building a satisfying career.

Identifying behavioral styles also helps manage relationships with others more effectively. By understanding and analyzing these behavioral patterns, one can recognize their own style and that of those around them.

Self-assessment is a crucial step in career planning, as it allows individuals to embark on a path toward a satisfying and fulfilling professional future while promoting a deep understanding of oneself. Through self-assessment, individuals gain greater awareness of their strengths, weaknesses, values, interests, and aspirations. This introspective process aligns career goals with personal characteristics.

Self-assessment also helps identify potential obstacles or challenges that may arise along the way, enabling proactive responses and paving a path that maximizes one’s potential to achieve success and professional satisfaction.

Moreover, self-assessment plays an important role in enhancing self-awareness — a quality more necessary than ever to navigate the complexities of the professional world. By exploring one’s skills, preferences, and motivations, individuals can make informed decisions about their career paths, avoiding poor choices.

Additionally, self-assessment fosters a sense of ownership and accountability in one’s career journey, motivating individuals to take proactive steps to pursue opportunities that align with their authentic selves. In essence, embracing self-assessment as a guiding compass in career planning allows individuals to navigate professional challenges with clarity, confidence, and well-defined goals, charting a course toward fulfillment and success.

Recognizing one’s own behavioral style and being aware of others’ styles can improve relationships in several ways. First, this understanding enhances interaction and communication with colleagues. For instance, knowing a colleague has an analytical style can prompt us to adjust our approach to communicate more effectively with that person.

Identifying one’s predominant style also allows individuals to leverage their strengths, improving workplace satisfaction.

In any work environment, teamwork is essential to achieving desired goals. For this reason, understanding behavioral styles is critical for improving relationships with others.

The diversity of individual behavioral types often presents challenges, particularly for leaders or managers, as cooperation efforts may not yield expected results if various behavioral styles are not properly understood. When this understanding is achieved, however, it becomes possible to adapt one’s behavioral style to improve collaboration and ensure the achievement of shared business objectives.

Starting from the fundamental premise that we are all a mix of the four styles—and that this mix may vary depending on the life stage during which we self-assess, as well as external personal or professional circumstances—here is an overview of the four main behavioral styles based on the DISC model:

a) Dominant

This category includes people who are highly motivated and eager to achieve success. Workers in this category are typically direct, goal-focused, and able to meet deadlines strictly. They possess a strong desire for professional accomplishment and are often quick, efficient, and results-oriented.

For managers or those in leadership positions, managing employees in the “dominant” category involves providing them with challenges, additional responsibilities, and clear goals to keep them motivated and productive.

b) Influential

Individuals with a strong need for social recognition are known for their influential behavioral styles in the workplace. These individuals are generally extroverted, friendly, positive, and communicative, all of which influence others and make them perceived as creative leaders with a valuable ability to maintain a broad vision.

Managing employees with an “influential” behavioral style requires managers and leaders to involve them in key decisions. If possible, assign them projects or tasks that inspire them and allow them to shine, fully expressing their potential.

c) Steady / Stable

People in this category are often the backbone of a corporate team. They may be introverted but always strive to do their best for others. They follow a reliable routine and are kind, friendly, dependable, cooperative, and good listeners.

Managing employees who exhibit this behavioral style involves providing them with a clear understanding of the company’s vision and business goals, while also offering the support they need.

d) Conscientious

People with this behavioral style are often meticulous and precise workers who complete tasks carefully while adhering to budgets and deadlines. Although these professionals are rational, attentive, and highly committed, their self-critical nature can sometimes work against them.

To prevent this, they should be adequately valued by providing them with not only an overall understanding of company goals but also the time and freedom to undertake a self-analysis journey. During this process, they should be encouraged to voice their concerns or doubts, which must be addressed with comprehensive and motivating responses.

The course dedicated to DISC and behavioral styles is designed for entrepreneurs, freelancers, HR professionals, recruiters, salespeople, and managers of corporate teams or departments. It begins with self-assessment and, through practical exercises, progresses to the identification of different behavioral styles, including one’s own, with the ultimate goal of improving relationships with others.