AbstractTeam C was requested to complete three self-assessments individually and report back to the team with his or her results.
Based on the outcome of each individual??™s DISC Assessment, the assignment was to prepare a plan designed to increase the motivation, satisfaction, and performance of the team in a business setting. Differences in attitudes, emotions, personalities, and personal values as well as how these differences can influence the behavior of the team will also be discussed. This paper will also reveal how individual differences can influence the team positively.
? Creating a Plan for Positive InfluenceThe job of a manager is to accomplish things through others in the workplace. To do this, the manager has to motivate employees, provide employee satisfaction, and encourage good employee performance. Motivation is defined as ??? the processes that account for an individual??™s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal??? (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 186).
Motivation includes positive reinforcement, effective discipline, treating others fairly, satisfying employee needs, rewarding positive job performances, and setting work-related goals. Employee satisfaction is determined by measuring how happy a worker is with his or her job and the working environment. Morale among workers can be a tremendous benefit or detriment to a company; therefore, managers and leaders should try to create a positive working environment. Teams are defined as a group of individuals who interact with each other to achieve a common goal or purpose. Teams should consist of members who complement each other in a way to maximize their strengths to obtain a specific goal.
Increasing a team??™s performance depends on knowing each team member??™s strengths and weaknesses, showing him or her that his or her work is valued and that the leader is trustworthy. The leader should be able to empower him or her to make some decisions and reward the team??™s efforts, especially if the team is successful. Different personalities on a team can also affect job motivation, satisfaction and performance. Behavior InfluencesBehavioral assessments play a critical role in ensuring high employee performance. According to Guerci (2009), some of the benefits of behavioral assessments are determining strengths and weaknesses, team building, finding the right fit for a job, creating a supportive work environment, and motivating employees. Learning Team C consists of five women and one man.
The DISC assessment revealed each team member??™s predominate behavior style as follows: two members were dominance, two members were interactive, one member was steadiness, and one member was cautious. The dominance and interactive styles are both fast-paced whereas the steadiness and cautious styles tend to be slower-paced. Management??™s recommendations to increase motivation, satisfaction, and performance are based on these observations.
Because the dominance style tends to make quick decisions and the cautious style wants to analyze situations prior to making a decision, both behavior styles will need to make adjustments in his or her style to become adaptable. For the dominance style members, management will encourage them to follow rules, explain their decisions so others will understand, and help them encourage other team members. For the interactive style members, management will assist them with prioritizing, encourage them to express their ideas and help them make decisions in a timely manner, and provide feedback in the form of positive reinforcement. Management will challenge the member with the steadiness style to take risks, express her ideas openly, find different ways to do things, and compliment her often. Management will assist the member with the cautious style by encouraging her to share her knowledge with others, set deadlines and stay on course, and help her to be less critical by letting her know it is acceptable to make a mistake. According to Yukl (2006, p. 201), ??? emotional intelligence is another important trait for effective leadership.
Emotions are strong feelings that demand attention and are likely to affect cognitive processes and behavior.??? The members of Team C scored close to forty or higher in this area, which suggests a high emotional intelligence while their values and attitudes score varied in range on job satisfaction. ??? The most important thing managers can do to raise employee satisfaction is to focus on the intrinsic parts of the job, such as making the work challenging and interesting??? (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.
93). Success in business and life depends on a person??™s attitude and how he or she handles lifes challenges and opportunities. Teamwork, collaboration, good communication, positive attitudes, and adaptable personalities help motivate people, develop greater self-confidence and increase self-esteem.
All of these traits combined provide a solution for success in the business world as well as a person??™s personal life. ? ReferencesGuerci, J. (2009). Behavioral assessments and employee performance.
Retrieved on January 30, 2010, from website: http://discassessment. org/Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A.
(2007). Organizational behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
