Book Review & Summary: Taking Flight! Master the DISC Styles to Transform Your Career, Your Relationships…Your Life

Taking Flight! Master the DISC Styles to Transform Your Career, Your Relationships…Your Life by Merrick Rosenberg and Daniel Silvert is a good overview of the DISC Behaviors. It assigns a bird to each DISC style to make them easy to remember. 

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Published: 2013 Date Read: Nov 2020

Who should read this book?

Anyone wanting to improve their communication with others and remember the four DISC styles should read this book.

My thoughts

I have understood the concepts of the DISC styles for several years but could never remember them that well.  By assigning a bird to each, it makes the DISC styles easier to remember.  While the book’s fable is a little corny, it does a good job of giving an overview of DISC and tying a bird to each DISC Type.

Summary & Key Concepts

Part I: The Fable

The first part of the book is a story about birds and how they approach the same problem differently.  In the end, they learn from a chameleon how to communicate and work together by treating others the way they want to be treated.

Part II: The DISC Model

History

Twenty-four hundred years ago, Hippocrates identified four humors, and Aristotle identified four elements.  Variations of four continued over the years, and in 1928, William Marston designated the four DISC styles in The Emotions of Normal People.

The Four Styles

The Dominant D Style - Eagles

D’s focus on achieving results.  They make quick decisions and favor action over planning.  They don’t like to waste time and are assertive, direct, and competitive.

The Interactive I Style - Parrots

I’s have active minds, seek constant stimulation, and enjoy interacting with people and the world around them.  They have fun, infuse positive energy, and are highly persuasive and inspirational. Their free spirit enables them to create out of the box ideas.

The Supportive S Style - Doves

S’s seek to minimize conflict and create calm, safe environments.  They are friendly, compassionate, and empathetic that build loyal relationships.  They favor procedures and patterns that produce consistent and reliable outcomes.  They prefer to support rather than to lead.

The Conscientious C Style - Owls

C’s focus on achieving complete accuracy and make sure things are done properly.  They are systematic, detail-oriented, efficient, and rely on logical analysis of observable, quantifiable information.

People Reading

Once you understand the four styles, you can start identifying other people’s styles by the way they act. After observing styles for a few weeks, you can identify the style of someone you meet in just a few minutes.

Seven Transformative Principles

  1. Understand Your Own Style

  2. Recognize the Styles of Others

  3. Think About Style When Establishing Expectations

  4. Consider Intention, Not Just Behavior

  5. Use Your Strengths but Don’t Overuse Them

  6. Apply the Right Style at the Right Time

  7. Treat Others How They Need to Be Treated, Not How You Need to Be Treated (The “Home Rule”)

Part III: Applying the DISC Styles in Your Life

Overused strengths can be weaknesses, and the book gives specific recommendations on what each style may need to tone down.  DISC is also a great tool for selecting your educational and career path. The book explains the work environments and general job characteristics that match each DISC style. It continues with being mindful of the DISC styles when building a team and how important it is to have each style represented.  Teaching, Coaching, and Parenting can be maximized by understanding your own style when teaching and recognizing others' styles. 

Steps to Tapping the Power of Style in Teams

  1. Educate people about the styles

  2. Identify the style of each team member

  3. Consider the team dynamic that is created by the combination of styles

  4. Identify group strengths and blind spots

  5. Create a strategy to address style imbalances within the team


Overall, DISC is a tool to understand our strengths and avoid overusing them. We can then tune into the styles of those around us to recognize their intentions and treat others the way they want to be treated.

My Personal Take-Aways

November 2020

  • Observe people’s DISC styles and speak in their preferred style

  • As a High I (Parrot), I need to listen more and stay focused on the current task at hand


Resources

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