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When two employees collaborate on a project, their varying pace and priorities can collide. One employee may push for fast decisions, while the other prefers to take their time. This difference in approach can lead to less productive conversations, derailing motivation and impacting team dynamics. It can quickly turn into a much larger issue.
However, conflict can be helpful in understanding one another. When leaders apply the DiSC® framework, their teams can turn conflict into an opportunity for better communication and stronger collaboration. Conflict then becomes the gateway to innovation.
The DiSC® model is less of a personality quiz and more of a leadership lens. It helps explain how employees have natural workplace tendencies and preferences that affect how they interact with one another. Through this model, conflict is not about competence or attitude. It is just about behavioral wiring.
To turn conflict into greater collaboration and connection, you must understand why and how these collisions happen. Explore how DiSC® styles influence conflict and the strategies for navigating them.
DiSC® styles do not clash randomly. They clash along specific fault lines, caused by differences in priorities, pace, communication style, risk tolerance and need for detail. Conflicts are inevitable, but they’re also predictable. Understanding the four DiSC® personality types helps identify the common causes of workplace conflict.
Some pairings may increase the risk of these clashes. There are four high-friction DiSC® pairings to be aware of and their potential impact:
High-D individuals are direct, fast-paced and results-oriented, while high-S individuals tend to be calmer and more methodical. The two often clash due to their communication styles and pace.
In practice, a D-style individual demands immediate decisions, but that could leave an S-style employee feeling rushed and overwhelmed. They prefer time to consider any implications to make more informed and low-risk decisions.
The two create a cycle of false agreement. The S employee silently withdraws to avoid conflict, which could lead to hidden resentment. From the D leader’s perspective, their trust in the S employee erodes. They may view the silence as incompetence.
High-i individuals tend to be social, energetic and spontaneous. They often prefer creative freedom. Pair that with a high-C individual who is logical and precise with a strong belief in rules, and conflict can manifest.
For instance, when working on a report, an i-style team member wants to brainstorm and gloss over the details to maintain enthusiasm. However, the C-style member may feel disorganized and that the i-style co-worker is too casual and focuses more on socialization than on the task at hand.
This dynamic stalls innovation. The i-style employee can feel micromanaged by the C-style employee’s constant questioning. The i feels unheard, yet the C feels they’re the only ones doing “real” work. Ultimately, the result is a fractured team with lost credibility.
While high-D and -C individuals are task-focused, they often become frustrated by their differing approaches to completing tasks. D’s want fast results, but the C’s want high-quality results. Essentially, their values differ.
Their conflict can realize where a D-style leader tells a C-style employee to “just get it done” to meet a deadline. The C employee doesn’t want to make any errors and insists on taking their time during quality assurance. That can leave the D leader impatient with the slow pace. However, the C employee can become more defensive and critical of the D leader’s lack of attention to detail and quality.
A high-stakes power struggle between speed and quality can result. There may be malicious compliance, in which the C employee documents every possible risk to prove the D leader wrong, rather than collaborating toward a solution.
High-i and -S individuals also share a similarity. They’re both people-oriented. Even so, they do experience conflict among themselves. Their collisions manifest through i’s high-energy versus S’s cautious nature.
A scenario could involve an i-style employee who seeks social interaction, interrupting an S-style employee. The high-energy environment can overwhelm high-S employees or disrupt their routine. Yet, the high-i employee may see their S team member as overly reserved or resistant.
It’s a cycle of energy asymmetry. The i’s need for interaction drains the S’s need for focus, leading them to physically withdraw from the conversation. There’s a feeling of passive resistance between them.
See collisions as data, not drama. They signal to leaders that an adjustment is needed to drive better outcomes. As such, leaders’ job is not to “fix” their teams’ personalities, but to bridge the gap between them.
Here are five actionable strategies for leaders when managing DiSC®-style conflict.
It’s the leaders’ responsibility to understand team DiSC® styles in advance if they want effective conflict resolution. Having a team map allows leaders to:
With the map of DiSC® styles laid out, leaders can anticipate potential friction points and preplan accordingly. Conflict will happen in some shape or form, but you can prevent it. If you know that a D-style and an S-style employee will work together, you can set the ground rules for pace and priorities before the project starts.
Empower your team members by informing them about their own and each other’s DiSC® types. By knowing another team member’s rhythm, they can be more flexible and better understand the cause of the conflict.
A D-style team leader can adjust their fast-paced rhythm to a slower pace when interacting with their team to show support and consider the human impact of their decisions. A C-style member can try balancing their perfectionism with efficiency to consider the bigger picture when working with i’s or D’s.
Leaders can also create conflict checkpoints. This strategy forces team members to pause and step outside their natural tendencies. It switches them from reactive engagement to proactive engagement.
Team leaders can schedule regular friction checks in a comfortable environment to address issues early before they escalate. It’s a strategy that is highly effective for managing the avoidance tendencies of specific DiSC® profiles, such as S-types, or the bluntness of D-types.
During high-tension situations, keep the following interaction do’s and don’ts in mind, regardless of DiSC® style.
Do:
Don’t:
Remember that the goal is productive conflict, not zero conflict. When managed right, the D encourages the S to move faster, and the S saves the D from reckless errors. With understanding and managing your team’s DiSC® profiles comes trust, connection and productivity.
That said, this synergy doesn’t happen by accident. It requires shared language to decode the friction. At The Center for Leadership Studies, our Leading With DiSC® course equips leaders to recognize value differences to meet their team’s specific needs.
Connect with us online to learn more about how your organization can level up its communication and leadership skills.
