Can We Talk About the Numbers and the Details, Please?

Years ago, we built a facility – our home and our office in one building. As you can imagine, the details and decisions were relentless. We had an excellent architect as well as a fabulous builder who used top quality workmen. But the decisions came down to me and my husband. As a High D & C, his approach was to focus on the numbers and details and make the decisions NOW. As a High I and S, and a visual person, my approach was to see the options on paper, draw over the architect’s drawings, look at options, then carefully weigh our decisions before making them.

It became critical to understand and respectfully work with our separate Styles to end up with the facility we wanted.

So let’s look at our last DISC Style’s Communication tendencies. Remember – this Style describes our detail people who love numbers,  accuracy and systems.

How the C-Style Prefers to Communicate:

• Sincere – they usually aren’t playing any games or using any drama – just straightforward and honest
• Cautious – they don’t like to jump right into the discussion or a decision (unless their stronger Style is a D)
• Demand accuracy – this is of foremost importance and forms the basis of their communication
• Discuss details – the accuracy is all in the details and the more these are discussed and understood, the better the communication will be

As a High I, when faced with relentless details and numbers, my brain shuts down, my eyes glaze over, and my decision-making skills become worthless. So we have had to learn how to put all those numbers and details into a visual format. I’ve come to LOVE charts! They organize the details and numbers and make sense of them. And they certainly make it easier for me and my husband to clearly communicate and make decisions.

Next week, we will start a series looking at how each Style is best motivated and demotivated. This understanding can be KEY to living and working with others whether parent to child, doctor to patient, or employer to staff.

QUESTION: Do you tend to be the Style that loves discussing numbers and details? Or are you more the Style who glazes over when faced with innumerable details? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.