Chapter 16. Groups and Decisions
This workshop corresponds with Chapter 5, “Collaboration.” It enables your team to better understand group dynamics and decisions.
Setup
For a group whose members have all completed the DISC assessment, organize into DISC-homogeneous teams. Create separate teams, combining the D’s, I’s, S’s, and C’s into separate teams based on the element of their profiles that are the most dominant (highest point in the DISC graph).
Give the following problem to each team and examine the unique dynamics of each group as they work to come up with a solution.
When reading the problem to the groups, it’s important to read it just as it is written. This ensures that the problem is described clearly and unambiguously to everyone. Also the final instruction, which asks for the optimal solution, can have an impact on the dynamics of each of the groups when solving the problem.
If you have a group of high C’s, for example, they may solve the puzzle yet strain their brains to find a better solution. A group of D’s, on the other hand, may strive to solve the problem faster than the other groups. (Even though speed was never expressed as a measurement of success.)
Bear in mind that the purpose of the exercise is not about solving the puzzle; it’s about examining the dynamics of each DISC-homogeneous group as they work to solve the puzzle.
It’s possible that some clever team members may introduce solutions that others may believe are “against the rules.” For example, “Geese can swim, so he keeps the goose tied to the boat as he crosses with the fox; then returns for the grain” or “The farmer puts the fox and the grain in the boat, and swims with the goose along-side the boat.” These revelations may be moments of brilliance to some and may be considered cheating by others.
Again, focus on the behavioral dynamics of each group and focus the discussions on why they interacted the way they did and how important it is to maintain awareness of those behavioral tendencies when functioning as a member of a project team.
DISC-Homogeneous Behavior
During the previous group exercise, following are some of the observations you might make:
• D Predominant Group: Most competitive; trying to work quickly to solve the problem the fastest; loudest; multiple people speaking, interrupting one another; very happy if they “win.”
• I Predominant Group: Laughing and having fun; encouraging one another; straying off topic; remaining positive and optimistic.
• S Predominant Group: Relatively quiet and calm; supportive of one another; coming up with the solution as a team; less concerned with speed or winning.
• C Predominant Group: Overanalyzing the problem; relatively quiet; taking a systematic and academic approach to solving the problem.
If you try the exercise with a mixture of behavioral profiles, some are likely to be influenced by others, whereas others are unlikely to be easily influenced. For example, the D’s and I’s will tend to dominate the conversation over the S’s and C’s.
Note that it’s possible that one or more participants may know the solution to the puzzle because they’ve seen it before. When this occurs, it doesn’t necessarily spoil the exercise. It might be interesting to see a D work to convince the other D’s that his/her answer is correct—or to see an S not reveal knowing the answer already in order to allow the others to experience the enjoyment of solving the puzzle. The key to successfully facilitating this exercise is to observe all group dynamics keenly and to discuss those observations when the puzzle-solving portion of the exercise is complete.