Remember the last time you held a team meeting and noticed some team members were fully engaged while others seemed disconnected? Or perhaps you’ve experienced that frustrating moment when your carefully crafted message landed perfectly with one staff member but completely missed the mark with another?
You’re not alone. As a manager, I’ve often defaulted to communicating in the way that I prefer, only to realize that most of my team members have very different communication styles. It’s a bit like speaking English to someone who better understands German – the message gets lost in translation.
But what if there was a way to decode these communication preferences and have an AI-powered coach helping you get it right? Let me share how we’re using AI to enhance our team communication, starting with a tool called DISC profiling.
What exactly is DISC?
For those new to DISC, think of it as a personality GPS that maps four key behavioral traits:
- D (Dominance): How you respond to challenges and take action
- I (Influence): How you interact with and influence others
- S (Steadiness): How you respond to change and your preferred pace
- C (Compliance): How you deal with rules and procedures
Each team member has their own unique blend of these traits. Some might be high ‘D’ personalities who want you to cut to the chase, while others might be high ‘S’ types who need time to process changes. There’s no right or wrong profile – just different styles that can become superpowers when understood and leveraged correctly.
Turning AI Into Your Communication Coach
Here’s where it gets interesting. Once you have your team’s DISC profiles, AI can help you in three powerful ways:
- Meeting Design Before your next team meeting, feed the DISC profiles into your AI tool along with your meeting objectives. It can help you structure the meeting to cater to different communication preferences. For instance, it might suggest starting with detailed data for your high ‘C’ team members while ensuring you include interactive elements for your high ‘I’ profiles.
- Real-time Meeting Analysis Remember how I’ve mentioned using AI to record and transcribe meetings? Now imagine combining that with DISC profile analysis. The AI can analyze how well your communication style matches each team member’s preferences. It’s like having a business coach sitting in every meeting.
- Personalized Communication Planning For one-on-one interactions, AI can help you tailor your approach based on each team member’s DISC profile. It’s particularly valuable when you need to discuss challenging topics or implement changes.
Getting Started
The best part? You don’t need to be an AI expert or a behavioral psychologist to implement this. Here’s what you need:
- Get your team’s DISC profiles done (there are many providers in New Zealand who can help with this – here’s who we use.)
- Choose an AI tool that can analyze communication patterns (most leading AI platforms now offer this capability)
- Start small – perhaps with one-on-one meetings first, then expand to larger team communications
The Results
In our business, this approach has helped us turn team diversity into a strength. Instead of hoping our message sticks, we’re now able to communicate more effectively with each team member in a way that resonates with their natural style.
Think of it as having a personalized communication expert who knows exactly how each of your team members prefers to receive information. The result? Better engagement, clearer communication, and a more effective team overall.
Want to learn more about how we implemented this in our business? Get in touch – I’d be happy to share our experience in more detail.
