Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
And welcome to the Bottom Line Me podcast. I'm your host, Ann Allard. Today we're going to dive into something that affects all of us, no matter what role we play on a team, and that is communication.
And I'm really excited about today's conversation because my guest is isn't just someone who interacts with a wide variety of people. She's also a colleague of mine. I get to communicate with her on a daily basis. Lucy Miller recently completed a Taking Flight with DISC workshop. And that experience helped her to really become more aware of what her natural preferences were and how she communicates based on her own style. She also learned how she could easily recognize the styles of others and, and that not everybody communicates the same way.
And now she can identify other people's styles and she's able to adapt her approach to meet others communication preferences. And what she's found is it creates a more productive and more human conversation with her colleagues. So I am very excited to welcome you today, Lucy. It's great to have you join me on the podcast. So before we get started, do tell our audience a little bit about yourself.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be on the podcast. I've been a listener for a while, so it's exciting to be behind the camera.
So I joined, I joined Autorubic in September of last year. So I've only been here for a little about a half of a year, which it feels like a lot longer. Before this, I worked at a title company in dc, Maryland and Virginia for about two years. And then before that I was an English teacher for about seven. So I've had quite a bit of experience communicating with a lot of different people.
But DISC has certainly opened my eyes to ways that I can improve. So I'm excited to talk about it today.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, yeah, let's talk about your first impression.
I think you told me when we were talking that this was the first time you were introduced to a DISC model.
Am I correct in that?
[00:02:20] Speaker B: So I've taken, you know, the personality type quizzes like, you know, whenever you're in middle school and you take the personality quizzes to see you know more about yourself. But I've never taken one that was actually able to gauge who I am and how I communicate. And I was given insight that, yeah, you know, I kind of had an aha moment where I was like, I really do react like that at these situations. Maybe that is why people are responding to me in this way. You know, in Instances where you're talking to others, you think, am I going crazy? Is my mic on? Is no one hearing me? And then you realize, realize, huh, maybe it's because of the way that, that I'm framing things.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: Yeah. So I guess that's what grabs your attention at first. That's what I was going to ask you about, but with, you know, and so there was probably a moment that you thought, ah, this is going to be really helpful or useful to me. Talk a little bit about that.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
So I am the owl, predominantly the owl style. So for those of you who aren't familiar with discs, that is the style who is extremely focused on the details, getting all of your T's crossed and your I's dotted before you proceed.
So, you know, we are typically the perfectionist in the bunch.
And my kind of aha moment was realizing that, you know, I think that I'm being a perfectionist and I'm making sure that everything's really, really good before I move forward. But those in different styles, such as, you know, Anne's stylus of eagle, she might perceive that as me, you know, maybe beating a dead horse or, you know, overanalyzing, taking too much time with something.
And so it, it kind of made me realize the way that others perceive me. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: It's fun, isn't it? Once you really begin to recognize how you communicate and then when you can identify or figure out how another person likes to communicate, it really is a game changer. I think. So, you know, so let me ask a little bit more about that.
How do you think that understanding your own style has changed the way that you might approach a conversation, particularly at work?
[00:04:30] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, you and, you and I, Ann, we collaborate on a few different projects. And something that I have noticed that will allow for a more productive conversation is if prior to us meeting, I've already kind of thrown the spaghetti on the wall, see what sticks. I've gone through the details. I figured out what I want for my approach to be that I can then present to you and say, you know, here's what I've thought about, here's what I think is the best approach. And then you can either let me know, yeah, that's great, let's do it. Or I don't know about that, let's change this one part, but the rest is good. So instead of, you know, making you sift through those details and go around and around with me about what the best approach is, instead, you know, I'm able to bring that plan to you of, hey, here's how we can accomplish this thing. What do you think? Because ultimately, for the eagle style, you know, that's what's necessary. I still get to go through the details, which is something that I have to do, but I don't have to drag you through that process with me. So that's one of the approaches that I found.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: Ex. You know, it's funny, I'm thinking, you know, probably meetings you have with me are very short, and we. We just get right to the bottom line or to. But if you're talking with someone that is probably more your style, I bet those meetings are a lot more detailed and they go a lot longer. Talk a little bit about that.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: Yeah, so. So one of. One of our mutual colleagues who I work with on a lot of other projects. It's really interesting because whenever she and I are in meetings, we will go through every single detail and we will comb through every hypothetical. We'll say, well, what if this happens? What's going to be our approach? Well, what about this thing? Or, let's make a plan for this item, or let's review this email together and let's sift through it. And sometimes we will joke and we'll say, man, if Anne were in this email, she would have left 20 minutes ago because this is just way too detailed. But there will be some times, you know, after we realize that we've gone around and around about, you know, maybe a topic and we can't really break through and come up with a solution, we then realize, actually, let's bring in Ann or let's bring in, you know, someone who has more of that equal personality. So they can say, listen, you know, here's the perspective that I'm seeing, and here's what I would do to basically cut to the bottom line. And then it helps me kind of get jarred out of that cyclical nature that owls can get stuck in, because we want it to be perfect, we want it to be the best. But then if you bring an eagle in who, you know, wants to get to that end goal, then the eagle is able to say, you know, here's the approach. Cut all the rest of the stuff. Here's what we need to do. And it helps break. Break it up a little bit.
Yeah, yeah.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: And, you know, I think going through the workshop, you may recall that there's one section in it where the workshop goes through the team dynamics and that there's. There's no best personality style on a team that, you know, a well Balanced team probably has some of every style because you need, you need the person like me that's going to say, let's get to the, you know, get to the objective here. You need the person like you that's going to poke holes into things, but we also need somebody that's going to bring a little energy and excitement and somebody else is going to say, let's make sure that we're, you know, we're taking care of everything and everybody. So you talk a little bit about what it's like to be on this team, you know, you probably, well, you know what everybody's style is. But just being aware of that. Do you think that's changed the dynamics of how you communicate with this team or how this team communicates with each other?
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And I think, I think the key to remember here, you know, whenever, whenever I like to approach conversations knowing bird styles is not that we're trying to change ourselves to make ourselves, you know, easier for others to interact with. It's to ensure that we're maximizing productivity and efficiency within that conversation. So I will approach conversations with others differently. But that being said, I still make sure that my, my needs are being met as an owl. So for example, if I am working with, you know, an eagle, I will do some of that heavy detail lifting, which I'm happy to do because I enjoy the details. But then, you know, in that meeting I might say, okay, here's, you know, here's the approach. But can you help me sift through a few of these lingering questions that I have? And while that might not necessarily be, you know, the, the first choice of an eagle to go through those details, it helps us kind of meet halfway. Right. I've done a lot of this heavy lifting. Now can we discuss these things? But for that eagle, I am going to come in with, you know, a lot of those details eliminated.
For a dove, which I am part dove. And for those of you who don't know, a dove is going to be somebody who is very concerned with others emotions, how everyone's feeling. They're kind of the peacemaker.
Yeah. If I'm approaching another dove, it's, it's pretty easy. Just because I'm kind of half and half, half owl, half dove. Even though I kind of claim owl a little bit more than, than the dove for, for a dove, I might make sure that I'm checking in with them first saying, you know, how do you think this went? Or what were your initial thoughts on, on this project? Or you know, what was kind of what was kind of the main thing that, that stuck out to you. Just so that we can, from the get go, I can let them know that their opinions will be heard and valued so that they might feel more comfortable moving forward, you know, listening or you know, sharing those, those ideas that they have. And they might even be more comfortable sharing maybe some more constructive criticism which owls are, or which doves are a little bit hesitant to share because they don't want to hurt others feelings. But if I let them know from the get go that I'm interested in that and that I want to hear that they might be more comfortable being more constructive.
And then for parrots, it's funny because I'm a parrot in my personal life, I'm pretty even parrot in my personal life, but in work I'm not a parrot at all. The dove, I mean, the owl kind of overrides that. But if I'm working with a parrot, I might make sure that I'm kind of engaging first on a more personal level and having a little bit of small talk.
Hey, what did you do this weekend? Or I loved that comment that you made the other day. Tell me more. Just that I can let them know that they're welcome to bring that enthusiasm and that excitement to the conversation.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Yeah. For those in the audience that might not know about this particular model, let's just give them, you know, a high level overview of what the D style is. The D is which style? The, the dominant style is the eagle. Correct.
It's very easy to figure that out once you have that, that visual in your head of an eagle. It's the, it's the one that flies high. They probably, you know, swoop in and take what they want or look for what they need right away. They're very focused on their goals in their personality.
I think eagles, the, the bird is more apt to be solitary. You don't really see them flying around in groups. But if you go to the I style, talk a little bit about what the eye style is, the parrot. Right, Tell us, tell our audience a little bit about that style.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So the, so the I style is the parrot and they're going to be the one who is bringing the enthusiasm, they're bringing the energy.
They want to have a conversation and kind of boost up the morale. Whenever I was a high school teacher, I had to lean pretty heavily in that parrot, even though that's not a natural thing for me because, you know, you want to pump up the crowd, bring the excitement.
So yeah, the parrot. The parrot is one that I kind of have to dig into, but they're an awesome addition to the team because they do bring that enthusiasm and they bring that joy whenever, you know, others might just be kind of aimed towards that goal or that mission.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And if you connect the eye style to that bird, it's really easy to come up with traits and characteristics. They're colorful, they're busy, they travel in groups. They're not really solitary creatures. So very, very easy to pick them out. Now, let's talk about the S, which is one of your styles.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Yeah, so. So the S is the dove.
And so with the dove, that is the peacemaker. Right. You can think about the dove as the peacemaker. They're very empathetic. They're naturally inclined to care about the feelings and the emotions of others. They're kind of natural mediators, and they're inclined to make sure that everyone is feeling like they are, you know, being heard, being valued.
And they're also going to be the ones that are going to be anticipating needs of others on the team as well.
So they will be less inclined to give you constructive criticism. They'll be more hesitant to kind of share, well, you know, I didn't really like that idea, or, you know, I probably changed that idea this way, unless you've established with them that you want that. That feedback. They're also going to be a little bit sensitive to some of the approaches of an eagle in the sense that if, you know, you're coming in and just saying, well, we need to change all these things or we need to do this to make this better, and yada, yada, yada, they might be a bit, you know, sensitive to that.
[00:13:29] Speaker A: Exactly. Well, and, you know, the dove is the international symbol of peace, really, I think, really depicts that, that style very, very well. And. And kind of like the parrot, they travel in groups, but they don't stand out individually. They kind of blend in with the group. And that's, I think, what it. That really depicts them very, very well. So if you think about that style, it's easy to come up with characteristics when you think about that bird.
So let's go to your favorite now, sea style, the conscientious bird.
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Yes, I am. I am definitely I lean more towards the owl in the workplace, for sure. The owl is going to be extremely concerned with the minutia. They love the details. They need to know all of the details and all of the caveats and all of the potential pitfalls before they can make a decision.
Before they are able to make a plan and in a lot of cases, before they're able to move forward to the next step.
So they are certainly the people that you want to poke holes in, you know, a project, if you're about to launch something, if you need for them to, you know, think about, you know, what are all the ways that we could improve this owl are going to be the people for that. But like I said previously, we do have the tendency to kind of go into a cyclical approach, cyclical pattern, thinking about certain topics.
And sometimes, you know, we do need those other bird styles to come in and say, all right, we need to make a decision. We need to move on.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Exactly, yeah. Analysis paralysis is one of those things that. That. That style struggles with at times, and the owl, again, is the perfect example of it. Everybody thinks of an owl and thinks, oh, they're the wise one. Well, all styles are wise, but I think with, you know, when you think about the owl, they. They kind of blend in as well. They stay in the background, but, you know, you know, and when you hear one, if they have something to say, they're pretty concise about what it is they have to say. So fun. That was really fun.
So I got to ask you this. You know, hey, we all deal with stress and tension in our work and personal lives, but do you think learning this has helped you to navigate things like that a little bit better? Or you. Do you feel as though you can come to a, you know, a challenging conversation or situation and walk away feeling like it was a win win?
[00:15:57] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I think, you know, for the first question regarding stress, I think for the. For an owl dove, that is something that kind of. Kind of weighs on us just because we are able to see all the details. We're able to see all of the potential pitfalls, and that is kind of overwhelming. And then you mix that with a dove because who wants to make sure that everyone's taken care of, that every, you know, that they're meeting everyone's expectations. It can be kind of a.
A tricky combination there. But one of the approaches that I've. I've realized is because now, you know, I've been able to see objectively that, you know, through this assessment that something that my bird type will struggle with is the analysis paralysis is feeling the need to please every single, you know, person. I'm able to be a little bit more aware of that whenever I go into conversations, whether it's, you know, reviewing a script that I've created with others or Maybe I'm going in to share, you know, a.
A course that I've created and receive feedback. I can already go into it knowing, you know, I'm going to receive constructive. Constructive criticism. That's okay.
It is. It is going to be something that will just make it better. And then I'm able to kind of take a little bit of pressure off of myself to, you know, be hypercritical about those things because ultimately it's iron sharpening iron. Whenever you get this criticism, you want the criticism, and it helps me be a little bit more receptive to it.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: Awesome. I couldn't agree more. I think, you know, what this is really all about is self awareness. And if we. If we get to know these things about ourselves, we can come to, you know, we can come well prepared and well able to. To adapt or adjust so that. So that we have, you know, a meaningful or a successful type of a conversation. So, yeah, great stuff.
All right, I got to get you to the bottom line here.
Right.
[00:17:45] Speaker B: All right, I'm ready.
[00:17:46] Speaker A: All right, so I think my bottom line question for you would be, what's the one thing that you'd like to leave our listeners with about communicating with different personality styles?
[00:17:59] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So I would say if people feel understood and they feel respected, they're going to be more productive and they're going to create a better product. So it's not about changing yourself, but it's about being more aware of the needs of others so that you can meet them halfway so that you can ultimately create the best product possible. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: What a great bottom line. Thank you so much. That was awesome. Well, Lucy, thanks for having this conversation with me. You know, I love communicating with you, and it's really fun that, that we're able to identify and recognize each other's styles and have a very productive working relationship. So thanks again for joining me.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: Great. And to our audience, as always, we really appreciate your taking the time to join us. And till we meet again, let's all keep learning, growing, and prospering. Thanks.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
