SOLVING THE PEOPLE PROBLEM

A debut business book offers a technique for understanding and working with different personalities.

In this volume, Cooper and Kerrigan present the DISC-EQ framework they use in advising businesses. The construction is based on a standard psychology model that divides people into four personality styles (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness, each abbreviated to its first letter), combined with an emotionally intelligent understanding of how those types interact. The book provides basic guidance for determining which style best fits a person (readers are also invited to complete a more substantial analysis on the volume’s companion website) and describes the primary characteristics of each. Subsequent chapters explain how the different types often conflict with one another, and how leaders can overcome those clashes and improve team performance by being aware of how personalities drive behavior, understanding the perspectives of others, and modifying their own interactions as a result. The authors use a combination of client testimonials and case studies drawn from their work to illustrate the DISC-EQ concepts and their real-world applications (“We discovered that I was an outgoing, results-driven D, whereas Jerome wasn’t a pessimistic naysayer; he was just a strong C-personality,” one manager reports). While the concepts Cooper and Kerrigan discuss are not groundbreaking—psychologists have used the DISC framework for nearly a century, and emotional intelligence was described decades ago—they cover the familiar territory effectively in the book, giving readers a substantial number of ways to turn ideas into actions. What the volume does particularly well is explore the communication styles and mental models of each personality type, accompanied by specific potential problems that arise as each type interacts with another and strategies for responding to those difficulties appropriately and productively. For instance, the authors explain how a detail-oriented C can successfully communicate with a D who prefers a big-picture overview to painstaking analysis. The book’s emphasis on the need for emotional self-awareness is also a strength—and an important message underlying the entire text.

Useful advice for getting disparate personalities to work well together.