24 April 2019 marks International Administrative Professionals Day and to show our appreciation for secretaries, we organised a workshop for administrative professionals within our network in HUONE Singapore. Benjamin Loh summarised his session in the following blog:
As administrative professionals and secretaries, you may often find yourself at the crossroads of difficult scenarios, decisions and most so, people. And these situations can often be emotionally stressful and intense. What if you are able to utilise the Extended-DISC© Profiling tool to profile your colleagues with ease and learn how to best work with them?
Four Dominant Profiles for People Management & Speed Profiling
(Image from Extended DISC® North America, Inc.)
Based on two differing dimensions of introversion-extraversion and task-people orientation, it can be easy to first profile yourself and gain awareness of the (wo)man in the mirror. Secondly, use the P.A.L (Positioning, Actions & Language) as speed profiling hints to manage people.
The D-Type (Dominance)
Most managers and leaders, by virtue of who they are and what they have do in their workplaces, have a degree of Dominance in terms of their behavioural leanings. It is no surprise that the bosses that you report to and also the directors in the same reporting line are high-D by nature.
To manage high D, you have to be similarly assertive and confident. What administrative professionals need to do to manage upwards is to know that you get what you ask for. If you do not set expectations and draw lines of boundaries with your bosses, then you may often get overridden. Here’s the P.A.L of D-type colleagues:
The I-Type (Influencers)
I-type are natural when it comes to building and igniting relationships. They are able to relate to people effectively and in the workplace, they are often well-liked because of their personality, openness and ability to engage myriad personalities.
For secretaries who are relating to high-I individuals, it is always important to manage expectations as high-I people may be non-committal in their behaviours and promises. And since people is at the centre of the agenda for I-type individuals, always try to bring and spell out the people factor when it comes to decision making. Here’s the P.A.L of I-type colleagues:
The S-Type (Steady Relators)
Probably comprising the majority of any population and also a representation of most secretaries and administrative professionals, S-type individuals are often those who are relational, pleasant and value relationships a lot. Yet, they may sometimes be “inert” and choose to observe and contemplate (too long).
Secretaries who have a high-S profile can consider pushing themselves out of their comfort zones effectively and understand when they are in conflict and tension with high D / I individuals, it is a clash of their introversion-extroversion and people-task orientation.
While it’s not a case of giving in, sometimes knowing how to win over the other person with their agenda can be an active way of managing your relationships too. Here’s the P.A.L of S-type colleagues:
The C-Type (Conscientious Analysts)
Being high on introversion and task orientation mean that C-type individuals are known to be highly meticulous, analytical and systematic.
You can imagine as administrative professionals and secretaries, you cannot afford not to have a certain level of C-quality in your DISC behavioural profiling. Yet what aids and builds you may sometimes be your hindrance in relating to other individuals because C-type individuals may be stickler for details, perfectionist and sometimes, appear unrelatable and cold. Here’s the P.A.L of C-type colleagues:
Winning the People Game Is Half The Battle Won
While speed profiling can better help us manage our colleagues, winning the people game is just half the battle won. If you are keen to find out how you can get started in empowering your company’s leaders to better relate with and engage your people, reach out to Benjamin Loh via email to find out more.
Speaker Profile:
Benjamin Loh is an Executive Public Speaking Coach, TEDx Speaker, Author and Professional Speaker on Millenial Matters, As the youngest Associate Certified Coach in Singapore and possibly, Asia-Pacific, he has coached over 100 corporate executives and entrepreneurs individually with over 750 hours of direct coaching and trained over 5,500 clients in high impact mass trainings in public speaking, presentation skills and leading the multi-generational workforce and Millenials. His work in entrepreneurship and public speaking has been featured on over 60 occasions on both local and regional media platforms like Huffington Post, inc ASEAN, CHannel NEws Asia (CNA), Vietnam QKTV, BFM Malaysia, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Straits Times (ST), Business Times (BT) and NEws938 Live.