The standard DISC is a widely used behavioural assessment tool that categorises individuals into four primary behavioural types – Dominant, Influential, Steady, and Conscientious. DISC has proven to be valuable in enhancing team communication and collaboration within domestic markets. However, it may fall short when it comes to global markets.
Global DISC, on the other hand, takes DISC to the next level by incorporating cultural differences in communication styles and behaviour. It recognises that cultural backgrounds influence how people communicate and behave in different situations. Global DISC helps individuals understand and appreciate the cultural differences that exist between themselves and others, providing a framework for cross-cultural communication.
When expanding into foreign markets, companies encounter various communication challenges that can impede their ability to connect with potential customers and business partners. These challenges may include language barriers, differences in communication styles, cultural values, and behavioural patterns. Global DISC provides a solution for these challenges by helping teams identify and adapt to the cultural preferences of their counterparts.
International Sales Teams
Let’s have a look at sales departments. For instance, some cultures may prefer direct and assertive communication, while others may prefer more indirect and diplomatic communication. By using Global DISC, sales teams can recognise these cultural differences and tailor their communication style accordingly to engage effectively with their customers around the globe. This not only enhances communication but also builds trust and strengthens relationships with customers, which is essential for success in global markets.
Global DISC has many more application fields that showcase its advantages over DISC.
International Assignments
Organisations need international assignments to stay competitive in the global marketplace. Sending successful employees and leaders on such assignments enables them to transfer their technical and managerial knowledge, take advantage of local opportunities, gain valuable international work experience, and advance their careers.
To select the right candidates for international assignments, companies evaluate their willingness to take on such roles, overseas experiences, language skills, immigration background, leadership skills, and more. However, sending technically proficient or efficient candidates abroad without considering their cultural fit can result in expensive failures, depriving organisations of the benefits of such assignments.
Moreover, candidates themselves may suffer from the stress of relocating to a new country and facing personal and professional challenges, leading to underperformance and potential failure in a foreign cultural environment. While international assignments can provide significant development experiences and broaden perspectives, careful assessment and support are essential for successful outcomes.
With an upgrade from DISC to Global DISC, organisations develop more nuanced candidate selection practices, ensuring that employees yield the greatest return on investment for a given international assignment. By using Global DISC, companies will identify and select candidates with the right cultural fit for specific international assignments. This can lead to better outcomes, lower costs, and increased employee satisfaction.
Diverse Team Development
Research on diverse team development demonstrates that teams with higher levels of diversity perform better than homogeneous teams. This is because diverse team members bring a comprehensive range of contexts, knowledge, and experiences, resulting in a variety of thinking and problem-solving approaches.
However, diverse teams face challenges arising from personal and cultural differences. These differences can lead to stress, conflicts, and disengagement, as people from different cultural groups have different ways of thinking, behaving, and working.
Diversity can become a liability if the challenges of working across personalities, borders, cultures, and languages are not addressed. Only by overcoming personality differences and cultural backgrounds, which directly affect communication, work style, trust and relationship building, and understanding of processes, hierarchies, and management styles, can diverse teams work together smoothly and benefit from their diversity.
If team members stick to their accustomed ways of working, diverse teams’ results will fall short of expectations, and tensions will escalate. Therefore, successful diverse team development is crucial for companies operating in the global marketplace.
Companies recruit the best talent worldwide but are often struggling to make their diverse teams work well together. Global DISC measures the deeper layers of diversity that are making or breaking a team. By understanding these differences, companies can create a more inclusive work environment, where employees feel valued and heard.
Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion involves respecting and appreciating differences between individuals, including factors such as ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, education, or religion. The goal is to ensure that all individuals or groups feel valued, respected, supported, and heard while achieving their full potential.
In the current globalised business world, diversity & inclusion are critical to success. Leaders must understand how to address their employees’ diverse backgrounds so that everyone can contribute their best efforts to the organization’s benefit.
However, when companies are scaling up quickly, diversity can become a liability if the challenges of working across personalities, borders, cultures, and languages are not addressed.
To benefit from diversity, organisations must leverage differences in communication, work style, trust and relationship building, understanding of processes, hierarchies, and management styles. Only then will they be able to work together smoothly and achieve the benefits of diversity. If all parties stick to their accustomed ways of working, results will fall short of expectations while tensions rise.
With an upgrade from DISC to Global DISC, companies can visualise an organisation’s cognitive diversity, the perfect basis for a successful diversity and inclusion development program. By recognising and valuing different perspectives and cultural backgrounds, companies can create a more inclusive and innovative workplace that attracts top talent.
Global Leadership Development
The complex challenge of successful global leadership development involves managing across borders and cultures, navigating organisational structures, and balancing the interests of stakeholders and local teams.Global leaders require core competencies in intra-personal and inter-personal skills, as well as intercultural competencies. They must be highly aware of how personality and culture influence their thinking and behavior, and have the ability to transcend these limitations.Effective global leaders accurately read diverse people and situations, adapting quickly to create alignment and find common ground while respecting different perspectives and work styles. They communicate effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, lead teams with varying expectations about leadership, and motivate individuals with different personalities. Each day, a successful global leader must foster growth, change, and collaboration among a diverse group of people. Upgrade from DISC to Global DISC and develop global leadership competencies by providing insights into cross-cultural communication and behaviour. This helps leaders navigate complex situations and build effective teams across borders.
Change Management
In international M&A activities, managing the people aspect is often the most critical component of the transformation process. Organisations do not change overnight; people change it day by day. It is the collective effect of individual change that brings about organisational and cultural change.
During mergers and acquisitions, most employees need to adjust the way they work, and some might have to relocate to a different city or country. Furthermore, new diverse teams will most likely form and work across borders, cultural differences, and language barriers. The extent to which employees are willing to modify their behavior and embrace new procedures has a significant impact on the organisation’s future success.
Change management focuses on how to assist people in adapting to changes in their daily work. Consequently, change management is a leadership skill. Change managers must be able to lead a change process with commitment, sensitivity, and motivation. When working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, change competencies include cultural intelligence and global leadership.
Neglecting the people aspect of change has several adverse consequences, including declining productivity, employee dissatisfaction, increasing turnover rates, and disruptions for suppliers and customers. Research indicates that organisations with excellent change management are six times more likely to achieve their goals than those with poor or no change management.
Globalisation is leading organisations and companies into cross-border mergers and acquisitions. To prosper in the global market, change management is a constant task. Global DISC helps companies manage change more effectively by providing insights into cross-cultural communication and behaviour. This helps companies navigate cultural differences and build effective teams across borders.
To Prosper In The Global Marketplace, Upgrade From DISC To Global DISC
In conclusion, companies that want to succeed in the global marketplace of the 21st century need to upgrade from DISC to Global DISC. While DISC is useful in domestic markets, Global DISC provides a more comprehensive solution for cross-cultural communication and behaviour. With Global DISC, teams can identify and adapt to the cultural preferences of their customers, co-workers and business partners, enhancing communication, building trust, and increasing potentials in global markets. By prioritising cultural awareness companies can create a competitive edge in the global marketplace.
