Selecting Team Members-Questions to ask yourself

How carefully do you select your team members? Reading a resume tells you part of the story. It is an advertisement. It says what the person can do but not how they do it.

What you need to know is how do they work? Success is more than finding a person who can do the job. they need to fit. The DISC Role Behavior Profile can help. Here are some questions to ask before selecting a Team Member.

1. Are they both competent and smart? Can they not only do the job today but also learn new things tomorrow? What are they currently doing to improve themselves?
2. Will they fit in your culture? Every organization has a unique culture and having someone that fits makes a huge difference, not just in comfort but also in performance. Have you defined your culture? What are your values? How do you exhibit them? How do you enforce them?
3. Do they accept responsibility? When things go wrong, what do they do? Do they bury their mistakes? Do they blame others or look for solutions?
4. Do they have integrity? Do they do what they say they will do? Are they ethical?
5. Are they win-win oriented and not just results oriented? It is great to achieve results and it is important that the win is not at the expense of others.
6. Can they communicates with precision, ease and grace? Communication is the key to understanding. Understanding is the key to productivity!
7. Are they adaptable? Changes will occur and how will they respond?
8. Are they fun? Do you enjoy having them around?
Can you imagine building a team of people who meet these criteria? You can do it...We can help!

(From Team Building and Behavioral Interviewing - Dr. Mimi Hull)

How to Transform your Group into a Team
I get calls saying,"We need team building next week." Team Building may start with an event and needs to continue with a process. Here are some tips to work the process.
Create Opportunities for People to Get Together to Tackle an Issue
This does not have to be a “big” thing. Issues will pop up on a weekly basis. During these crunch times, a leader "needs to remind people what they're together to do. A time line is usually critical to success. The more opportunities people have to work together, the more likely it is they will begin to function as a close-knit team.
Have People Work Together to Tackle an Issue.
This does not have to be a "big" thing. Issues pop up. The more people work together, the more likely they will function as a team.
Celebrate the Outcome!
Congratulate the team on a job well done. Bring the team back to reflect on how it felt to work closely together. Expect some resistance. People may say they can't imagine working this way and getting their own work done. Emphasize the excitement of a shared model, where anyone on the team initiates things, rather than waiting to be told what to do.
Give the process time.
People who have spent their lives simply following orders are task rather than process oriented. They may regard the process as too touchy-feely. Help employees understand that team work isn't about being nice; it's about smart business. A team atmosphere call on everyone-not just the leader-to generate ideas, initiate projects and produce top-notch work.
(From Dr. Mimi's Team Building Workshop)

Recognizing the DiSC® Behavioral Styles

You can identify the different DISC styles by observing peoples’ behaviors.

The “D - Dominant Decisive” type stand with one foot in front and often has one hand in their pocket. They also prefer to sit with one ankle resting on their knee while taking up a lot of space. They like competitive sports and a large desk.

The “I - Influencing, Interactive ” type typically have their feet apart and either talk with their hands or have them both in their pockets. This personality type likes People magazine and keep memorabilia from friends and colleagues displayed in their office.

The “S - Systematic, Steady ” type usually sits with their legs hooked around their chair or have their legs crossed at ankles. They like to display family pictures on their very organized desk and read National Geographic.

The “C - Conscientious, Careful Checker” type stands slightly sideways with arms folded in front and sit sideways with legs crossed. They read technical journals and Discover magazine and display charts and graphs in their offices.

If you work to recognize the different types you can then adapt the appropriate behavioral strategies for each personality type. Doing this improves teamwork, customer service and productivity!

(Taken from DISC Training by Dr. Mimi Hull)