As leaders, it is our job to help the individuals on our teams engage and collaborate as effectively as possible. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by helping improve each person’s emotional intelligence so they can not only understand their own feelings and reactions but also those of others and use that understanding to better communicate and avoid negative conflict.
Accomplishing that goal of increasing emotional intelligence across your teams can seem daunting, but it really comes down to teaching new behaviors and then making those behaviors a habit.
Everything DiSC® provides an ideal opportunity to develop higher emotional intelligence through developing better self-awareness and awareness of others. It gives teams insights into their own styles and those of their colleagues, but traditionally, these styles were focused on during a workshop or one-off training event without the ongoing practice to actually create new habits and patterns over time.
Accomplishing lasting behavior change and building habits requires repetition and practice. Over time, that repetition actually changes the brain’s neural pathways, and ultimately as the pathways get stronger, the behavior becomes the “new normal”.
It takes 3-6 months of repetition (on average) for a new behavior to become a habit — which is why the old way of approaching DiSC didn’t always lead to lasting change or increases in emotional intelligence for some. It was often a one and done assessment with a bit of training and then for most organizations, back to the status quo.
That’s why Catalyst™ is designed specifically to provide the means to continue the learning and practice past the classroom, providing the resources to continue developing our emotional intelligence over time. It still includes a powerful DiSC assessment and resources about each individual’s own style — but it also provides long-term resources for teams to learn about each others’ styles and get on-demand training and tips for productive and satisfying interactions with each other.
Instead of focusing on styles and emotionally intelligent behavior just at the time of the assessment, teams can (and should) continue to learn to better apply what they have learned. It is not knowing each other’s style as much as using that knowledge to make better choices in how we work with one another. Every interaction with a colleague is an opportunity to remind us how to approach each others’ styles, how to create more positive outcomes, and how to work together more efficiently.
Catalyst allows your team to integrate emotionally intelligent behaviors into their everyday routine, creating healthy habits that lead to a stronger organization.