In today’s fast-paced work environment, fostering collaboration and communication within teams is crucial for both productivity and a positive organisational culture. This can be especially challenging for small businesses where team dynamics can directly impact overall business success. Understanding each team member’s behavioural styles, communication preferences, and motivations can make a profound difference. This is where the Extended DISC (EDISC) model comes in, offering small business owners a practical tool to improve team dynamics, strengthen workplace culture and boost productivity.
In this blog, People Squared, a facilitator of EDISC workshops, explains how EDISC works, why it’s especially valuable for small businesses and practical ways to apply EDISC insights to everyday business scenarios for real impact.
Table of Contents
What is DISC?
The DISC model is a behavioural assessment that categorises individuals into four primary styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. Each style reflects different communication preferences and ways of approaching tasks. Understanding these styles helps leaders and teams improve communication, build stronger relationships and work more effectively together by recognising and adapting to each person’s unique behavioural traits.
Why Small Businesses Should Consider Extended DISC (EDISC)
For small business owners, having a well-functioning team is essential. In a smaller team environment, each person’s working style and interactions can heavily influence productivity, efficiency and even the customer experience. Here’s why understanding behavioural dynamics through Extended DISC (EDISC) can be especially impactful for small business leaders:
Enhanced Hiring and Onboarding
Small businesses often have limited resources so hiring decisions are critical. EDISC insights can guide hiring managers in selecting individuals whose behavioural styles complement the team’s existing dynamics and who align well with the company culture.
Improving Productivity and Engagement
By identifying and understanding each team member’s preferred working style, leaders can create a more supportive environment. EDISC enables leaders to adjust communication, project roles and expectations to better fit individual strengths—resulting in higher engagement and productivity.
Addressing Productivity Challenges
Many small business owners speak to their financial advisors about productivity concerns, often wondering how to get more from their team without overwhelming them. Productivity isn’t just about workload; it’s about alignment. Through EDISC, business owners can discover hidden productivity barriers related to team dynamics, miscommunications and stress, helping them to create a more effective work environment.
The Power of the EDISC Assessment
While standard DISC profiling categorises behaviours into four primary styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance, Extended DISC (ESDISC) offers more depth and nuance, identifying both the “natural” and “adapted” styles of individuals, how they prefer to operate naturally and how they may adjust their behaviour based on their work environment.
Leaders and team members alike often find this distinction incredibly insightful. For instance, a naturally steady and patient team member may appear more dominant and directive in certain situations where they feel the need to adjust their behaviour. For small business owners, this deeper understanding is invaluable, as it highlights where team members may need additional support or adjustments to feel comfortable and perform at their best.
The process begins with each participant completing their individual EDISC assessment. The results form the foundation for a series of discussions, first in one-on-one debriefs with each participant and then as part of a team workshop where everyone’s styles are shared and explored collectively.
Building a Common Language for Better Team Dynamics
One of the key benefits of EDISC is that it helps teams develop a common language around behaviour, communication and collaboration. By understanding each other’s behavioural styles, team members are equipped with the tools to adjust their communication to match the preferences of others. This not only helps minimise misunderstandings but also fosters a more inclusive work environment where everyone feels heard and understood.
For example, in a team where one person tends to be more direct and results-oriented (Dominance), while another prefers a slower, more methodical approach (Compliance), the potential for conflict is high if neither adjusts their approach. However, by recognising and respecting these differences, the team can modify their communication and set expectations that accommodate each other’s natural styles. The direct leader may provide more detailed instructions for the methodical team member, while the compliant individual might focus on delivering key data points without overwhelming the dominant colleague with too much information.
In small businesses where teams work closely together, developing a common language around behaviour is even more critical. When team members understand each other’s unique styles, they can reduce misunderstandings, improve morale and work together more harmoniously. Often, what may initially seem like an annoyance or barrier is simply a different behavioural style at work. By recognising these differences, teams can move past frustrations, break down silos and create a more collaborative and positive environment.
Applying EDISC to Everyday Scenarios
While understanding the theory behind EDISC is important, the real value comes when leaders and teams can apply these insights to everyday business scenarios.
For the practical application of EDISC, workshops led by People Squared guide teams through realistic exercises, helping them apply behavioural insights in scenarios relevant to their business. This includes managing a high-stakes project, leading a difficult meeting and handling customer complaints. These workshops explore how different DISC styles approach the situation and how adjusting communication and decision-making processes can lead to better results.
Some examples who have participated in EDISC workshops facilitated by People Squared include:
- Senior partners of a national accounting firm
- Leadership team of a NDIS business across Southeast QLD
- Agile project team for an international pharmaceutical business
- IT division of a state government department
- NSO team for a franchise business operating across Australia and NZ
Improving Workplace Culture
One of the most significant benefits of applying EDISC is the improvement it brings to workplace culture. A strong culture is built on trust, mutual respect and open communication, all of which are enhanced when individuals and teams understand each other’s behavioural tendencies. Teams that have gone through the EDISC process often report reduced friction in everyday interactions, fewer misunderstandings and a greater sense of camaraderie.
Leaders, in particular, play a critical role in shaping culture and EDISC provides them with the tools to be more adaptive and flexible in their leadership approach. A leader who understands their team members’ DISC profiles can adjust their communication, delegation and feedback to match each individual’s preferences, creating a more engaged and motivated workforce.
Driving Tangible Productivity Gains
Ultimately, the application of EDISC translates into tangible productivity gains. When individuals work better together, projects are completed more efficiently, meetings are more focused and decision-making becomes faster and more effective. Teams that have learned to collaborate with an understanding of each other’s DISC styles report higher levels of satisfaction and engagement, leading to reduced turnover and higher productivity.
Furthermore, the ability to adjust communication and work processes based on DISC insights helps organisations better serve their customers, leading to stronger client relationships and ultimately, better business results.
The Impact of EDISC
EDISC is much more than a personality assessment; it’s a powerful tool for improving communication, building trust and driving productivity within teams. By starting with individual and team debriefs and then applying these insights to everyday business scenarios, leaders and teams can develop a common language that fosters collaboration and delivers real results. Whether it’s improving internal team dynamics or enhancing customer relationships, the impact of EDISC is both immediate and lasting, creating positive change in both culture and performance.
This combination of theory and practical application ensures that organisations experience not just improved awareness but real, measurable improvements in the way they work together and achieve their goals.
About People Squared
People Squared, led by Managing Director and HR Business Partner Brendan Forwood, specialises in helping organisations unlock the potential of their people through EDISC and other strategic HR solutions. With extensive experience in guiding small businesses, People Squared is dedicated to creating tailored, actionable solutions that improve team cohesion, productivity, and workplace culture. Their expertise has helped businesses across diverse industries enhance team dynamics and achieve lasting success.
For more information on EDISC workshops and how People Squared can support your business, reach out to Brendan Forwood at brendan@peoplesquared.com.au.
If you’re looking for ways to boost productivity, streamline team dynamics or gain deeper insights into your workforce, Carbon is here to support you. Our experts work with small businesses to identify tailored solutions that drive real improvements. Contact us today to explore how we can help your business reach its full potential.
