Study personality types

Understanding your team's mix of personalities helps design leaders navigate conflicts more skillfully. The DiSC framework — Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance — sheds light on how different team members might act in tense situations.

The 4 main categories include:

• Dominance: These folks are bold and straight to the point. They're great at making quick decisions but might steamroll over others' ideas during a heated debate.
• Influence: Always the team cheerleaders, they're good at smoothing over conflicts with their charm. However, they might skirt around tough issues to keep the peace.
• Steadiness: They're the team's steady hands, aiming for agreement and calm. Their gentle approach can cool down conflicts but might avoid tackling them head-on.
• Compliance: They are the detail-oriented ones who dig into the facts to solve problems. This thoroughness is great, but can sometimes slow down finding a quick compromise.^[1]

Knowing these traits helps leaders approach conflicts with empathy, balancing the need to resolve issues with understanding each team member's perspective.