Some of our leaders have high Dominance DISC profiles while others are highly Steady, leading to silent withholding of ideas. How do you facilitate our sessions to ensure everyone contributes equally?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An unbalanced room is a dangerous room. When high Dominance profiles run over quieter, highly Steady team members, you miss out on critical insights and build hidden resentment.

To solve this behavioral friction, we use our understanding of DISC profiles to actively manage the communication flow during session days.

First, I set clear ground rules for communication. We establish that silence is agreement. If a quiet leader is withholding their thoughts, I will call on them directly and ask for their perspective. This gives them the explicit permission and space they need to speak without having to fight for the floor.

Second, I coach the highly dominant leaders to practice active listening. We use the strategic pause concept to slow down the conversation, preventing the fast-paced thinkers from rushing to decisions before the analytical minds have processed the information.

Third, we run our IDS® process with strict discipline. Every team member gets an equal opportunity to state their view on an issue before we enter the discussion phase. This structured approach prevents any single personality from dominating the narrative.

By actively managing these behavioral dynamics, we create a balanced environment where every leader contributes their unique strengths to solving our biggest organizational challenges.