"Don't Put Me in a Box"

Don't Label Me

One of the biggest objections to using instrumented learning (i.e., using a valid and reliable assessment instrument to measure an individual's traits and/or tendencies) is that people object to being "labeled." Get over it! We use labels all the time without realizing it. He's fat... she talks a lot... he's so rude... the list goes on and on.

We already put ourselves in boxes! It's just that we're not often mindful of it because judging is a part of our nature and a skill we developed without being conscious of it.

Nonetheless, "labeling" has huge implications. The judgments we make about others and the words we use to describe them are the blocks in the barriers to communication that can separate us from others.

Consider This...

As the world becomes smaller, it becomes more important to be able to communicate effectively with others. Nowhere is that more important than in aviation. As a career professional pilot in both military and commercial aviation, I've witnessed the significance of harmonious interaction between crew members and seen the tragic consequences when communications break down. Cockpit crew members can experience a wide range of feelings--from the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time to the drama of being involved in a life-threatening situation--in the course of 30 minutes.

It has been said that we form our first impressions of people in as few as the first 7 seconds. During that short time, we may make as many as 11 separate judgments.

What do we do with those judgments? Well, we use them to put that person in categories or "boxes," based mostly upon our own biases and past experiences.

For example, I may sense a tone of voice that reminds me of a childhood friend and immediately have a positive feeling about a person.

Conversely, I may detect a tone that reminds me of my father, whom I viewed as somewhat domineering at times, and I place that person in my “unfavorable” box.

Projecting Ourselves into the World

More often, however, our biases come from viewing the world and others through the filters of our own beliefs, values, goals, motivations, and attitudes. This phenomenon is called projection. And just like a movie theater's projector, we superimpose our view onto others. DiSC® and other valid and reliable assessment instruments help by creating a common language that can reduce the judgmental quality of our attempts to describe ourselves and others.

When you examine the labels above, what you find is that labeling isn't really about the person, it's about the behavior. And DiSC® offers a whole new vocabulary to take the negative bias out of the descriptors we often use for lack of more appropriate terms. Knowing oneself can lead to insights about the judgments we make about others. We can then move from viewing differences as being "wrong" to viewing them just as differences.

For tips to effectively train your people and streamline your organization, and for other solutions to your staffing challenges, visit www.traininginabox.com. Sign up for your free newsletter at www.quicktrainingsolutions.com to make your HR training and development life easier. Ron Nielsen designs and delivers innovative and effective training solutions for businesses through NTG, his business development and training company.

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