Tag Archive for: team dynamics

Five Ways Your DiSC Profile Can Make You a More Effective Leader

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5 Ways Your DiSC Profile Makes You a More Effective leaderAt a certain point in your career, honest feedback becomes surprisingly hard to come by. Not because people around you lack opinions (they may have plenty) but because hierarchy has a way of softening, managing, and redirecting those opinions before they reach you. The higher you rise, the more curated your information environment tends to become.

That means you may be making daily decisions about how to communicate, how to lead your team, and how to show up in the room with less real data about your impact than you think. Waiting for candid feedback that the culture is unlikely to deliver isn’t a strategy. Actively seeking structured ways to see yourself clearly is.

Psychometric assessments, used well and debriefed with a skilled coach, are one of the most effective tools for doing exactly that. In a recent piece Beyond the Performance Review: The Assessments That Build Self-Aware Leaders we introduced four tools our coaches at Evolved People Coaching use most often. Here, we take a closer look at one: the DiSC assessment, and what it specifically opens up for leadership effectiveness and team development.

What DiSC Actually Measures

Unlike assessments that focus on aptitude or potential, DiSC is behavioral; it describes how you tend to act, not what you are capable of. It maps four dimensions: how you respond to challenge and control (Dominance); how you engage and energize people (Influence); how you handle pace, change, and stability (Steadiness); and how you approach accuracy, detail, and process (Conscientiousness).

If you’ve read Thomas Erikson’s Surrounded by Idiots, you’ll recognise these as the Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue profiles. Erikson’s core premise is worth holding: communication happens on the listener’s terms, not the sender’s. DiSC makes that wiring visible. Here are five ways that translates into more effective leadership.

1. It Shows You the Gap Between How You See Yourself and How Others Experience You

Most senior leaders have a clear sense of their strengths. Fewer have an accurate read on how those strengths land when overused, in the wrong context, or with someone whose style differs sharply from their own.

Consider a leader who scores high on Steadiness — Erikson’s Green. She may pride herself on being calm and consistent. But Greens tend to internalize conflict, and under pressure can become passive and hard to read. In a moment of organizational turbulence, that composure can register not as steadiness but as disconnection and without awareness of how her style is landing, she has no way to address it.

DiSC gives you a framework for asking not just what am I doing? but what is that creating for the people around me? — which is a different, and more useful, question entirely.

2. It Helps You Communicate With People Instead of At Them

Communication failures at senior levels are rarely about clarity or intent. They’re almost always about style mismatch, delivering messages in the way that makes sense to us, without accounting for what the person across from us actually needs.

A high-Dominance leader (Erikson’s Red) who values directness and speed will experience a detailed, context-heavy briefing as burying the lead. Reds want information that is succinct and results-focused. Meanwhile, a high-Conscientiousness colleague  (Erikson’s Blue) who needs the full reasoning before committing may experience a bottom-line-first approach as dismissive. Neither is wrong. They are operating from different defaults with no shared language for naming the difference.

DiSC provides that vocabulary. Once you can identify someone’s style, even approximately, you can make targeted adjustments: leading with data for the person who needs it, creating space for dialogue with someone who processes out loud, getting to the point with someone already three steps ahead. Small shifts, but they compound significantly over time.

3. It Shows You How Your Style Plays Out Across the Real Work of Leadership

One of the most useful sections of the DiSC report we offer at Evolved People Coaching covers management: how you direct and delegate, motivate, develop talent, manage up and how your tendencies shift under stress.

That last piece matters more than most leaders realize. Erikson is instructive here: under pressure, default behavior doesn’t soften, it amplifies. Reds become more demanding. Yellows become more chaotic. Greens become passive-aggressive. Blues become hypercritical. Knowing which version of yourself shows up when the stakes are high and how that lands on your team is some of the most valuable self-knowledge a leader can have. The report makes these tendencies specific and situated, which is what makes them actionable.

4. It Turns Team Friction Into Useful Data

Style differences shape team dynamics in ways that slow progress, create tension and impact team effectiveness, especially when there’s no shared framework for naming what’s actually happening.

Erikson is direct about which combinations create the most friction: Red and Green are opposites: one fast, task-focused, and blunt while the other is slower, relationship-oriented, and conflict-averse. Yellow and Blue create a different kind of tension: one shoots from the hip, the other wants precision and finds the energy exhausting. These aren’t personality flaws. They’re predictable collisions between people operating from different defaults.

When DiSC is used at a team level, those dynamics get named. The team member who seems resistant to change may simply be a high-Steadiness profile that needs more context and transition time. The colleague who dominates every meeting may have a high-Influence style that generates real energy but needs structure to channel it. Both become navigable the moment they’re visible. Our team development workshops use DiSC as a starting point for exactly this, helping to move teams from recurring frustration toward a common framework for understanding where the friction is coming from.

5. It Expands Your Range Without Requiring You to Perform Inauthenticity

DiSC is not asking you to become someone you’re not. Erikson makes this point firmly: you cannot and should not try to change someone’s fundamental behavioral profile. A Red will not become a Green. Attempting to force that creates frustration on both sides.

What DiSC offers is awareness of the difference between your core behavior, how you act when nothing external is shaping you, and the adapted version you bring to professional contexts. Most leaders have more range than they use, particularly under pressure, when the instinct is to narrow and fall back on what has always worked.

A leader who defaults to independence can learn to build in deliberate moments of consultation. One who defaults to collaboration can practice holding a position when the room pushes back. Over time, that adaptation stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like genuine range.

A Closer Look Is Worth It

DiSC is not a clinical instrument and its advocates wouldn’t claim otherwise. What it is, particularly when debriefed well, is a practical window into the behavioral patterns that shape how you lead, communicate, and show up under pressure. For leaders who want concrete insight into their impact, it is consistently one of the most actionable starting points available.

If you’re ready to close the gap between the leader you are and the leader you intend to be, we’d welcome a conversation. Visit evolvedpeoplecoaching.com to explore our coaching programs and team development workshops, or reach out directly to discuss whether DiSC is the right place for you to begin.

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Marie Bober: Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Counsel, Moelis Asset Management

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Marie Bober“I naturally step into a role when there is a dearth of leadership,” says Marie Bober. “It’s just part of who I am – I see the need and think, ‘I got it.’”

From captaining sports teams as a kid to speaking up in moments of silence, taking charge has always felt instinctive for Bober. “I come from a really long line of very bossy women,” she laughs. “I think it’s probably genetic.” While her grandmothers ran their households with authority, her mother broke barriers, becoming one of the first women to earn a PhD in chemistry from NYU in 1972.

That inherited sense of purpose shaped Bober’s own unconventional path. She started college as a chemistry major but quickly pivoted to psychology. Drawn to forensic work, she earned a master’s and spent three years at a pediatric psychopharmacology lab at Massachusetts General Hospital researching ADHD and pediatric bipolar disorder.

“My plan was to go on to get my PhD, but research itself started to feel like a tough long-term path with low pay, questionable ethics in some corners, and not a great ROI if you wanted a sustainable career.”

Still captivated by the intersection of law and human behavior, Bober pivoted again, this time to law school at Northeastern University. Being a part of Northeastern’s distinctive co-op program allowed her to try a little bit of everything: working with a solo practitioner, in a judge’s chambers, the DA’s office, and an in-house legal team.

“In-house was by far my favorite, but you don’t just go from law school to in-house,” says Bober. Instead, she built her experience through small firms, auditing work, and ultimately opened her own practice while keeping her eye on the long game.

Bober’s diligence paid off when a friend offered her an in-house legal role at Gracie Asset Management, a Moelis subsidiary. The only catch was the job was in New York, which meant that Bober and her wife had to live long distance for a few years. When Gracie had a key man event resulting in steep layoffs, Bober moved over to the parent company. After a few internal moves – and the sudden loss of a friend that left a senior counsel role vacant – she was promoted into her current role as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Counsel at Moelis Asset Management.

Breadth that Delivers

Looking back on what has helped her succeed, Bober points to adaptability and a breadth of knowledge, both of which are essential in a role that spans legal and compliance.

“To be in this particular role, you can’t be rigid or precious,” she explains. “We’re an entrepreneurial business…everybody’s got to do a little bit of something, and you have to be okay with that. We’re always thinking about new strategies, markets to tap and ways to get clients. It’s flexibility and a willingness to pick up the next thing and learn.”

Bober points to the growth of the business as another part of what requires adaptability: “when we started, we were private equity. Now we’re private equity, broadly syndicated loans, direct lending, seeding of emerging managers, venture capital.”

As the business expands, so too does Bober’s knowledge base, which is necessary for her to guide legal and compliance issues.

“I call myself a triage nurse because there are certain areas that I’m deep in, like fund formation or structuring, but then I also have to be able to direct counsel for things like litigation, tax matters, or employment. I might not be an expert on all those issues, but I must be conversant enough so that my subject matter experts can direct me effectively.”

What They Didn’t Teach in Law School

Beyond technical range and flexibility, Bober believes that one skill rises above the rest when it comes to lasting success: knowing how to navigate people.

“How to handle and approach people is key; it gets you so much further than even your technical knowledge,” she emphasizes. “One of the things law school doesn’t teach you is that if you’re a practicing lawyer in a firm, networking is 98% of your job. To be a partner at a law firm means that you bring in a good amount of business.”

Bober adds, “My boss likes to joke that he thinks that my psych degree sometimes helps me more than my law degree because it definitely gives you a framework for understanding people.”

That understanding shapes the way Bober communicates, builds relationships, and earns trust, especially in the context of leadership and knowing how to manage in all directions.

“Managing up is a skill that’s rarely taught, and it matters just as much as managing direct reports. I’ve learned how to communicate differently depending on who I’m talking to, and how to present something in a way that gets the right response.” As Chief Compliance Officer, she often needs people to act on specific requests and ideally, do so with genuine buy-in. “I’ve seen people try to lead through fear or pressure, but that only works for so long. Eventually, people tune you out.”

It is a message she impresses on junior staff as well: “be proactive, message appropriately, be polite and respectful, and if you make a mistake or get it wrong, have the ego to walk it back and take responsibility. It builds trust.”

Leadership as a Team Sport: Fostering Growth Over Competition

In an industry known for individual ambition, Bober takes a different approach to leadership; one that is shaped by hard-earned lessons and a clear sense of the kind of environment she wants to create.

“I’m a competitive person,” she says, “but I try not to be competitive at work. That’s not the environment I want to foster.”

Earlier in her career, Bober saw firsthand how toxic leadership can erode trust. She recalls a former manager who guarded her influence closely and refused to use any of her political capital to support others.

“When my mom passed away, I got two days of bereavement. Other department heads had given people the full week, but my boss told me if I wanted the extra time to attend the funeral, I’d have to use vacation days. She didn’t want to spend any of her political capital justifying why I was not billing or there for that week.” That experience left a mark, but also a guidepost: “It taught me exactly the kind of leader I don’t want to be.”

Now, as a senior leader herself, Bober sees mentoring others not as a threat, but as part of what defines strong leadership. She draws inspiration from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a sport she trains in outside of work.

“My coach always says he never hides the best parts of his game because if someone can master it in two weeks and beat him, they deserve to win.” The same philosophy, she says, applies in leadership. “Helping my associate grow, bringing her along and giving her what I can to help her succeed doesn’t threaten me; it strengthens the team, and if I ever move on, she’s ready to step in.”

Success, On and Off the Mat

Whether she is preparing for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament in New Jersey or aiming for another podium finish at Masters Worlds in Las Vegas, Bober brings the same focus and drive to the mat that she brings to her role at Moelis. A two-time Masters World Champion as a brown belt and now a black belt competitor, she thrives on the discipline and challenge of competing and on the fulfillment it brings outside the office.

That mix of ambition and purpose is intentional. “I strove to have an in-house position. I strove to have work-life balance in my career,” she says. “And I think I’m in a spot where I can do both.”

For Bober, success is not about chasing the highest title or the biggest paycheck. It’s about feeling grounded, challenged, and able to pursue what matters. “I can sing in a rock choir on Tuesday nights. I can do jiu jitsu. That’s what makes it all worth it.”

By Jessica Robaire

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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and How Leaders Can Address Them

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five dysfunctions of a team

Editor’s Note (2026 Update):
Strong teams rarely happen by accident. As organizations continue to rely on cross-functional collaboration, leaders are increasingly focused on the behaviors that create trust, accountability, and shared results. This article revisits the five dysfunctions that can derail teams and offers practical ways to address them.

High performing teams, and the desire for them, is a common occurrence in corporations. While teams and groups are commonly used as synonyms, they are different from each other. Oxford Dictionary defines a team as a group of people who work together at a particular job while a group is defined as a number of people or things that are together in the same place.

As common as teams are in modern organizations, it should come as no surprise that some work better than others. Dysfunction in teams is all around. Behnam Tabrizi found that nearly 75% of cross-functional teams were dysfunctional. In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of A Team, leadership consultant Patrick Lencioni describes the most common breakdowns that prevent teams from working effectively. These dysfunctions are as follows:

  1. Absence of trust
  2. Fear of conflict
  3. Lack of commitment
  4. Avoidance of accountability
  5. Inattention to results
Why These Team Dysfunctions Matter

Lencioni’s model is widely used because it highlights that team performance problems rarely start with results. Instead, they usually begin with an absence of trust between team members. Without the basis of trust, dysfunctions will not be able to be resolved. Research from the Harvard Business Review found that people who work in places with high trust levels reported 106% more energy at work, 76% more engagement, 74% less stress, 40% less burnout, 50% higher productivity and 29% more satisfaction with their lives compared to those at a low trust workplace. Low trust workplaces often have to deal with, and navigate, office politics.

Resolving the absence of trust dysfunction is crucial to resolving the later dysfunctions. Each dysfunction is based on the resolution of the previous dysfunction and cannot be mastered out of order. For example, if your team shows lack of commitment, it is likely that there is also a fear of conflict from some, if not all of your team members. When a member doesn’t feel as though they can disagree and create conflict with a coworker, they will not be fully committed to the solution proposed because they were never able to weigh in their own opinions.

So how can you tell which dysfunction your team is stuck at and what can you do to resolve it? Here are some examples for each level:

Dysfunction #1 – Absence of Trust

Teams with absence of trust may:

  • Not own up to mistakes made
  • Not admit that they can’t do something to hide their weaknesses from other team members
  • Be unwilling to go out of the realm of their job descriptions to help a coworker

What can you do to address it?

  • Have team members be vulnerable and tell the team something about themselves then discuss as a team what you learned. This increases vulnerability between the team and makes it easier to continue to be vulnerable.
  • Focus on everyone’s strengths. Doing this will help team members gain confidence in themselves and their work. This could inspire coworkers to appreciate the strengths and talents of their peers.

Addressing lack of trust can:

  • Lead to quicker reaction to issues, now that mistakes can be admitted more openly
  • Prevent mistakes before they happen if coworkers feel comfortable to ask for assistance on projects
Dysfunction #2 – Fear of Conflict

Teams that fear conflict may:

  • Not listen to understand during a disagreement, rather listen to win the disagreement and argue their point
  • Not converse with a coworker they disagree with and speak behind their backs
  • Let leaders dominate a meeting and leave the meeting
  • Display artificial harmony in which there is no conflict at all

What can you do to address it?

  • Suggest an obviously bad idea and see if anyone in your team argues. If they don’t, there is a blatant fear of conflict.
  • Show your team that having opposing views can be productive and helpful.
  • Have a “devil’s advocate” portion of the meeting in which an opposing view can be argued.
  • Thank team members for bringing up different points of view that may conflict with the consensus.

Addressing fear of conflict can:

  • Lead to quicker resolution of issues
  • Lessen the amount of office politics
  • Allow more diverse views and lead to innovation
Dysfunction #3 – Lack of Commitment

Teams that have a lack of commitment may:

  • Have members who don’t commit to an idea because it’s not their idea
  • Have the false impression everyone is on the same page after leaving a meeting
  • Mean members don’t contribute to the discussion because their ideas differ

What can you do to address it?

  • Ask members if they have anything to add, any other ideas or (especially) differing opinions on the topic at hand.
  • Encourage team members to ask questions for clarification.
  • Set a team goal and have objectives for everyone to commit to.

Addressing lack of commitment can:

  • Help the team understand why a goal is being addressed in a certain way
  • Help members commit to an idea after being heard out about their own
  • Show the main goal of the team and what is expected of team members
Dysfunction #4 – Avoidance of Accountability

Teams that have an avoidance of accountability may:

  • Have peers who won’t hold each other accountable on performance and behavioral aspects
  • Have leave leaders with the sole responsibility of discipline
  • Include members not performing to the best of their ability

What can you do to address it?

  • Start at the leadership level and call members out on their behavioral mistakes and let this trickle down to peer level.
  • Regularly review team members’ individual performance and remind the team of the high standards expected.
  • Have the team come together and share one thing for each member that could be improved to promote accountability between team members.

Addressing avoidance of accountability can:

  • Lead to quicker and higher quality performance from the whole team
  • Urge poor performers to improve performance
  • Take some of the strain off of leaders
Dysfunction #5 – Inattention to Results

Teams that have an Inattention to Results:

  • Don’t focus on the team as a whole when working on projects
  • Attain personal goals more often than team goals.
  • Fail to develop as a team

What can you do to address it?

  • Have regular meetings to review key metrics
  • Keep a scoreboard of some type that keeps the team updated on tasks that have been completed.

Addressing inattention to results can:

  • Increase the amount of team goals hit
  • Increase team work and minimize individualism in these settings
  • Increase development as a team
Applying the Five Dysfunctions Framework in Real Teams

While many leaders recognize these dysfunctions in theory, addressing them within real teams can be more challenging.

Team development frameworks such as The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team build on Lencioni’s model and focus on helping teams strengthen the behaviors that lead to trust, productive conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.

At Evolved People Coaching, we work with leadership teams and cross-functional groups using this framework to help teams identify where dysfunction exists and develop practical strategies for improving collaboration.

These interactive workshops include:

  • Individual and team assessments to understand team dynamics
  • Facilitated exercises and discussions to build trust and communication
  • Clear action plans that teams can immediately apply to improve performance

This type of structured team development helps organizations move from simply understanding the model to actually changing how teams work together.

Building a high-functioning team requires time, reflection, and consistent effort. By recognizing the dysfunctions that prevent teams from performing at their best, leaders can begin creating environments where trust, accountability, and shared results become the norm.

Organizations interested in strengthening collaboration and team effectiveness can explore team development workshops facilitated by Nicki Gilmour and Evolved People Coaching, which apply these principles in practical and engaging ways.

 

By Chloe Williams

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