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Andy Atwood, PC

A BOOK REVIEW of sorts by Andy Atwood

The 8 Dimensions of LEADERSHIP

by Sugerman, Scullard and Wilhelm.

The DiSC assessment has been around for many years. It is an instrument commonly used in many different businesses. I’ve been using it since 2006 and have found it to be rather useful. There are a variety of versions of the DiSC. Some give a rather simple and straightforward description of someone’s behavior at work. Other versions give feedback on motivators, likely ways in which someone can waste time, and the level of emotional intelligence of the assessment taker.

There are many books about the DiSC and its results and recommendations. One is The 8 Dimensions of LEADERSHIP and it is a rather useful tool. The research that went into the way these 8 Types of leadership have been defined does seem to be solid.

Once you have your leadership Type defined, you then can define what Type of leadership your team needs now or next. Parts II and III will help you to define the skills that need to be cultivated.

What follows are my suggested steps for making use of the book -

  1. The first step is to determine your Type of leadership, or what the authors refer to as your “dimension” of leadership. I’m sticking with “Type” because types are one of the 5 parts of the Integral Theory framework with which I work. So, you first determine your Type of Leadership by taking the DiSC assessment, and/or by reviewing the descriptions of the 8 Types in Part I of the book. Note: different assessments taken at different times, or different versions of the DiSC, might give you a different Type. For example, you might be an iD in one assessment, and a D or Di, or a Dc in another. At some point you will have to use your own inner knowing and some feedback from people who know you to nail down your preferred Type at this point in time.
  2. The second step is to look at Part II to confirm your Type of leadership and to dig into the relevant issues embedded in your leadership Type.
  3. The third step is to determine what Type of leadership your team needs now, and in the immediate future. You can do that by completing the simple questionnaire found on pages 96ff. Or, you can use the one page handout that I’ve created from those pages. You might want to have your leadership team complete this simple exercise with you so that you arrive at an informed opinion.
  4. The fourth step is to look at your Type of leadership and the Type that you believe is needed, and then to work on a plan for cultivating more of the needed Type of leadership. You can use the material in Parts II and III to put your plan together. For example, I was a fairly high D when I was the Executive Coordinator of the Fountain Hill Center for 33 years, but shifted to a very low D and a higher S as I became more of a consultant to those who are high D business leaders trying to manage fast moving change and increased complexity.
  5. A reminder – Types of leadership are not personality, temperament, or strengths. There are many factors involved in leadership. Types of leadership are important and useful, but not complete.