Personal Narrative: My Communication Style

My communication style tends to float between two very distinct classifications found in the Forbes’ Communication Styles PowerPoint and the DISC Personality Profile descriptions. This assignment has allowed me the opportunity to further reflect upon my own communication styles in varying environments, as well as identify and hopefully minimize the weaknesses that I need to improve upon before I become the sole administrator of a site. To gain respect and build trust as an instructional leader, communication is a two-way street; staff consumption of messages is just as important as administrator distribution of them.

Based on the Forbes’ Communication Styles PowerPoint, I am both a functional and an intuitive communicator, which are indicated

as opposites and challenging to communicate with each other. As an intuitive communicator, I tend to be quick and cut right to the point when working on a task with my administrative team. On my site, I am seen as the administrator that plans diligently and follows through on tasks, which at times gives staff the feeling that I’m insensitive to their feelings. I agree with the PowerPoint and can cite a handful of experiences over the last year and a half where I have become impatient when too much detail is shared, as I like to use time as effectively as possible, especially since it tends to be so scarce during school hours.
It’s very interesting that the PowerPoint stated that an Intuitive Communicator “would be most challenged by the Functional Communication style” as when I’m working with staff during professional development, I like a lot of detail, along with well thought out plans and specific timelines. I definitely prefer to communicate in a linear fashion and can get bogged down by details, but I attribute that to a challenge presented by my ADHD rather than my fixation on process and details. I am also an analytical communicator at times as I look at issues logically and without emotion, and often times become impatient when conversation is overly filled with emotion, as I prefer facts in a precise manner over subjectively. To meet the needs of the strong analytical teachers at my site, I need to ask them questions about the data that I present and encourage them to prove their points by showing evidence. Even though I don’t prefer emotionally charged conversations, I do take time to work on personal communication with staff by having an open door policy and I stop working on any given task to listen and discover what others think; all part of building relationships with staff to improve the culture at our school.
Based on the DISC Personality Profile, I can be described by both the Dominance as well as the Conscientiousness behavior styles. Given the dysfunctional culture of my school, the emphasis in our administrative team is on re-shaping the environment across departments, and to accomplish this, we have had to overcome opposition from many different avenues to begin seeing the results that we do a year later. Under the Dominance behavior characteristics, I have always been motivated by competition and success (I grew up playing and coaching soccer, which has played a large role in my drive as an educator). I rise to the occasion of any challenge, am driven and determined (whether it was being the first in my family to graduate college or as a single mom of two small children presently) to better myself, learn from my experiences, and inspire those around me. My ADHD helps with the fast-pace and multi-tasking necessities of administration. Even though I’m only in my second year as an administrator, my self-confidence has pushed me to take advantage of the new opportunities (presenting district-wide staff development in January) and many unique accomplishments (first year admin and handled Master Schedule in 72 hours). As the Dominance description indicated, I do need to expend more energy to work on my patience, as I can be very blunt and/or straight to the point with certain staff members and teammates.
I also fit under the Conscientiousness behavior style of DISC as I am very motivated by opportunities to further my own knowledge base, along with helping others learn from my own expertise, as is evident by my volunteering to present District Wide training in Direct Interactive Instruction for two entire days in January and February. I will be using over 6 years of my own training to develop and facilitate these trainings. On a daily basis, I work conscientiously no matter what is thrown at me, and expend a large portion of my energy and time to ensure quality and accuracy in everything I do and say. I value stability, along with unique accomplishments and personal growth. It is a great struggle for me to delegate tasks, but I’ve worked greatly over the last year and rely much more heavily on my secretary and other admin team members, in order to be more efficient and productive with my time during school hours.
I tend to be a perfectionist and developer, a combination of DISC’s Dominance and Conscientious styles. I am an extremely task-oriented individual, but I am sensitive to the needs of others and problems alike. I adhere to any and all commitments and expect the same from others. I firmly believe that quality is extremely important and, if a job is not done right, it should not be done at all. I am motivated to lead and influence the staff members across my district and I take the responsibility of leadership seriously. Several district administrators have noted the confidence that I exude and my natural ability to be a frontrunner. From the DISC Personality Profiling system, I like the suggestions in improving and strengthening communications with others that have different styles such as Influence (sharing experiences and focus on the positive with my open door policy) and Steadiness (express interest in others and what I expect from them).
Understanding my communication style is an imperative factor in my success as an instructional leader and effective communicator. Knowing and capitalizing on my strengths, while improving on and minimizing my weaknesses will help reduce the negative effects of my communication styles. My two teammates and I capitalize on each others strengths and share duties based on our differing communication and behavior styles to provide the most meaningful communication to staff, parents, and students alike. Some situations and/or staff members lend themselves to certain communication style preferences and we, as an administrative team, work together to ensure effective and efficient communication of the desired message reaches all stakeholders. Before having crucial conversations with staff members or parents, I spend time up front thinking about these different communication preferences and how to effectively present the purpose of the conversation and promote successful communication. I believe it is a necessity to weigh all options before making a decision to move ahead, which is why I spend so much time thinking through alternatives and choices carefully.
I like the DISC icon, as it is a handy visual reference that I can use to prep for an upcoming meeting or conversation. As an instructional leader, my job is to meet the needs of all stakeholders, and I have to meet the varying communication needs of all, sometimes within moments of a new idea being brought to my attention. If I know that I’m going to have a difficult conversation with a staff member or parent, the icon allows me to quickly recognize how I can best communicate the objectives, modify my approach, and allow all conversation participants to feel heard as well as understand the purpose. In communicating with those with an Influence style personality, I plan to leave plenty of time for talk and use a lot of examples. Likewise, with Steadiness communicator, I will strive to earn trust in small steps and provide plenty of reassurance.
Over the last year, I have had to move out of my preferred communication style to challenge staff members that are struggling to meet student needs.

I have become much more flexible in my approach in dealings with others thanks to the guidance of my Principal and Mentor. I am much more willing and open to pursue different avenues to build and maintain trusting relationships with staff. I’ve worked one-on-one and presented several teachers with new ideas and strategies for ensuring all students can meet objectives, but have different ways of demonstrating them. I’ve facilitated and worked alongside the Science Department as they rolled out a new cross-curricular project with our Math team, which required a conglomerate of teacher communication and learning

styles.
I recently had a break through with one of the Math Teachers at my school that has an Influence style communicator and thrives on his reputation and popularity in the community. This teacher has struggled with differentiating instruction (as opposed to just teaching the tricks) and doesn’t understand how to model the mathematical practices. I met with him in his classroom a few weeks ago and just listened to him vent for over 45 minutes. The next week, I checked back in with him and he asked me for help. By devoting my time for him to share his experiences and not interrupting him during the 45-minute rant session, I received a slight buy-in as well as trust to help us take baby steps forward in the direction that this teacher needs to be moving. It was encouraging to be able to communicate with this teacher, who now feels more comfortable dropping by my office to discuss his instructional practices as well as his daughter’s latest feats in college.
One of our CORE teachers struggled on a daily basis to adapt to the change of standards and then to reach students and parents.

I sat with her every other day for the first four months of the past school year, and gave her specific expectations and examples to ensure extreme clarity. This teacher became one of our most requested staff members this year, due to her successful implementation and the step-by-step planning of the newly adopted Common Core State Standards. She truly respected the time that I took to work along her side, even though I hadn’t taught Language Arts or History at the Middle School level. The wealth of instructional strategies that I provided, alongside her content knowledge served her Steadiness Personality and Behavior style that is motivated by cooperation and sincere appreciation.

Successful communication is dependent on what is heard NOT what is said. Each of these communication styles is beneficial and necessary at some point while carrying out administrative duties. Understanding how my communication style comes across to other people, as well as being able to “read” other people’s behavior, are essential to working best (not just well) with others. Over the last year, I’ve been successful finding common ground with staff, while maintaining my individuality and integrity. I’ve adjusted my behavior in small ways to improve results of crucial conversations and tense

situations.
This assignment has allowed me to further deepen my understanding of the importance of my own communication style and the effects it has on my success as an instructional leader. Clearly, there are times that I need to adjust my style to ensure a successful conversation rather than confrontation is had. Being an Assistant Principal, I am a key builder of relationships in and around our school community. I must set the example for and model positive and effective communication to create a collaborative atmosphere that will stand the test of time (long after I’m gone), which is what we, as an admin team, have striven for over the last year and a half.