I am a big fan of people who love to analyze data and thoroughly think through things. My behavioral type as a high Driver/Influencer requires that if I am going to be successful, long term, I need Calculators. It’s taken me quite a long time to learn the best ways to communicate with them. I’ve had quite the incentive though, I’m married to one and my daughter is one as well.
Calculators (the final letter in the DISC behavioral type we’ve been discussing for the last 3 articles in the series) tend to move at a slower pace. They can be highly analytical. Their strengths on a team are that they ask good questions and normally are wonderful “theme masters”. Ask them what the themes of a meeting they were just in were and they can usually boil it down to a sentence or two, no matter how long it was. They are all about what is just and fair. Their body language tends to be reserved and their tone, if challenged in an area that they feel educated and certain in, can be argumentative. They will focus on your words, rather than your body language or tone during a conversation.
A Calculator type will frequently ask for more time to process information. Their question tends to be “why”. When given tasks to complete they would wonder why they are being assigned to them, why those tasks need to be completed by the deadline, and if there is a change, why the change is occurring. They are perfectionists, so they will be hesitant to accept tasks unless they feel they are being given enough time and resources to get them done well. Their motto is, “measure twice, cut once.”
JUST THE FACTS:
Calculator behavioral types like data...raw, unfiltered data. C's like to let the data tell them what is true and what is not true. When getting feedback from a Calculator, give them as many objective facts as possible. They certainly are OK with reasonable opinions, but tend to start to tune people out who are giving them wild exaggerations or jumping to what they would consider unfounded conclusions.
KEEP ITEMS RELATED:
DON’T LET YOUR HANDS DO THE TALKING:
BE PREPARED FOR THEIR FAMOUS “RESTING FACE”:
KEEP A SAFE ZONE:
Possible reasons for conflicts with a Calculator:
Influencers are usually good with people, like to use their hands when they talk and many enjoy constant conversation. They have energy and enthusiasm which makes them exaggerate some times. They also take cues of acceptance or rejection from other people’s body language. This can come in direct conflict with a Calculator type who has a “resting face” that seems to indicate disinterest in what the Influencer is saying. The Influencer type can feel like the C is not listening and is aloof. That may not be the case, but the Influencer may feel like it is. The Calculator, on the other hand, can think that an Influencer type jumps around when giving information, is distracting with their high energy body language, and may come across to the C as emotional. The C may literally look away, during a conversation, in order to filter out just the facts that are being conveyed.
TEAM EXERCISE:
Utilize your smart Calculator types to create appropriate and relevant agendas for a meeting, keep the meeting on time and on task, and report out themes to bring out the strengths of a Calculator in these types of settings.
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