Confessions of a High D

Have you ever heard of the DISC inventory? Well, if you haven’t, it is one of the ways that people who make a living categorizing personalities, leadership styles, and so forth, figure out how people operate. Surprise, surprise, when I first did this assessment several years ago (circa 1993) it turned out I was High D. I only become a High I when there is opposition to my leadership. In other words, if we are working together, as long as you follow orders, I am a very happy camper. This is probably why I have never worked very well in "teams." In fact, I think true teamwork is pretty rare. Almost as rare as unity. Here is a truism I have seen in action. Whenever the pastor starts preaching on unity, one can be sure that a church split, or at least an exodus, of some sort is just around the corner.

Why is this, do you suppose? Well, for one thing, we are all different. No matter how much we try to categorize, describe or make sense of different types of people, we will remain somewhat unique. Maybe not as unique as a grain of sand, or a snowflake, but nevertheless, unique. Now, here is the kicker. No matter how unique each of us is, we tend to think that other people will think, feel, believe and act like us. In my little world, Charlieland, I call this Charlie-pomorphism. It is usually a huge awakening for me, and I have to admit, usually a disappointment, when I find out that others are not like me, they don’t believe exactly as I do, and their idea of unity and teamwork is not exactly the same as my idea. Because you see, in many ways I like every idea I come up with, every thing I think I ought to do, and when I don’t feel like doing anything, I am sure that is the perfect thing.

So what is a High D to do, and for that matter a self-centered and self-absorbed one like me? People just won’t do what I want them to when I want them to do it. They don’t always think that every idea I have is brilliant! Sometimes, if I am "teaching" a group, they fall asleep! Oh, boy! Isn’t that rude?

I’d like to think that maybe I can learn something from the parts of my life that are frustrating, those parts when I interact with people who haven’t done what I thought they should do. Gee, if I had any empathy, I might understand that is the exact way they feel about me!
Yikes!