Understanding the D-personality

General

D-personalities are assertive people who work fast, live fast and make decisions quickly and objectively. Emotional appeal will do little to convince a D-personality. D’s shine under pressure; they can be visionaries, have great communication skills, and are very charismatic. They prefer leadership positions and expect those surrounding them to listen when they speak. Authority is important to a D-personality and if challenged, they can sound aggressive.

Communicating with a D-personality

It is important to remain assertive and direct when working with D’s. They can have no patience for anyone they perceive as timid and might even have a tendency to walk all over someone with a shy demeanor. When a D-personality speaks, they will do so quickly and as little time as possible. Speak up because they also hate to explain their reasoning or repeat themselves. Be as quick, focused and to the point as possible and remember to ask “what,” not “how.”

Giving Feedback

Feedback from a D-personality can often sound like instructions. D’s need to be aware that feedback is intended to provide guidance and if those discussions are always action-driven, the other person isn’t going to learn to correct the mistake. And if this behavior is repeated, over time the D’s colleagues will begin to resent how they are treated. Try to be less objective and start the conversation on a positive note, especially if the person receiving feedback are one of the more subjective types, such as an I- or S-personality.

Ideal Roles / Your Effectiveness

D-personalities tend to gravitate toward positions of authority. They can be huge sources of motivation and they set an aggressive pace meant to achieve results as efficiently as possible. They can be relentlessly competitive, with themselves and with others. D’s want to be the best, the fastest, the most accomplished at pretty much everything. Asking a D-personality to do anything they perceive as tedious or mundane is just asking them to ignore you. They prefer to be the person making all the decisions.

Team dynamics

The D-personality can be a polarizing figure on a team. They have the ability to make quick decisions and tend to thrive in stressful situations, when their charisma and efficiency can really make a positive impact. D’s can also try to exert the authority that comes so naturally to them in negative ways, which can alienate colleagues by talking over and ignoring other ideas, as well as outright refusing to pitch in on the more rudimentary tasks.

Motivators

A D-personality is motivated by achievement and will naturally try to position themselves as a leader or person of authority. D’s will be very vocal and actively reject doing any tasks they feel are mundane or tedious. If trying to appeal to a D-personality, subjective reasoning will be ignored. D’s like action, challenge and adventure so try to appeal to those preferences.

Stressors

The D-personality like autonomy, which means they seek freedom, independence, and control. D’s are likely to quickly lose any interest if they feel constricted by rules or structure, as well as in situations where they cannot be in control.

Re-charging

Even the most in control person needs to de-stress and clear their head now and again. A D-personality might have the hardest time of all the personality types remembering that. D’s need to physically move to re-charge and get their energy back. Go for a walk, a run, take a hike or whatever it is you do that gets your heart rate up and your mind thinking clearly again.

Approaching

Prepare your talking points before approaching the D-personality. D’s hate to waste time so walk up to them, immediately get to your point, and leave once you’ve gotten a response. If the D-personality tries to cut you off or gets impatient, don’t back down. Use direct language and assert yourself. Don’t linger once the conversation once the conversation ends.

Interrupting

It’s ok to interrupt the D-personality but when you do, make sure you prepare, talk quickly, and immediately get to the point. D’s like to be involved in everything so interrupting isn’t a big deal but if they think you are wasting their time, they’ll simply cut you off and go back to whatever they were doing. Keep your resolve and state yourself clearly to make sure the D-personality doesn’t turn their back on you,

Communicating with a D-personality

General

D’s are known for their boldness and tend to tell it like it is. You need to do the same in order to communicate effectively and ensure that the D-personality not only hears you, but listens. Do not expect try to develop rapport, engage in idle small talk, or expect the D-personality to read your emotions or unspoken sentiments. Say what you have to say, say it clearly, be assertive and direct and then allow the D-personality to turn back to whatever they were doing.

Giving Instructions

D’s hate to be told what to do and will probably actively ignore you if you try to dole out instructions. D-personalities are autonomous and will always try to designate themselves as the authority. Give D’s choices in how to go about a specific task and allow them the flexibility to choose

Giving Feedback

The D-personality operates in a way that ensures they never lose control or autonomy. Offer suggestions and be prepared for D’s to be a little defensive and respond back with their own thoughts. Make sure to give support their need for their authority by expressing your confidence in their abilities and work. Ask “what” questions such as:

• What are you trying to achieve?
• What do you think you can improve on?
• D’s will likely end the conversation abruptly, which does not indicate they are angry or rejecting the feedback they’ve been given.

Email

Begin your email with a short subject line, no longer than five words, that states the purpose email of the email. Skip the greeting and salutation and get right to the point of your outreach. Close the email with a one word ending such as “Best” or “Regards” and your name. D’s are likely to respond quickly and with one sentence. Don’t be surprised to receive a one word answer.

Motivators

D’s are motivated by success and achievement. They want to be the voice of authority, have control of their own trajectory, and D-personalities thrive when they can have the autonomy and flexibility to pursue tasks and projects they view as challenging. D’s will thrive in fast-paced, results-oriented environments.

Stressors

D’s will become discouraged if put into positions they view as vulnerable and a D-personality might aggressively oppose micro-management. A D-personality can often counted on to be an intuitive voice during high-stress times on a team but if they feel they lack power or authority to make the decisions, they can become rude and do have the high potential for volatile outbursts and a quick temper.

Summary

A D-personality is motivated by achievement. They don’t care how it gets down, they only care that the job is complete and complete quickly. D’s do everything at a fast pace, from understanding a new project to making decisions. They are always ready for a new challenge, new adventure, and if they can work in some kind of competition - friendly or otherwise - all the better for a D.

Ideal Roles

• President or CEO
• Entrepreneur
• Lawyer
• Police(wo)man
• Politician