See on www.theengagingbrand.com

Certification on and use of Extended DISC system will increase your effectiveness in recruitment, training, career progression, coaching etc. In a competitive environment this is a major differentiator both at a personal and organizational level.

What is the Extended DISC system?

The Extended DISC system is not just a set of behavioral tools, but is a simple, unified and comprehensive psychometric assessment system that provides a range of tools which can be used during all processes from recruiting to HR development to analyzing on individual, team or entire organization levels.

Credentials of Extended DISC® :

• Extended DISC® was founded in 1994 by Jukka Sappinen
• Headquartered in Espoo, Finland
• One of the top five companies in the field today
• Extended DISC® International is present in over 50 countries
• Annual growth rate is 20-50%
• The Extended DISC® System has been translated into 56 languages
• Has been used by over a million people in 2010

Extended DISC Unique Features :

• Extended DISC measures emotion
• More behavioural styles than in any other instrument
• More stable results than with any other instrument
• Measures the individual both on unconscious AND conscious levels
• Extended DISC® Diamond.It identifies160 distinct behavioral styles visually
• Extended DISC text bank is significantly larger than competitors. It can generate over 11.5 crore different Text Pages
• Extended DISC not only assesses, but also helps the individual to improve
• Extended DISC is difficult to cheat

To know more about the Extended DISC system: http://www.larkslearning.com/psychometric-assesments.php

What will be covered during the certification?

The CEDA certification on Extended DISC System enables a certified professional to read, comprehend and analyze the Extended DISC individual and work-pair reports. He/ she can then use the reports in recruitment, training, career progression and coaching.

After the Certified Extended DISC Administrator (CEDA) program  you will be able to:

• Develop conceptual clarity about The Extended DISC  theory and fundamental terminology used in The Extended DISC Model
• Be able to identify the Four Major Behavioural Styles, their characteristic features, their Strengths and  Weaknesses
• Learn the Extended DISC Behavioural Map (Extended DISC Diamond) and the reasoning for the relationship  between the four major behavioural styles (the Profiles) and the Behavioural Map
• Be able to read and understand the Extended DISC Standard Personal Analysis Report
• Open your own answering accounts on The Extended  DISC Online Platform and learn how to create access codes, order reports and order points
• Understand the Extended DISC profiles
  • Profile II and Profile I
  • Basic shapes
  • Profile II – levels of interpretation
  • Shape, size and position of profiles and their meaning
  • Profile I
  • Special cases
• Comprehend DISC – Combination of traits
• How do different types get along
• Extended DISC work pair analysis report
• Understand Extended DISC Team Analysis
• Shot Gun map and Name map

What are the criteria to join?

Since the Extended DISC reporting is shorn of psychological jargon you don’t require a degree in psychology.

Can I gain more expertise in the Extended DISC System?

Yes, We have 3 levels of certifications:

• CEDA-Certified Extended DISC Administrator & CEDAA-Certified Extended DISC Advanced Administrator
• CEDAN-Certified Extended DISC Analyst
• CEDE-Certified Extended DISC Enabler

Where and when will it be conducted?

CEDA : Delhi/NCR: Spring-summer

• 5-6^th  April 2013
• 26-27^th  April 2013
• 7-8^th June 2013
• 23-24^th  August 2013

Kolkata:

• 20-21st May 2013

CEDAA- Dates to be announced

Who will conduct the open programs?

• CEDA Lovely Kumar or Anila Rattan
• CEDAA Jukka Sapinnen, CEO- Extended DISC International

How much does it cost?

• CEDA Rs 14,000/- + Taxes.
• CEDAA To be announced

Volume/ Early Bird discounts are available.

Whom to contact?

Contact Lovely Kumar at lovely@larkslearning.com or 91-9899108659

• On smejoinup.com in Dec 2012  “Paradigm Shift: Entrepreneur as Chief Trainer ” http://tinyurl.com/addwajs
• On thewaywomenwork.com in Nov 2012  “Paradigm shift: Your Network as A Mentor” http://tinyurl.com/auyd2od
• On bookmytrainings.com in Jan 12 “What does it mean to be an Instructional Leader as a Corporate Trainer”  http://tinyurl.com/a9lw2ns
• On bookmytrainings.com in Dec 11 “Training of the Retail Front-end Staff” http://tinyurl.com/b9558nw
• On bookmytrainings.com in Nov 11 “21st Century Tool: Psychometric Assessments” http://tinyurl.com/bpospzq
• On bookmytrainings.com in Nov 11 “21st Century Skills and Capacities” http://tinyurl.com/ccou98u
• On bookmytrainings.com in Nov 11 “What does the 21st Century Learning Facilitator look like?” http://tinyurl.com/crfwwcr
• On bookmytrainings.com in Nov 11 “Enhance Productivity through Developmental Feedback” http://tinyurl.com/axhzw3d
• On bookmytrainings.com in Oct 2011 “Critical Skill for the 21st century: The Ability to Synthesise”  http://tinyurl.com/bwgqaka

The questions are very relevant to success but how many of us are actually doing this. What gets in the way?

Most of the times it is the time. We are on a run and have no time for introspection. Also there are blind spots. Look at the Johari window below.

This is where the DISC test comes extremely useful.

The Extended DISC system requires just 10 minutes of your time answering 24 simple questions online. In a span of 10 minutes from the time you finish the questionnaire a comprehensive report (personal analysis) reaches your inbox.

In a simple manner you can read about yourself: attributes,motivators, demotivators, strengths, reactions to pressure situations, communication style, decision making style, your ideal manager, role in a team etc.

Some people have described it as standing before a mirror.

Give the Extended DISC advantage to :

1. Yourself: Sign up for the Larks CEO springboard. For more information pls go over: http://larkslearning.com/blog/larks-ceo-springboard-a-personal-performance-coaching-initiative/

2. Your organization: read a perspective on the value of psychometric testing http://larkslearning.com/blog/a-21st-century-tool-psychometric-assessments/

Contributed by Lovely Kumar, Chief-Projects, Larks Learning.

For more information on our training, coaching or assessing interventions, contact- lovely@larkslearning.com

Also non-verbals has been an area of great interest. So I was really eager to comprehend the import of Amy Cuddy’s research.

It has been established that we all make judgements based on other people’s body language. These judgements are often extremely significant ones such as who to hire, whom to marry etc…In fact, whenever there is a clash between the verbal and nonverbal communication received, we believe the non verbal.Social scientists attribute this to the fact that body language predates language.

However, our non verbals not only impact how others view us but also how we view ourselves. Our non verbals govern how we think and feel about ourselves.

When I went over the video by Amy Cuddy, I recollected the advise my mother gave me before I went to hostel. “If you don’t feel great, ensure that you put in more time in dressing up and wear a brighter colour lipstick.” She intuitively knew that when you feel great, you dress up but also that if you dress up you start feeling great.

That is mind changes body and body the mind.

There is research to show that our body affects our mind which affects our behaviour and which affects meaningful life outcomes.

Social scientist Amy Cuddy research and study has been in the area of non verbal expressions of  power dynamics. According to her, non verbal expressions of :

• High power are opening up, occupying space
• Low power are shutting down, becoming smaller

http://bit.ly/SxxCE7

In the case of power interestingly, we do not mirror the other persons non verbals but complement them. Have a look…

High power meets low power

http://bit.ly/QWRRsU

The feeling of power affects our physiology, basically 2 hormones, testosterone (the dominance hormone) and cortisol (the stress hormone). The powerful (leaders) have high testosterone and low cortisol.

According to social psychologist Amy Cuddy even tiny interventions such as 2 minutes “power-posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and therefore impact our chances at success.

Power posing can affect in all situations of social threats such as:

• Job interviews
• Client interactions
• Complex negotiations

How many times have you seen people with great ideas unable to express themselves? Power posing is the answer.

Power posing affects the presence (i.e. enthusiasm, captivation, comfort, authenticity, confidence) of the person and so improves the ability of their message hitting home.

You must watch Amy Cuddy…..

And so next time before a stressful presentation try “Power Posing”

Contributed by: Lovely Kumar, Chief Projects, Larks Learning

For more information about our training, assessment and coaching interventions please get in touch at 91-9899108659 or lovely@larkslearning.com

And once in a while…I get a positive answer that is other than anecdotal and is based on statistically valid research. How damaging is a bad boss exactly? by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman is one such blog post ( http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/how_damaging_is_a_bad_boss_exa.html?awid=9076559756422953148-3271)

According to Zenger and Folkman, “What’s the one factor that most affects how satisfied, engaged, and committed you are at work?” The unequivocal answer is your immediate supervisor. This they claim is true across the globe, across company size, sector etc.

Aha! So it’s true.

Anyone who has a bad boss intuitively knows it….a bad boss has a very negative impact on productivity, motivation, morale….A bad boss impacts your work, your health, in fact your whole life.

As an organization also a “bad boss” is an economic loss even when the bad boss is a producer…..I say this because there are workplaces where a boss can be an interpersonal disaster but because he brings in business his/her actions are condoned.

Now comes the more important aspect: What to do about it?

1. The first and foremost is to realise that the person needs coaching….a person who can provide resources and assistance in making the change.
2. Next is to identify that there is an issue. This can be achieved through
• a 360 deg feedback study
• a psychometric assessment
3. The next step is to isolate the 1-2 issues that will have the maximum impact on improving the person’s effectiveness
4. Change takes time and effort, so you need to obtain the person’s buy in to change.
5. The combination of 360 and a psychometric test will give the actual behaviours that need work on and then you need to draw out an action plan with the person involved.
6. Lastly and most importantly, is the follow through.

Is this easy? No…..nothing worthwhile is.

Contributed by: Lovely Kumar, Chief Projects, Larks Learning

For more information about our training, assessment and coaching interventions please get in touch at 91-9899108659 or lovely@larkslearning.com

However, according to Lyubomirsky (2005) this is a major fallacy that we are operating under. In fact, happiness leads to superior productivity & resilence, lesser burnout and higher sales.

When Shawn Anchor, psychologist and author of Happiness Advantage elaborates on research linking happiness and success onTed Talks, I found this concept very interesting .(http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html)

Reasearch is finally proving what our sages have been saying all along :the lens with which we view the world shapes our reality. And that is why all religions talk about doing good deeds and having pure thoughts etc.

However, today increasingly that lens is becoming negative. Every morning when I read the newspaper I am increasingly shocked by the depravity of my fellow human beings. I don’t know if the instances of such depravity have increased over time but certainly we are more aware of them today. Negativity sells and big time

However, research is saying happiness causes success in what Shawn Anchor is calling the Happiness Advantage.

One example of the Happiness Advantage is that our brains are 31% more productive when we are happy than when we are negative, neutral or stressed. This is because not only does dopamine make us feel immense pleasure but it also turns on the brains learning centres.

Now happiness is serious business as it impacts almost all business facets: productivity, employee resilience, turnover, employee burnout, sales etc.

Therefore, we need to learn on how to change our lenses to be more positive and happy. A few ways we can actually achieve this is by practicing the following simple actions for 21 days in a row.

• 3 gratitudes (Emmons & McCulough 2003)- write 3 new things to be grateful about everyday.
• Journaling (Slatcher & Pennebaker 2006)- write in your journal one positive incident that you experienced today
• Exercise (Babyak et al 2000)- yes EXCERCISE…it teaches you that your actions matter
• Meditation (Dweck 2007) – Focus on 1 thing to the exclusion of all others
• Random acts of kindness (Lyubomirsky 2005) – Experience how even small acts of kindness especially for those people who can’t be useful to you in the future makes you feel good.

All religious discourses I have attended have said the above in some form or the other…but now that they are scientifically proven they take on an entirely different light.

Contributed by: Lovely Kumar, Chief Projects, Larks Learning

For more information about our training, assessment and coaching interventions please get in touch at 91-9899108659 or lovely@larkslearning.com

Extended DISC International- Extended DISC International is a Finnish company founded in 1994 by Jukka Sappinen, an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics and headquartered in Espoo, Finland. It is currently one of the top five companies in the field today with an annual growth rate of 20-50%. It is present in over 50 countries and has been used by over a million people in 2009. The Extended DISC® System has been translated into 56 languages.

The Extended DISC system provides information on 2 basic questions:

1. Who is the person?
2. How comfortable is he feeling in his current environment?

Through the Extended DISC instrument you get to know a person’s natural behavioral style. This is the behavioral style that is most comfortable to him, one he uses the most often and which gives him the least stress. It is also what he reverts to under pressure. The Extended DISC system Diamond identifies 160 distinct behavioral styles visually.

The Extended DISC Student Report: The Extended DISC student report provides the following information:

1. How others see me: attributes, motivators, tries to avoid, ideal manager-leader, communication style and decision making
2. Diamond, graph’s and comfort zones
3. Motivators and de-motivators
4. Strengths and reactions to pressure situations
5. My role in a team: Attitude towards teamwork, role in a team, role as decision maker, role as motivator, role as performer, the benefit the group receives
6. My natural behavioral tendencies – job environment, decision making, communication, is motivated by
7. Items that require a little energy and items that require a lot of energy
8. Workbook: Structured in 4 segments
1. Background to report
2. My natural behavioral style
3. My learning style
4. My future
9. It also gives a person’s learning style

Value of the student report is:

1. It assists in understanding a student’s strengths and weaknesses whereby they can capitalize on their strengths and try to work around their weaknesses.
2. The knowledge gained from the report helps in ascertaining the kind of training intervention required to increase employability i.e. topics and training methodology. E.g.in the case of assertiveness training, the intervention will be totally different for a D person where the focus would be in tuning down from      aggressive to assertive and for a S person where the focus would be shifting from passive to assertive. This will increase the efficacy of the intervention.
3. A deep understanding of self can really be the differentiator during the interview process where typically all students mouth a standard set of strengths and weaknesses.
4. In ascertaining the ideal area of specialization. It will also provide information on the job profile and company culture that would best suit the student.

Do you think this information has value?

If so, please contact lovely@larkslearning.com or 9899108659 for more information

Here in black and white is what I have been telling people of all hues and sizes(Corporate executives, Faculty, Students)….Culture matters…there are environments in which you will blossom and environments where you will wither and they might not be the same for everyone.

One of my colleagues has a great way of expressing this. Taking on the Indian saying, “Kamal ke phool ke tareh bano” i.e. be like the lotus flower that rises above and blossoms in mud. She asks, “What if you are a rose?’  That is a relevant question. What do you do if you are indeed a rose.Do you persevere or do you change track? My belief is that you will need to change track if you are to realize your potential.

If that is so, first you need to know what environment suits you best. Easier said than done….if you are anything like me I found that out by many mis-steps…becoming a part and then realizing I am not happy in that environment.

Now with my current exposure to psychometric tests, I realize that it is possible to have an indication of where you have the highest chance of success and happiness. And best of all the costs are not prohibitive.

What is the value to saving yourself time, stress and unhappiness?

Certainly more than the Rs 1500 that it costs for an Extended DISC personal report. I quote Extended DISC because I am most aware of Extended DISC. But most psychometric tests are in the same range.

For this investment they provide a host of valuable information. For example the Extended DISC personal analysis gives the following insights on a person: What job environment will suit him best? How people typically view the person? What are his areas of strength?  What are his potential weaknesses? What motivates him? What demotivates him? What is his communication style? His decision making style? His role in a team etc.

It is my opinion that this is a worthwhile investment both from an individuals as well as from an organizations point of view.

For more information on the Extended DISC system and how it can add value to you, Please contact lovely@larkslearning.com or 9899108659

“WHY EMPLOYEES LEAVE ORGANISATIONS? – Azim Premji, 
Every company normally faces one common problem of high employee turnout ratio. People are leaving the company for better pay, better profile or simply for just one reason’ pak gaya ‘. This article might just throw some light on the matter……
Early this year, Arun, an old friend who is a senior software designer, got an offer from a prestigious international firm to work in its India operations developing specialized software. He was thrilled by the offer. He had heard a lot about the CEO of this company, charismatic man often quoted in the business press for his visionary attitude. The salary was great. The company had all the right systems in place employee-friendly human resources (HR) policies, a spanking new office, and the very best technology, even a canteen that served superb food. Twice Arun was sent abroad for training. “My learning curve is the sharpest it’s ever been,” he said soon after he joined. “It’s a real high working with such cutting edge technology.” Last week, less than eight months after he joined, Arun walked out of the job. He has no other offer in hand but he said he couldn’t take it anymore. Nor, apparently, could several other people in his department who have also quit recently.

The CEO is distressed about the high employee turnover. He’s distressed about the money he’s spent in training them. He’s distressed because he can’t figure out what happened. Why did this talented employee leave despite a top salary? Arun quit for the same reason that drives many good people away. The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 managers and was published in a book called First Break All The Rules.
It came up with this surprising finding:
If you’re losing good people, look to their immediate supervisor. More than any other single reason, he is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he’s the reason why they quit, taking their knowledge, experience and contacts with them. Often, straight to the competition. “People leave managers not companies,” write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. “So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people – in the form of better pay, better perks and better training – when, in the end, turnover is mostly manager issue.” If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers. Are they driving people away? Beyond a point, an employee’s primary need has less to do with money, and more to do with how he’s treated and how valued he feels. Much of this depends directly on the immediate manager. And yet, bad bosses seem to happen to good people everywhere.. A Fortune magazine survey some years ago found that nearly 75 per cent of employees have suffered at the hands of difficult superiors. You can leave one job to find – you guessed it, another wolf in a pin-stripe suit in the next one. Of all the workplace stressors, a bad boss is possibly the worst, directly impacting the emotional health and productivity of employees. HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find public humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted.. The second time, that thought gets strengthened. The third time, he starts looking for another job. When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression. By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information.
Dev says: “If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don’t have your heart and soul in the job.” Different managers can stress out employees in different ways – by being too controlling, too suspicious, too pushy, too critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit – often over seemingly trivial issue. It isn’t the 100th blow that knocks a good man down. It’s the 99 that went before. And while it’s true that people leave jobs for all kinds of reasons- for better opportunities or for circumstantial reasons, many who leave would have stayed – had it not been for one man constantly telling them, as Arun’s boss did: “You are dispensable. I can find dozens like you.” While it seems like there are plenty of other fish especially in today’s waters, consider for a moment the cost of losing a talented employee.There’s the cost of finding a replacement. The cost of training the replacement. The cost of not having someone to do the job in the meantime. The loss of clients and contacts the person had with the industry. The loss of morale in co-workers. The loss of trade secrets this person may now share with others. Plus, of course, the loss of the company’s reputation. Every person who leaves a corporation then becomes its ambassador, for better or for worse. We all know of large IT companies that people would love to join and large television companies few want to go near. In both cases, former employees have left to tell their tales.
“Any company trying to compete must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee,” Jack Welch of GE once said. Much of a company’s value lies “between the ears of its employees”. If it’s bleeding talent, it’s bleeding value. Unfortunately, many senior executives busy travelling the world, signing new deals and developing a vision for the company, have little idea of what may be going on at home.That deep within an organization that otherwise does all the right things, one man could be driving its best people away.”

I couldn’t have put it more succinctly but then I am not Azim Premji.

My first manager’s idea of motivating me was to say,” You are selling to the scum of the earth. What does that make you? The scum of the scum of the earth.” Now, even after I told him in no uncertain terms that this was not motivating me, he persisted. I was confused for 3 months, “Mein pagal hu, Ya yeh pagal hai” and then I decided , “Yeh pagal hain”. Post that his ability to influence me decreased dramatically. While at that time I thought he was the devil incarnate. Today after a gap of 15 years I can be more charitable and think he didn’t know better.

One solution to this issue is to invest in the managers through training/coaching. Rupee for rupee this investment would yield high dividends.

They need to be sensitized to their impact on their teams and HR needs to see how they can reward the right behavior e.g use a balanced scorecard.

They also need to be equipped with tools and skills to manage their people better. This can be achieved through a comprehensive learning and development initiative.

More on this later….keep learning.

References: http://www.citehr.com/1333-why-employees-leave-organisations-azim-premji.html

Contributed by Lovely Kumar: Chief-Projects Larks Learning

For more information on our training and coaching for managers please contact 91-9899108659 or lovely@larkslearning.com