The first meeting of our Learning Team was a discussion of the Dimensions of behavior, as described by the DiSC Personal Profile System. Our group has three people who fall into the Dominance category, and one who falls into the Influence category. We feel that we have a good mix of skills, but we recognize that we may need to overcome some shortfalls. All of our people are new to the University of Phoenix, and we look forward to the challenge of fitting ourselves together into a functioning Learning Team.

Chad Lupkes presented a Dominance air by taking charge of the discussion from the start. Immediate results are an important strength that he capitalized on, and he demonstrated that by keeping the conversation moving forward toward the goal. Authority comes easy to him, although his lack of direct experience in group projects worries him. He is good at making quick decisions, although with a 'bullish' attitude that might leave some of the small things undone, and he recognizes that. 

Justin Fernandez, who also has a Dominance profile, has somewhat the same tendency, and we will both work to prevent things from falling through the cracks. Adaptability is another strength that we showed ourselves capable of. Both Justin and Chad are individually motivated, and other than our military experience have little practice in group dimensions.

Magdy Tawfik has an Influence type profile, and that causes him to want the group to maintain momentum towards the goal, without sacrificing an enjoyable, motivated atmosphere. He is excited about what he is accomplishing by attending the University of Phoenix, and what he will be learning in this course, and he is optimistic about our ability to work as a functioning Learning Team. Magdy has experience working in teams in a work environment, because he does that when attending seminars and presentations for his employer, United Airlines. He feels that he needs practice in communicating directly with people, and that practice would help his motivational skills. He likes a strict schedule of events, and we noticed his discomfort with the lack of communication that we showed in our first week. When action was taken to resolve the confusion, he became visibly more comfortable with the situation. Because of this tendency to be uncomfortable around unknown situations, he has trouble relinquishing authority and responsibility. Like Justin, he is sometimes willing to bite off more than he can chew, and it is a habit that both need to work on. Magdy also feels that he has a tendency to be easily distracted, although we did not see evidence of this at our meeting.

Our discussion of the limitations presented by a group of all one type of personality profile resulted in the raising of several items. Our group as it stands now is almost to that point, with three Dominance personalities, and one Influence personality. We have a lot of enthusiasm about the goals that we will be working toward, but we might make ourselves dizzy with the excitement of it all, and miss some important details that a Steady person might catch. This being our first course at the University of Phoenix also lends to that limitation, and ‘practice making things better’ is something we all look forward to. Not having a Conscientious person in the group may limit our diplomacy somewhat among ourselves and between our group and others. However, Diplomacy can also be gained by the way a person was raised, and both Magdy and Chad will likely capitalize on what our families have taught us in the regard.

A group composed entirely of Influence type personalities would face the additional limitation of being slow to make decisions. Care must be taken to ensure that the details are not forgotten, but a Dominant personality can be an innovator that finds their way around slow repetitive tasks to find shortcuts. People with an Influence profile will be motivated by popularity and social recognition because people’s reaction will show him/her that people recognize and appreciate their work. Coaching and counseling the others in the group will help an Influential personality to use their controlling personality by leading the group and help maintain the focus on the project. Since the Influence personality has an emphasis on shaping the environment by influencing or persuading others, the feedback he or she receives from the group will be a major motivational factor. More opportunity to lead the group by taking the responsibility of coaching the project will increase his or her self-esteem at the same time. That person will also be motivated toward improving the input from and participation by the group as a whole.

Some of the challenges that would affect a group comprised solely of Conscientiousness people might be setting their own plan of action, working successfully in a group, and being open and adaptive to quick changes. They may also find it difficult to be outgoing and find joy in their work. This behavioral type has difficulty looking outside of a strict model, liking everything mapped out for them as much as possible. A group of Conscientious people might also have a difficult time planning out who would be responsible for specific tasks. This type of person likes to have more control of their own environment than the other three, and they like to take responsibility for checking the finished product so they can feel positive about the accuracy and quality of the finished product. Conscientious people have a challenging time with conflict and compromise. If there is outside stresses that could force the group to change quickly, the Conscientious people would have a tendency to ignore the stress until they had no other choice than implement the change. Because of this resistance to change, the final product could suffer. A group of all Conscientious profiles would excel in an environment that has set and measured standards and clear goals.

A group of only Steady personalities would also be challenged to maintain the momentum of the project, but additionally may be unable or unwilling to make direct changes to the environment to better the overall situation. They may instead be willing to maintain the status quo because it is the safer path. We felt that Steadiness might be a strength, but we did not have a way to vocalize how that strength might be something we could use more of.

Overall, an analogy seems to apply between these four variances in Personality profiles and the pistons of a working engine. Each piston must take its turn with the fire and fuel mixture to make the crankshaft continue to rotate. If one of the pistons is misfiring or missing altogether the engine knocks or ceases to function at optimum. If a group is missing the calming influence of a Steady person, it can be just as damaging to the group overall as the lack of motivation that an Influence type person would bring, or the diplomacy that a Conscientious person would bring, or the lack of innovation and far-sightedness that a Dominance personality would impart. Our group can see some weaknesses that we will work to overcome. We might miss some details on our quest for continued progress, and the lack of someone with experience in the Learning Team environment has already had an effect. Because our loyalty has always been to ourselves prior to anyone else, it will be a challenge for us to understand that we have a group duty to act as a team. Taking turns with specific responsibilities (like the typing of these papers) might be a step in the right direction. However, that might lead each person to work towards individual accomplishment instead of trying to make the whole more than the sum of its parts, which seems to be the purpose behind Learning Teams in the first place.