From Frustration to Collaboration: How DiSC Transformed an Agile Team

DiSC – Not Boxes, but Insights

In Agile teams, where quick collaboration and flexibility are essential, personality differences can be both a strength and a challenge. DiSC provides tools to better understand and respect each other’s working styles without putting people in boxes. It helps team members recognize and appreciate their own behavioral patterns and those of others. With that in mind: this story isn’t about styles as labels, but as tools for self-reflection in an Agile team that initially struggled with mutual frustrations and misunderstandings.

The Problem: Tensions in an Agile Team

In this team, people with different DiSC styles worked together. One person preferred speed and action, while another prioritized thoroughness and detail. Each Agile role had its unique qualities, but these did not always align. As a result, daily scrums were tense, and during sprint retrospectives, the same issues often arose: communication problems, mutual frustrations, and slow decision-making.

Let’s get to know the four personalities in this team a bit better:

• Laura (Dominant - D): The Product Owner and a true driver. Laura liked to make quick decisions and create clarity for the team. Her favorite words were “action” and “goals,” and she sometimes lacked patience if tasks weren’t tackled immediately.
• Peter (Influential - I): Peter, the Agile Coach, brought a lot of energy to the team and enjoyed brainstorming new ideas. He preferred an inspiring atmosphere and regularly held sessions with the team to boost creativity, but sometimes got lost in too many ideas without focus.
• Karin (Stable - S): The team’s Scrum Master. She safeguarded the group process and ensured everyone felt heard. Harmony was important to her, and she did everything to create a supportive environment, but sometimes struggled with sudden changes in planning.
• Jan (Conscientious - C): As a developer with a keen eye for detail, Jan preferred to work methodically and precisely. He found satisfaction in tasks where he could fully concentrate and sometimes felt anxious about fast, hasty decisions or pressure from the Product Owner to “meet deadlines.”

What Went Wrong?

In an Agile environment, where speed and flexibility are crucial, these different working styles caused friction. Daily stand-ups were tense because Laura (D) often pushed for quick updates, while Jan (C) didn’t always feel comfortable with fast decisions. Karin (S) tried to maintain harmony but sometimes felt overwhelmed by Peter’s (I) enthusiastic ideas and Laura’s pressure to move forward. Peter’s brainstorming sessions were sometimes seen as chaotic by Jan and, according to him, “just fun but not efficient.”

The team grew frustrated, and sprint results lagged behind. Each retrospective ended with the same complaints and little progress. As Agile Coach, Peter decided it was time for a change and proposed a DiSC training.

The DiSC Training: From Friction to Insight

During the DiSC training, team members learned to better understand their own style and discovered how it related to their colleagues’ styles. This provided valuable insights, allowing them to see how their own style contributed to the group dynamic:

• Everyone has unique qualities: Laura realized that her decisiveness was crucial for progress, but that by stepping back, she could also create space for others. Jan realized that his attention to detail was valuable for the team, provided he could communicate his methodical approach in clear updates.
• Understanding personal preferences: Jan indicated that he felt more comfortable with time for detailed work and didn’t want to be under constant time pressure. Laura discovered that consulting with Jan on priorities increased her confidence that his work contributed to quality.
• Adapting communication: Peter learned that his ideas were inspiring, but that he sometimes needed patience and to align his brainstorming sessions with the team’s focus. Karin was advised to communicate her need for stability and safety within the team more clearly.

Coaching and Reflection: From Insight to Action

After the DiSC training, Peter organized a number of coaching sessions to put the new insights into action in an Agile work environment. In the initial sessions, specific agreements were made to better support each other:

• Laura decided not to push for quick updates during stand-ups so Jan would feel less pressured. She took the time to review what really had priority with Jan in the sprint planning.
• Peter aligned his brainstorming sessions with Karin to ensure the energy and creativity wouldn’t get too chaotic. He discussed the session’s goals in advance and held a brief recap to keep the team focused.
• Karin learned to feel more comfortable with unexpected changes and found a way to provide feedback, especially when Laura’s decision-making speed overwhelmed her.
• Jan stated that he functioned better when he could prepare his work precisely and started to indicate this more often. He learned to clarify his analytical approach, gaining more understanding from the team.

The Result: From Conflict to Synergy

After a few sprints, the team began reaping the benefits of the DiSC training and coaching. The team members discovered that their different approaches actually complemented each other. The result was an Agile team that functioned more smoothly, with more attention to each other’s qualities and boundaries. The atmosphere in retrospectives became more positive, and there was more room for both innovation and stability.

The changes were noticeable:

• Less tension and more job satisfaction: Team members genuinely appreciated each other’s contributions now. Laura once mentioned that she valued Jan’s extra checks, and Jan thanked Peter for the focus in the brainstorming sessions.
• Better communication during sprints: By aligning in stand-ups, work ran more smoothly. Laura gave Jan space to complete his work carefully, while Peter aligned creative sessions better with the goals.
• Increased team trust: Karin and Peter felt empowered in their roles. Peter heard in a retrospective that his energy positively contributed, and Karin mentioned that she enjoyed the teamwork more due to the balance between speed and stability.

DiSC: A Tool for Understanding and Collaboration in Agile Teams

This story demonstrates how DiSC provides insight into different work styles without putting them in boxes. By understanding each other’s patterns and preferences, this Agile team was able to turn obstacles into opportunities for growth.

For Agile teams looking to improve without assigning people to rigid roles or styles, DiSC offers a proven method. It creates room for diversity and strengthens collaboration while team members feel seen and appreciated. DiSC helps teams see differences as a strength, forming the foundation for strong and effective collaboration.