„The Grim Technician”
Marcin worked as a copier technician. He liked his job. To be more precise: he liked repairing copiers. He liked repairing things in general. After work, he would often hole up in the garage by his house and tinker away at his car with real passion. His wife had no complaints either – whenever something at home broke down, whether it was a household appliance or a piece of electronics, Marcin – as long as he had access to the device’s diagram and the option to buy parts – would repair it. A broken bike? No problem. A dripping tap? Easy. Something knocking in the washing machine? Marcin was already rummaging around inside it. The very things that often give others a headache – reading manuals or analysing technical drawings – gave Marcin genuine pleasure. He could study a machine’s schematics with real focus and then, with a photographic memory, delve into its insides, accurately diagnosing and removing the cause of the fault.
His bosses were happy with him. Marcin worked precisely and carefully, though sometimes perhaps a little too slowly. Whenever a client grew impatient because of this and asked why the repair was taking so long, Marcin would reply that buying a new copier is quick, but if you’ve got an old one, the repair takes time.
– Well, you know, that was a very impertinent thing to say – Ms Barbara, the director of a training centre, once took offence at this particular comment from Marcin. She then immediately called Marcin’s boss.
– Ms Basia – Krzysztof, the head of the service department, tried to reassure her – I really am terribly sorry about Marcin, but honestly, please don’t let it bother you. Here at the company we call him „the Grim Technician”. He’s just like that, and that’s all there is to it. You know, a bit of a mad genius.
– Mr Krzysztof – Ms Basia replied to this rather through gritted teeth – I don’t detect any genius whatsoever in this Marcin of yours; what’s easy to see, however, is his boorishness and rudeness. I would suggest you take a closer look at his work, because people like that… You know, that kind of behaviour, that manner… it all reflects very badly on your company…
– Well, yes, of course… I’m aware of that. I’ll have a word with Marcin – a now flustered Krzysztof mumbled.
Ms Basia hung up the phone, satisfied with how the conversation had gone. Difficult negotiations, corrective conversations, quick reprimands, laying it all on the line – these had never been a problem for Ms Basia. Krzysztof, meanwhile, breathed a deep sigh after his conversation with the client. He didn’t like her. But she was one of their most loyal and biggest clients. Could he ignore what she’d said?
When Marcin came back from the field – that is, from his round of clients – Krzysztof asked him about his impressions of the work. Marcin was surprised. His boss had never asked him for his subjective impressions of the job. He simply gave him a list of client callouts, Marcin took it and drove off on his route. Then he came back, and if there was still time before the end of the working day, he would look through the next day’s jobs or sit down at the machines that had been standing there for a good few months – the ones „beyond hope” of repair, which should long ago have gone to the scrapyard, but which Marcin kept giving a chance, passionately rummaging around inside them. Krzysztof never even asked what he was doing.
It was the peak of the training season, and the copier at Ms Basia’s company was running at full tilt. Under such heavy use, the device began to overheat and jam paper. At one point it jammed so thoroughly that, despite the efforts of the whole team, they couldn’t get the sheet out – or rather, its shreds by then – and the copier, blinking a red light, firmly refused to work any further. An angry Ms Basia called Krzysztof, demanding that a technician come immediately. Krzysztof promised that the service department would come to Ms Basia’s company as soon as possible. He put down the phone and looked at his employees’ schedule. Two were in towns 30–40 kilometres away. One technician was on sick leave. In town, closest to Ms Basia’s company, was… Marcin. Well, it can’t be helped, he’s the nearest, so he’ll be able to get there fastest. Krzysztof reached for the phone. When Marcin answered, he immediately explained the situation in short.
– You have to go to them right away – he said at the end.
– Boss, that’s impossible – Marcin objected – I’m at a client’s, I’ve got a machine here half taken apart, I can’t just leave it like this and walk out saying: wait here, because I’ve got a more important client…
Krzysztof sighed heavily. Marcin was right. Well, I don’t know, do something, think of something. Call them or whatever. Tell them what the situation is and that you’ll come immediately once you’ve finished there. And that you’ll be finished soon. I’ll send you the number in a moment.
Krzysztof forwarded Ms Basia’s phone number to Marcin. Marcin called.
– Good afternoon, Marcin from the service department, so what’s going on with your machine?
Ms Basia summarised the problem. Marcin breathed a sigh of relief.
– Oh, that’s simple. When you open the front door there, on the side there’ll be a…
– Wait, wait – Ms Basia interrupted him – so you’re not coming out to us?
– No, because there’s probably no need, it’s a simple fault. I’ll tell you everything you need to do. You’ll manage it yourself.
Ms Basia’s voice turned icy.
– I’ve no doubt I’ll manage. However, Mr Krzysztof said clearly that you would come out to us.
– Oh, for f**k’s sake – a curse slipped out of Marcin – I’m at a client’s right now, I’ve got a machine taken apart mid-repair, I’m not going to just drop it halfway to come out to you. Especially since you can fix it yourselves…
– So what time will you be here – Ms Basia interrupted him even more icily.
Marcin ran his eyes over the copier he was in the middle of repairing.
– In an hour and a half – he replied, resigned.
He arrived just as he’d promised. Ms Basia was even relatively pleasant. The copier really was fixed quickly. Marcin said goodbye to Ms Basia, who even gave a faint smile, and drove off to the company.
There, Krzysztof immediately asked him in for a talk. They sat down in his office. Krzysztof pulled some piece of paper out of a drawer and handed it to Marcin.
– What is this? – asked an indignant Marcin, running his eyes over the sheet.
– Notice of termination – Krzysztof tried to keep his voice calm.
– What termination? Krzysiek, are you kidding me?
Krzysztof shook his head sadly.
– Unfortunately not. Clients are complaining about you.
– About me? I’m your best technician!
– They’re complaining about your rudeness and lack of respect. Marcin, your manner simply reflects badly on our company’s image.
– Krzysiek, what nonsense are you talking? – Marcin let his emotions get the better of him – What manner? What rudeness? What’s got into you? I honestly don’t recognise you…
– You’ve just shown exactly what it’s about – Krzysztof nodded – a lack of control over your emotions, swearing. It all reflects badly on our company’s image…
At that moment Marcin understood everything. Ms Basia. He’d sworn into the phone back then.
– That cow complained about me, didn’t she? – he looked Krzysztof in the eye, waiting for confirmation – That deranged woman who thinks she’s the most important person in the world and everyone has to jump whenever she snaps her fingers…? Right? And you fell for it, Krzysztof? I don’t recognise you. This can’t be happening…
Marcin crumpled the termination notice into a ball and threw it onto the desk. Without a word, he stood up and started walking towards the door.
– If you leave now, this will be abandonment of your job! – Krzysztof called after him – Dismissal for cause!
Marcin walked out without even turning around.
* * *
Conclusions
Could this situation have been avoided? Of course! By knowing the DISC behavioural styles.
Marcin is a person with a dominant C style. Precise, careful, an expert in his field, insightful, but also not very enthusiastic. At the same time, Marcin has – albeit to a lesser degree – a representation of the D style. This makes him focused on the task rather than on its social wrapping. He can sometimes blurt out something that may offend others but which, in Marcin’s view, was completely neutral, normal and certainly not rude. The representation of the D style in Marcin’s profile also makes it hard for him to compromise; he believes he is always right, and that people who fail to see this are simply foolish.
Unfortunately – for this particular case – Ms Basia is a typical D style. Directive, unable to tolerate opposition, formulating her expectations precisely, geared towards quick action and the immediate fulfilment of her expectations, and unable to bear having her person disregarded or any behaviour she perceives as rude and disrespectful.
Conflicts between DISC styles
When two people with a strong representation of the D style meet, it is like two alpha males meeting (even if both of these people are women). Conflict is inevitable. A D’s natural need is dominance and acting by their own rules, which others must accept. Naturally, no person with a strong D will accept a way of operating imposed by someone else. A D sets their own priorities and the way of carrying them out, and no one is going to order them around. That is why reaching an understanding between Marcin and Ms Basia was so difficult. Both believed they were right, and neither was initially willing to submit. Marcin eventually gave in – but on his own terms („I’ll come when I’m finished”); along the way, however, he managed to offend Ms Basia (the swearing), which to her was a sign of disrespect and disregard. And that she could not let slide. As a typical, „pure” D, she had to show who was ultimately in charge here. That is why she complained to Krzysztof about Marcin.
The peace and quiet of the S style
Krzysztof, in turn, is a typical representative of the S style – calm, patient, understanding, practically a dream boss, but only for those who know how to appreciate it. An S boss is a democratic boss who trusts people and relies on them. He doesn’t stand over your head, doesn’t breathe down your neck and doesn’t ask when you’ll finish a given job. He’s a boss–buddy, a little invisible, not getting in his employees’ way. But woe betide anyone who fails to appreciate such a golden boss and tries to deceive him, take advantage of him or abuse his trust. If an S is let down even once, there won’t be a second time. At the same time, people with a dominant S style are ideal partners – though it’s hard to speak of pure partnership here – for people with a dominant D style. An S makes an excellent employee led by a D, an ideal assistant, a reliable executor of the instructions and tasks formulated by a D. Behind this perfect matching of the D’s leadership role and the S’s executive role lies mainly a rather banal reason: more than anything, an S loves what Maryla Rodowicz sang about, that „the holiest thing in the world is peace and quiet…”. For the sake of peace and quiet, a person with a dominant S style is willing to agree to a great deal. He doesn’t like conflicts, tensions or unpleasant situations, and tries to smooth them over at once. He quickly makes an analysis of costs and losses. Who is more important? Very often, the one who is more important to an S is the one who carries greater authority – in this case, the client. „The customer is king”, and the employee has to adapt to this principle and not cause problems. If an S type concludes that the source of his problems and of his lack of peace and quiet is one particular person – he will either avoid them, or try to influence them, or otherwise eliminate them from his surroundings.
A solution for the future
Would knowledge of one another’s DISC styles have allowed the characters in this story to avoid conflict? Probably yes. Of course, it’s hard to expect that we’ll give all our clients a MaxieDISC® test and know how to adjust our behaviour towards each of them. It should be noted, however, that each style has its own characteristic behaviours. Knowing them, we can assume with a high degree of probability which style is dominant for a given person, and adjust our behaviour accordingly. That is why it is so important, especially for people who deal with a company’s external clients, to undergo training in knowledge of the MaxieDISC® styles.
How did the story of „the Grim Technician” end? Fortunately, Krzysztof didn’t dismiss him for cause; the two men reached a mutual agreement to part ways. Marcin found a job in which he doesn’t have to drive out to clients. He repairs equipment on site, in the workshop. It’s brought to him by drivers or by the clients themselves. But taking orders and dealing with customers is handled by someone else.
Krzysztof, for his part, managed to hire a technician with a CSD behavioural style – an expert in copiers, fond of „tinkering with machines”, precise, insightful and careful, avoiding conflict and nodding along in conversations with clients, while at the same time being more dynamic than Marcin. Ms Basia is delighted with him.