The Si style in Everything DiSC is in-part a Stabilizer (combining the Steadiness and Influence strengths), who is characterized by their warm-heartedness, compassion, and adaptability. These loving protectors also have vulnerabilities that, if threatened, can lead to stress and break their typical peace and harmony. While the Si types are easy-going and supportive, there are some significant stressors they must be aware of, including the fear of being left out or unappreciated, conflict or tension in relationships, rapid or unexpected change, being criticized or rejected, and high-pressure, fast-paced, or competitive environments.
Under pressure, Si types may become overly accommodating, hesitant, or passive to avoid rocking the boat and upsetting the people they care about. While this is in defense of their needs to be connected, accepted, and in harmony, it can sometimes lead to a delay in taking action or taking no action at all. In Everything DiSC, Si types are encouraged to develop assertiveness to better mobilize their empathy and compassion.
In this section, we will be covering Si’s biggest fears and stress triggers so we can learn to manage them effectively and continue to provide our people with the support they need from our Si types.
Feeling Left Out or Unappreciated: “I Want to Be Valued”
Si’s biggest fear is being left out or unappreciated as they want to feel included and valued as part of their personal or professional community. Their vulnerability, their need to be cared for, connected, and accepted, is why exclusion frequently feels like a personal rejection. An Si on a team may feel as if they were passed over in a decision and with time will retreat and stop contributing with a feeling of devaluation. They need some reassurance that they still have a place with the team otherwise, they will become more hesitant to commit or be overly accommodating. Si types can prevent this by making the first move to engage, while their colleagues can reassure them with words like “Your perspective matters here,” to let them feel safe and included.
Conflict or Tension in Relationships: “I Dislike Confrontation”
Conflict or tension in relationships is a key stressor for Si types as they hate confrontation and may avoid difficult conversations or situations, even at the cost of not addressing the issue at hand, in order to keep the peace. Their natural positive outlook makes negativity feel like it is threatening the bonds they’ve worked so hard to build, and so they often turn passive in the face of conflict. An Si team facilitator will likely try and move the conversation towards something less tense, but in doing so will just put off having to address the conflict. This behavior can often result in the conflict remaining unresolved. Si types can learn to be more resilient by practicing more empathetic ways of saying things, such as “Let’s talk this through calmly.” A team can support their Si members by managing conflicts more constructively, which can help to limit the discomfort Si feel and thus allow them to participate in conflict resolution more.
Rapid or Unexpected Change: “I Prefer Consistency”
Rapid or unexpected change can be a significant stressor for Si types as they often prefer consistency and may have a difficult time adjusting when faced with sudden changes that throw them off their even keel. Their need for stability and routine makes them especially vulnerable to anything out of the blue and can result in them becoming hesitant or withdrawing from the situation. An Si team supporter may become completely passive in a conversation if a change of plan is proposed and they don’t get the time to catch up, which can slow down adaptation. Si types can improve by learning to have high flexibility built into their routines, and their colleagues can help them by slowing down the pace with periodic check-ins and explaining changes to help them feel more secure and comfortable with the new plans.
Being Criticized or Rejected: “Feedback Hurts Personally”
Si types will feel crushed when they are criticized or rejected as they take everything to heart and have a high need for reassurance from the people they care about to keep them grounded in their self-worth. They will tend to over-accommodate others in order to get back some of that approval that has been called into question, as their need to be accepted makes any kind of disapproval from their peers feel like a complete break in a relationship. An Si team collaborator will likely back down and hesitate if they are given less than positive feedback on their contributions. This may have them start to second-guess their value to the team, and thus they may not participate as they have been.
Si types can overcome this by learning to reframe any feedback as an opportunity for growth and development, asking questions like “How can I improve?” Their colleagues can help them by tempering their criticism with some praise, saying things like “Your effort was great, but here is a suggestion for next time,” as opposed to tearing them down with pure criticism.
High-Pressure, Fast-Paced Environments: “I Dislike Being Rushed”
High-pressure, fast-paced environments can be extremely stressful for Si types, who have a great dislike of being rushed or having to feel as if they are forced to compete with others, as this is a direct contradiction to their harmonious, supportive, and even-paced nature. The idea of competition and high-pressured stressors trigger their vulnerability of being cared for and accepted which can cause them to turn away from the situation entirely.
An Si team player will often over-accommodate others in the interest of maintaining peace, and this will end up getting in the way of their contribution as they choose not to push for what they want and need. Si types can mitigate this effect by working on having clear personal boundaries, but teams can help by pacing their processes and implementing periodic check-ins to ensure that Si people’s contributions continue to flow steadily.
Responding with Accommodation or Passivity
Si styles tend to over-accommodate, hesitate, or become passive in response to these pressures and stressors in an attempt to ensure that they do not rock the boat or upset the people they care about. While this may effectively serve the needs of their core vulnerability, their desire for a positive, happy outlook, it can come at the expense of other needs not being met such as getting things done in a timely manner. According to Everything DiSC, this is an area where Si people can work on balancing their empathy and compassion with assertiveness.
Everything DiSC Si styles have significant fears and stressors
Everything DiSC Si styles have some significant fears and stressors related to being left out or unappreciated, conflict, tension, or negativity in relationships, rapid or unexpected change, being criticized or rejected, and high-pressure, fast-paced, or competitive environments that all tie back to their strong need to be cared for and connected with others. By being aware of these fears and developing appropriate coping mechanisms, as well as asking for support when they need it, Si types can better deal with these stressors when they encounter them.
For Si types, it is self-awareness that is key to building the resilience they will need to combat these stressors, but for their colleagues, the key is to extend more empathy to these sweet souls. Thank you for reading this Everything DiSC guide to Si type, and stay tuned for Part 4, where we will be discussing how the Si type responds when under pressure.
