Say WHAT? I’m a Dragon???

In my role as Talent Thief and Recruitment Trainer I communicate with Hiring Managers, Talent and Recruitment Professionals on a daily basis. Needless to say, my days are filled with interesting conversations.

Although the majority of these conversations are pleasant and give me energy, there just are some conversations that constantly annoy the heck out of me and leave me wondering why I can’t seem to see eye-to-eye with the other individual. Ideally, I stay away from these conversations however that is not always possible. 

A few months ago I learned about a book written by Jeanne Bakker called “Dealing with Dragons”. The book is all about what to do when you’ve got an unavoidable Dragon (person you really don’t get along with) in your life. Intrigued by the title and wanting to educate myself, I received a copy from Jeanne and eagerly started reading to understand how I could recognize, understand and influence Dragons. I can tell you, I learned more than that!

In her book, Jeanne describes the 4 types of Dragons and has given them colours which are based on the well-known and popular behavioural analysis of DISC. 

Where initially I thought I would learn how to deal with others, who I think are annoying, the book gave me a better understanding of the behaviour of others in combination with my own behaviour. Yes, I actually learned something about myself which I secretly knew already but never truly acknowledged. The fact that Jeanne describes that every dragon also has a positive side definitely helps embracing my own dragon style.

I am a firm believer that the Recruitment function is closely related to marketing and sales and we are Brand Ambassadors for the organizations we work with or represent. It is critical to recognize the talent we are looking for, learn how to understand them and positively influence them. That is exactly what the book “Dealing with Dragons” has taught me. It has given me more tools how to be better in my profession and I know it will benefit me and those around me in a positive way going forward!

Thank you Jeanne for writing this book and sharing it with me and for those of you who are interested in understanding how to deal with annoying people around you, make sure to read this book!