Marlton, NJ − January 7, 2016 − Reflecting on the fact that over 10 million people annually take personality profiles, with that number increasing yearly, Team Builders Plus is changing its name and core focus to be less about team building activities and more focused on behavioral style assessments and learning.
“Adding to this decision to restructure is the entrance of millennials into the workforce who have never experienced training based on behavioral styles,” said CEO Merrick Rosenberg.
Team Builders Plus, headquartered in Marlton, NJ, with locations in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Diego, is now a division of Take Flight Learning, the new parent company name. All signage and branding materials will display the new identity.
The moniker Take Flight Learning originated in 2012 when Merrick Rosenberg, cofounder of Team Builders Plus coauthored “Taking Flight,” a fable that links the four major personality styles of the DISC personality assessment tool to Eagles, Parrots, Doves and Owls.
According to Jeff Backal, cofounder and president of Team Builders Plus, “we have actually been offering DISC styles training to clients since 1994, three years after starting our business, to help businesses improve work productivity, teamwork and communication. After training more than 20,000 people in the DISC styles, over more than two decades, Merrick breathed new life into this model by linking the styles to memorable birds.”
The behavioral styles theory came out in the 1920’s, with the first assessment introduced in the 1950’s. Rosenberg’s new twist correlated the Dominant style with Eagles who are daring, decisive, direct and driven; the Interactive style with Parrots who are imaginative, influential, intuitive and inspirational. The Supportive style is associated with Doves who are sincere, steadfast, sympathetic and satisfied and the Conscientious trait corresponds with Owls who are cautious, critical, compliant and consistent. “Everyone is a combination of styles, but each predominant type is motivated by very different things and there are more effective and less effective ways to communicate and work with people exhibiting each style,” explained Rosenberg. The fable Taking Flight shows how the four types work best together.
Historically, one of the first team building companies in the United States in 1991, Team Builders Plus offered innovative team building activities to organizations. In fact, the firm acquired Teambuilding, Inc. in 2007 to become the largest team building company in the country. While team building activities will still be provided, the firm’s cornerstone program has become Taking Flight with DISC.
“Times have changed,” said Rosenberg. “With the massive increase in non-face-to-face texting, YouTube and all other forms of social media, when employees do come together in the workplace and are required to share more than a few words, they are automatically challenged, but are even less equipped to communicate effectively when they have conflicting personality styles. A highly visual program like Taking Flight with DISC, is easier to remember and work with.”
“The most successful people in organizations are those who are most adaptable. Imagine having the skills of a chameleon that instantly adjusts to people and situations. That’s what individuals learn in a Taking Flight with DISC session,” he added.
In describing the company’s restructuring, Backal said that “Take Flight Learning offers a variety of DISC training programs, products, and keynote speaking.” The name change and restructuring coincides with the launch of Rosenberg’s second book, “The Chameleon: Life Changing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has a Personality or Knows Someone Who Does.”
