What is DISC?
The DISC profile is an easy-to-understand tool that can help you recognize and understand your own behavior while also allowing you to more effectively connect with others.
With four distinct behavioral styles – Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness – the DISC model measures intensity of individual characteristics for a truly personalized blend, so no two profiles are ever alike.
The Four DISC Personality Types
It is important to recognize that no DISC type is better or worse than another. Every individual has a unique profile that highlights your own gifts and behavioral tendencies. While each trait represents a strength, it’s also possible for for it to have a liability – or something that gets in your way, if it’s unmanaged.
As the saying goes, “a hammer can build or destroy” – it’s all in how you use it.
In this article, I will cover both the positive and potential downsides of each personality type.
D: Dominance
A person with a D style is an ambitious go-getter who loves to take on challenges and achieve results. They’re direct, determined, assertive, driven and self-confident – but can sometimes be too quick to act or overlook the needs of others.
When communicating with a high D:
Get straight to the point, be brief and be clear. Provide succinct details without fluff, and make sure expectations are clearly outlined. Focus on solutions over problems, and allow them to make decisions.
I: Influence
A person with an I style is sociable, and motivated by recognition, relationships and fun. They are eager to network, express enthusiasm, and work well collaboratively. These individuals tend to be quite charming and persuasive – however they may lack follow-through at times, due their impulsiveness or lack of structure.
When communicating with a high I:
Allow plenty of time to connect, and the opportunity for them to ask questions or share their personal experiences. Avoid detail overload; instead, follow-up in writing to summarize key points or action items.
S: Steadiness
A person with an S style is all about building relationships, supporting others, and maintaining stability. They are fiercely loyal, reliable, and driven by cooperation rather than competition. However, because they tend to be slower paced, they can resist change or making quick decisions.
When communicating with a high S:
Remember that loyalty is key for their trust, so take a personal approach and demonstrate genuine care. Show your understanding and appreciation by allowing them the space to process, without being overly aggressive.
C: Conscientiousness
A person with a C style is the ultimate perfectionist, taking their time to make sure everything is up to the highest standards of quality. They have an impressive attention for detail and a thirst for knowledge and accuracy; however, they can get bogged down by overly analytical tendencies or fear of mistakes.
When communicating with a high C:
If you want an opinion or decision, prepare with facts and details, versus emotional or rhetorical language. Be patient and persistent, while allowing them time to process.
DISC Personality Test
The history of DISC:
The DISC model was created by Dr. William Moulton Marston, a lawyer and physiological psychologist, who first shared the concept in his 1928 book “Emotions of Normal People.” In 1956, industrial psychologist Walter Clarke created the first assessment tool based on Marston’s work.
While the assessments we use today have evolved from their original work, the four behavioral styles continue to be the foundation for development.
Taking an assessment:
If you’re considering taking a DISC assessment, it’s good to remember that there are no right or wrong answers – so don’t overthink it. DISC model measures observable behaviors and emotions, but does not measure intelligence, aptitude, values or mental health. The process is straightforward and our assessment tool takes most people only 10-15 minutes to complete.
Your report will show 2 sets of results – Natural DISC style and Adapted DISC style.
Natural DISC vs. Adapted DISC Results
Your Natural profile represents your behaviors and tendencies when you are operating in your comfort zone, or perhaps your home environment. Your Adapted profile accounts for experience and skills you have learned, or how you adapt to your work environment. While your Natural results may stay consistent over time, your Adapted style can shift depending on external factors like season of life, changing needs/demands of your role, or emotions experienced in a situation.
Reevaluating your behavioral patterns from time-to-time with an updated DISC assessment will be incredibly helpful, particularly if you have experienced seasons of growth or change since your last assessment.
Meet Our DISC® Certified Professionals
Our firm has been using DISC to help leaders improve communication and increase influence since 2009. Contact us to learn more about our assessment tools, debriefing and training services.
Erica Zietzsch, Certified DISC
Karie Kaufmann, DISC® Certified Practitioner
DISC® Certified Professionals
DISC Assessment Benefits
Self-awareness
It brings awareness to your behavioral tendencies and can help to explain “why” you think or behave in certain ways. With this understanding, you can better leverage your strengths, and minimize areas where your tendencies aren’t serving you well.
Leadership
It provides you with insights to help you be the best leader for each unique individual, engaging and challenging people according to what motivates them.
Communication
It brings clarity and understanding between individuals who might have different communication styles, and informs you on how to adapt your approach achieve the best outcomes and results.
Improve teamwork
It highlights compatible styles and traits within a team, as well as bringing awareness to how to address performance gaps, or where differences in styles might be causing preventable breakdowns.
Develop stronger sales skills
It teaches you to quickly identify behavioral styles, so you can connect and build rapport with any personality type. This increases trust with prospects, as they feel genuinely heard and understood.
Make conflict more productive
It brings clarity and understanding of different personality styles, making for healthier conflict that leads to win-win solutions.
Hiring and selection
It gives you the tools identify what behavioral traits are likely to be most successful in a particular position, and compare potential candidates against such benchmarks. (Note that this is only one data point, and not a substitute for a rigorous interview process and skills assessment.)
What Does a DISC Profile Tell You?
DISC helps you strengthen relationships and increase your interpersonal effectiveness. You don’t need to change who you are – it’s simply a tool to better understand others, so you can learn skills to improve the interactions and relationships that matter most to you.
Whether it’s for business or personal connections, the reports can guide you in understanding what drives and motivates those around you so that all of your interactions are positive and productive.
F.A.Q.s
What is the best DISC personality type for a leader?
Any DISC® personality type can be a great leader, as long as you are willing to develop the necessary skills. The true indication of a great leader is your ability to adapt to others, so you can effectively build relationships and communicate, regardless of similarities or differences you may have with another person.
What is the rarest DISC personality type?
Some research has shown that the least common DISC profile is the combination of the “D” and “I” traits. However, in my personal observation, this combination is not necessarily unusual amongst entrepreneurs.
What is the most unique DISC profile?
The best way to identify what makes a person’s DISC profile unique is not by a single letter, but rather by looking at their entire profile. For example, some combinations of attributes have differences in both priority and pace, whereas others have more harmony in either priority or pace. This means that certain combination of attributes would be more unique than any attribute on its own.
What is a good DISC personality?
No DISC personality is better or worse than another. What makes one more or less effective is your ability to communicate and interact with a variety of individuals, regardless of their personality.
Is MBTI better than DISC?
The MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and DISC frameworks each have distinct approaches to measuring individual personalities, so the answer depends on what type of information you are looking to gain.
MBTI is a psychometric assessment tool that measures personality type based on a spectrum of four different preferences: extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. It is widely used by individuals and organizations to understand how people interact with each other and make decisions.
DISC, on the other hand, is a behavior assessment tool that looks at how an individual responds to different situations. It evaluates four personality traits: dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance, and offers insights into how they will likely react in different scenarios, along with tools to build positive relationships by learning to adapt to people who are wired differently from yourself.
