In today’s fast-paced business world, it’s hard to keep up with all the latest trends, newest tools, and most current buzzwords. But newer isn’t always better. And in the world of assessment tools, it’s hard to match the lasting legacy and usefulness of the long-respected “DISC®” personality profile.
The foundation for the DISC® assessment tool was established way back in 1928, when psychologist William Moulton Marston described four basic personality styles in his book, Emotions of Normal People. (You’ve got to love that title!) Over time, the terminology has evolved into the styles we know today: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.
Using today’s technology, it’s easy to quickly assess an individual’s profile and determine where they fall on the DISC® grid. People with high “D” (Dominant) scores are direct and assertive, and tend to try and fix, change, or control things. High “I” (Influence) individuals are enthusiastic and sociable and are more likely to try to persuade or influence others. The high “S” (Steadiness) person is generally soft-spoken, calm, and cooperative. A high “C” (Conscientiousness) score indicates that an individual is analytical and focused on accurate, high-quality results.
Of course, it’s always interesting to take the test and see well how your “score” matches your own perception of yourself. It’s often quite illuminating when the test results suggest you might not be exactly the person you think you are!
At Assessment Leaders, when we implement the DISC® tool with our clients, we always encourage them to spend time reflecting on their own primary and secondary DISC® styles. Sometimes we have to remind them that there are no “good” or “bad” styles: each one has strengths that can add value to a company.
Better understanding your own strengths can help you learn how to use them – and how to avoid overusing them. For example, a high “D” individual might overuse his strength of confidence and become boastful and vain, which makes him less effective in the workplace. This kind of self-DISC®overy is very important, and the quantitative results from the DISC® tool really do help people focus on what they do best.
The DISC® profile also helps team leaders and managers better understand and manage their employees. A full DISC® assessment includes a number of valuable reports for management. For each individual employee, the General Characteristics Report provides the following information:
- A quick overview of the individual’s basic behavioral strengths
- A graph of the DISC® profile results
- A narrative overview of the person’s behavioral style
- Detailed descriptions of the person’s tendencies
- Motivating factors
- Preferred environment
- Strategies for increased effectiveness
- Demotivating factors
- Behavior in conflict situations
- A graphical representation of the “behavioral tendency continuum,” showing the respondent’s range of intensity for certain behaviors
- Worksheets to prompt DISC®ussion and determine which action strategies would be most effective