DISC Personality Assessment

Everyone works differently. This is because working styles are correlated with personality. Personality assessments have recently become popular in organizations because they are known to reveal a lot about leadership and communication preferences. The DISC personality assessment specifically does a great job at identifying behavioral styles for different employees. Each person is scored on four personality traits: dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance. It’s a free and easy assessment that anyone can take. 

Personality tests in the workplace have gotten a bad reputation mostly because historically, hiring managers would use personality tests as a strong indicator of whether or not someone is hired. Recruiting solely based on personality tests is not the way they should be used; they should mostly be used for current employees. When applied correctly, personality tests can be a great way to increase team cohesion and improve communication within groups. And these tests don’t have to be complex - actually, the easier the better. Because they should really only be a guide or indicator rather than a full breakdown of every single person’s personality. I’ve found that the DISC personality assessment is a perfect example of a simple yet effective method in gauging working styles and preferences.

The DISC assessment breaks down each person by four traits:
 

• Dominance: describes the way you deal with problems, assert yourself, and control situations
• Influence: describes the way you deal with people, the way you communicate and relate to others
• Steadiness: describes your temperament - patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness
• Compliance: describes how you approach and organize your activities, procedures, and responsibilities

Each person is scored based on a blend of the four traits after filling out a questionnaire. By taking this assessment, we are able to understand ourselves and others. It helps you identify your priorities and working style, and helps you build more effective relationships with your colleagues. Because once you can understand how others work and what they value based on their DISC score, you can maximize each person’s potential. 

You can learn more about the DISC personality test here. I recommend everyone give it a try. ​