DiSC Background

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Psychologist William Mouton Marston, PhD from Harvard University first studied the DiSC model of behavior at Harvard University in the 1920s and outlined it in his book, ‘Emotions of Normal People’ in 1928. He explained that normal human emotions cause behavioral differences among groups of people. DISC assessment is a method of identifying priorities, tendencies and personality traits in individuals. Marston narrowed these personality traits into four personality types that have evolved into the modern day 4 styles- Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. It is important to know that all DiSC styles are equally valuable; no one style is better or superior than others. Each person has a unique blend of these four basic personality traits. This unique blend of your personality traits affects your every-day behavior.

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Benefits

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DiSC is a time-tested and extensively researched psychometric assessment tool used in more than 70 countries around the globe. According to an article published in the June 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review, the most important skill required for effectively connecting with others is self-awareness. Self-awareness involves knowing your own as well as others’ personality, behaviors, tendencies and priorities. It involves identifying gaps and working on potential areas of improvement.

 

While self-awareness is a foundational requirement for career success, it is a very elusive trait. According to a research mentioned in the Harvard Business Review January 2018 edition, only 10-15% of the 5000 people that were studied, exhibited self-awareness.  DiSC enhances self-awareness which then becomes the building block for better communications, reduced toxic conflict, greater ability to build personal and professional connections and improved productivity. 

 

Individuals

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Each year, more than one million people all over the world use this tool to inspire, empower and transform themselves.  Whether it is success in personal relationships; at work; for self employed business owners or those in sales, DiSC assessment enables the start of a journey to understand your own behaviors, others' behaviors and provides tools and tips for fixing any gaps that may be preventing your success.  There are many success stories of individuals who have reaped financial rewards in professional life and created meaningful relationships in personal life.

 

Teams

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Most individuals today have to work with others.  Teams of internal members.  Teamwork with customers, suppliers.  Other Stakeholders.  Building a connection and trust is the foundation of succeeding in working with others in a team.  DiSC enables this trust.  Magical transformation happens when individuals stop viewing others on the team as "Good" or "Bad" but view them as "Different", and instead of judging them, are curious to learn more about them.  DiSC enables this transformation.

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Organizations

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Many organizations all over the world have used DiSC assessment for developing their employees’ professional, management & leadership skills resulting in a culture of high performance, productivity & profitability. This includes organizations of different sizes, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, major government agencies as well as non-profits. DiSC results in better understanding, more collaborative and effective teams that meet and exceed organizational goals. All these factors eventually result in improved and sustainable profitability for the organization.

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How Does DiSC Work?

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DiSC assessment requires your responses to a series of questions. The usual assessment takes 30-40 minutes to complete. A detailed report is produced based on your responses to the questions. This helps you learn more about your behavior, others’ behavior and provides guidance for effective communication with others who may have a DiSC style different than your own. DiSC assessment indicates your pre-dominant behavioral style by a dot inside a circle (image shown below). Your DiSC assessment also provides a zone around the dot indicating the role played other behavior styles in your personality. Everyone can exhibit any one of these four styles in any given situation. However, it’s most natural for you to behave in the manner indicated by the location of the dot or the zone around it. This does not mean that you cannot behave in a manner far away from your dot or outside of your shaded zone. It just means that any behavior far from your pre-dominant style does not come naturally to you. The effort you need to spend in exhibiting that behavior may seem enormous and you may find that experience to be very stressful.

 

The newspaper article below provides more details about DiSC.