DISC Assessment Utilization

I received DISC certification through Profiles Global in 2010 and have been helping clients utilize this tool to better understand the personalities within their team. Personality is a word with many different definitions. Everybody has their own idea about what it means, and there is really isn't as an absolute definition of this word. For purposes of our discussion in this course, I am using the word personality defined specifically in terms of a personality profiling system.

Personality is not synonymous with behavior. Behavior is a result of your personality.

The profile assessment measures behavioral patterns. That’s it. Nothing more and nothing less. It doesn’t measure intelligence. It can’t tell us about a person’s educational background or skill set. What these profiles can tell us are the behaviors a person prefers to use while they are at work.

That is why these profiles should never be used as the sole reason for hiring someone. They are simply a part of the hiring process. We must also consider the interview, the resume, the references and, of course, our intuitions when hiring a new employee.

On that same note, the profile assessments should never be used to justify firing an employee or phase out an individual. Finally, the assessment findings should never be used against someone.

Today, you will learn to identify the unique behavioral style of each employee and what those behavioral strengths bring to your organization.

I’m Sheila Hayes, a New Business Advisor at Williams Group. Let’s have some fun!

What I will cover in this course:

  • DISC Background
  • Explanation of the DISC Model
  • Uses and Opportunities
  • Overview of the Process for Williams Group Members

There are many options available for personality quizzes and assessments. The most well-known personality test, and the one that we use at Williams Group, is the DISC model.

DISC is a quadrant behavioral model, based on the work of Dr. William Moulton Marston, to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation, otherwise known as environment. It therefore focuses on the styles and preferences of such behavior.

There are four main personality dimensions or traits within the DISC model. These dimensions are Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance.

Dominance: Describes the way you deal with problems, assert yourself and control situations. High dominant individuals are independently minded. Their strengths are: self-starter, inquisitive, and competitive. Their limitations are: not naturally trusting, and they tend to issue orders directly rather than asking for help or cooperation.

Influence: Describes the way you deal with people, and the way you communicate and relate to others. A high influence factor is communicative, friendly, and positive. Their strengths are: great communicators, positive outlook, and socially confident. Their limitations are: less social personalities can find them difficult to understand. Their desire to be open with other people can lead them to reveal information that more serious types might prefer not to share.

Steadiness: Describes your temperament – patience and persistence. A high steady personality takes a measured approach to life. Their strengths are: patient and sympathetic listeners with a real interest in others. Their concentration allows them to work steadily at a task. Their limitations are: resistant to change, and can be insecure in a new environment. They may be perceived as unsure of themselves.

Compliance: Describes how you approach and organize your activity and procedures. The high compliance personality is an investigator of facts. They are naturally passive and reserved to speak out. They are drawn to jobs involving the organization of information. Their strengths are: they tend to be well organized, prepared, and punctual. Because of their desire for fact and details, it is common to find compliant behavioral styles have a relatively broad knowledge. Their limitations are: they dislike pressure, and tend to adopt an evasive style when confronted with difficult circumstances.

What are the motivators, strengths, and limitations when these characteristics are low?

Dominance: When the dominance trait is low, this person is motivated by the non-tangibles such as praise and recognition. This person takes a non-aggressive approach and avoids conflict and confrontation.

Influence: The person with a low I or influence, sees reality, is frustrated with sharing ideas in a group setting, and avoids the spotlight.

Steadiness: The person with a low S likes variety, is frustrated by immobility and avoids repetitive situations. They are motivated by a variety of activity in their day.

Compliance: The low C personality seeks autonomy, is frustrated being controlled, and avoids restriction. This personality will be motivated by being allowed to work and complete a project or task individually.

Slow pace or quick pace? Leader or follower? Forest or trees? Good things happen when we know how our employees will answer these questions. If someone is people-oriented, preferring to be part of a team, and yet they are asked repeatedly to work on solo projects, they will not be successful long term in your practice.

There needs to be a balance of talents in order for any team to get the job done well. A balance between leaders and followers, big picture thinkers and detail-oriented workers; people- focused and task-focused team players. We usually need a bit of everything. More importantly, we need to understand and appreciate the varying strengths of our employees in order for a team to be truly successful.

You will use these reports in your:

Recruitment Strategy: Identify what you are looking for. The assessment gives us insight into how a candidate is likely to behave in a role. Does the person have what you need?

Performance and Management: Is the person doing what you need? Or how can we provide the tools to allow this person to be successful in the role?

Training and Development: Do you continue to get the most from this person? How can we better work together as a team if we understand other’s personality traits?

Provide your Williams Group Advisor, Coach, or Michele Korth, our Practice Management Coordinator, with the candidate’s first and last name, as well as an active email address. Williams Group will order the reports, and the candidate will receive an invitation from Profiles Global on behalf of Williams Group. The DISC questionnaire consists of 24 questions. Each question consists of four options. For each question, the person is asked to select one of the four that describes them most closely. Then they are asked the opposite, which of the remaining three options describes them least closely. There is no right or wrong answer! The assessment should take about 10 minutes to complete.

The results are translated into a personalized profile that describes the behaviors and motivators of the person completing the assessment questionnaire. You will receive a written report that provides a written analysis of a candidate or employee, and DISC graphs for this person. The reports are generated by inputting the candidate responses into the Profiles Global Strategic Assessment System. â„¢ The reports are sent to Williams Group and then forwarded to the doctor or office administrator. We will never send the report to a candidate or employee.

Attached to this course you will see a copy of two actual DISC Reports.

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