DiSC Assessment

Praetorian consultants are trained and certified to administer and facilitate the latest DiSC behavior-assessment to your team. According to Nichole Fallon of Business News Daily (Sept, 2022):

• A DiSC assessment is a behavioral assessment tool that can help people understand their management style strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately become better leaders. When you can see your tendencies, preferences and even blind spots, you gain the self-awareness needed to guide your team to success even under challenging circumstances.
• A DiSC assessment is a behavior-assessment tool designed to help people understand their both their personal leadership style and preference as well as the leadership style and preferences of their peers in order to improve workplace teamwork and performance.
• A post-DiSC assessment report shows your scores in various dimensions, provides insights into your personality, and suggests tactics for increased effectiveness.
• Assessing your employees’ DiSC traits can raise their self-awareness, boost sales and service skills, and improve employee engagement.

What is a DiSC Assessment?

A DiSC assessment is a behavioral assessment that businesses and other organizations often use to determine employees’ and managers’ leadership strengths and weaknesses. It aims to provide more self-awareness and insight, potentially improving operations and teamwork.

Psychologist William Moulton Marston first outlined the DiSC behavior model in his 1928 book, Emotions of Normal People.

Marston’s theory was that the behavioral expression of emotions could be categorized into four primary types: Dominance, Inducement, Submission and Compliance. These emotional expression types were based on someone’s self-perception in relation to their environment.

Marston believed that understanding your primary behavioral trait would help you understand and manage your experiences, and foster relationships.

In the decades that followed, others developed several assessments using Marston’s theories, eventually leading to the modern DiSC assessment. Today’s emotional styles have changed a bit from the original incarnation: DiSC now stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Additionally, the modern DiSC assessments are sensitive enough to identify an individual’s tendency to use dominant combinations of these behavioral types.

How a DiSC Assessment Works

In a DiSC assessment, individuals answer a series of questions. Based on their answers, they are assigned a main personality type (D, i, S or C) and secondary personality characteristics, allowing people to be categorized into twelve (12) different styles of leadership. A DiSC assessment also measures the values you prioritize.

The results explain the percentage of each style you are and what that means for how you handle challenges, interact with others, approach life and how others perceive you.

Today, DiSC assessments are most frequently used in business and government organizations to help teams work more effectively together. Often, a human resources will ask a new hire to take an online DiSC assessment. Respondents rate a series of behavior-related statements – such as “Getting results is one of my top priorities” or “I like to be involved in group projects” – based on how strongly they agree or disagree with each statement. The system will compile the respondent’s answers into a report.

While there are free basic assessments available online, the type of comprehensive DiSC assessment companies usually require is more extensive. To maximize the effectiveness of the report, facilitators certified in the DiSC Assessment are generally brought in to walk team members though the meaning, significance, and application of the information found in their personal and collective DiSC assessments.

In addition to basic information, the assessment report can include these details:

• It provides your employees’ scores in each dimension, revealing work- and nonwork-related personality strengths and weaknesses.
• It suggests personalized tactics and strategies for increased effectiveness with colleagues that have varying results.
• It summarizes your employees’ prime values to your organization.
• It pinpoints opposite DiSC types and how best to approach them.

The report is typically shared with the employee, managers to whom they directly report and possibly others who work closely with the individual.

Why a DiSC Assessment Works

Like other personality or behavior-assessment tools, DiSC works by helping your staff become more self-aware. Increased self-awareness will help you recognize your colleagues’ strengths in order to harness them and their shortcomings for a basis in which to improve.

When everyone has taken the same assessment, you have a common framework to view each employee, which will guide decision-making. For example, when forming a team that needs to work closely with each other, you may want to balance personalities rather than have an overabundance of one type. Understanding other people’s styles and values helps you
communicate more effectively, resolve conflict and delegate assignments appropriately.

Many people are surprised to hear that DiSC styles are not tied to age and gender and tend to change very little over time. Although sensitivity of the advanced DiSC assessment can identify the leadership style of individuals into twelve different leadership styles using subtle combinations of the four primary DiSC styles, the four primary DiSC styles include:

Dominance

A person with a Dominance (D) style wants to shape their environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results. They value confidence and focus on the bottom line. (Learn more about the Dominance style.)

• Traits: This employee is generally blunt, direct, forceful, strong-willed, driven, fast-paced and self-confident.
• Behaviors: They see the big picture, accept challenges and get straight to the point.
• Styles: They are commanding, resolute and pioneering.
• Improvement: They need to work on their patience, sensitivity, ability to look at details and ability to allow for deliberation.

Influence

Someone with a leading Influence (i) style aims to shape their environment by persuading others.This person values openness, friendship and building relationships. (Learn more about the Influence style.)

• Traits: A person with an i style tends to be enthusiastic, optimistic, convincing, warm and trusting.
• Behaviors: They like to collaborate; they dislike being ignored, and fear disapproval or the loss of influence.
• Styles: Their leadership styles are energizing, pioneering and affirming.
• Improvement: They need to work on following through, speaking directly and candidly, and researching all the facts.

Steadiness

A person with a Steadiness (S) style wants to work with others within existing circumstances to carry out tasks. They value cooperation, sincerity and dependability. (Learn more about the Steadiness style.)

• Traits: A person with an S style is usually calm, patient, deliberate, consistent and accommodating.
• Behaviors: They provide supportive actions; they don’t like to be rushed and tend to avoid change.
• Styles: Their leadership styles are inclusive, humble and affirming.
• Improvement: They need to work on adapting to change, multitasking and confronting others.

Conscientiousness

Employees with a Conscientiousness (C) style mostly want to work conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure both quality and accuracy. This person values expertise, competency and objective reasoning. (Learn more about the Conscientiousness style.)

• Traits: Employees with a C style are generally independent, analytical, careful, cautious, systematic, diplomatic and tactful.
• Behaviors: They maintain stability, desire details, challenge assumptions, and fear criticism and being wrong.
• Styles: Their leadership styles are deliberate, humble and resolute.
• Improvement: They need to work on delegating, compromising and making quick decisions.