DISC

What is the DISC test?

The DISC instrument is a personality analysis. DISC gives people a deep insight into their own personality style and the personality style of others. The DISC descriptions provide insight into behavior and communication in understandable language. The D stands for Dominant, I for Influential, S for Steady and C for Compliant.

Research shows that behavioral traits can be grouped into four personality styles. People with similar styles display specific behaviors that are common to that style. The letters D, I, S, and C represent the four personality styles.

The ‘D’ style measures how someone responds to problems and challenges. A person with a ‘D’ style likes to solve problems and take on challenges.

• The higher the ‘D’, the more assertive and the more purposeful a person is, and the more the tendency they have to want to control the environment.
• The lower the ‘D’, the more compliant a person is. If you have a low ‘D’, you tend to be more accommodating and relaxed and you will not want to make your mark on everything.

The ‘I’ style measures how someone influences and convinces others of his/her views or ideas.

• The higher the ‘I’, the more one will influence others through verbal and non-verbal persuasion. The higher ‘I’, the greater the trust in others will be.
• The lower the ‘I’,  the less someone will sell their ideas, but more factually present without fuss. In addition, this person can be more skeptical and someone else will be less likely confided in.

The ‘S’ style measures how someone reacts to changes and tempo changes, and how easily someone adapts to them.

• The higher the ‘S’, the less flexibility this person has to adapt to changes and the slower the pace of this person.
• The lower the ‘S’, the faster the reaction pace of a person can be. This person adapts more quickly to changes.

The ‘C’ style measures the extent to which someone conforms to rules and guidelines drawn up by others.

• The higher the ‘C’, the more inclined someone is to follow established rules and procedures and less likely to take risks.
• The lower the ‘C’, the more someone is inclined to step outside the box, act autonomously, and question existing rules.

DISC in organizations

Knowledge and analysis of the DISC model offer the opportunity to better understand yourself, employees, colleagues, partners, and customers. This allows you to meet everyone's personal needs better, prevent or reduce conflicts, better appreciate differences in others, and build mutual trust. The power of the DISC instrument lies in its simplicity without compromising the complexity of people. DISC is an instrument that is used worldwide and can therefore be applied in internationally operating companies.

The DISC instrument is mainly used by organizations for:

• Personal development
• Team development and team building
• Leadership training
• Recruitment
• Partnership
• Profile Reports

What does DISC deliver?

• Better mutual communication
• In-depth insight into one's own personality style
• Resolve or prevent conflicts
• Appreciate mutual differences
• More positive and effective collaboration

A DISC analysis is best used as a supporting tool and not as a separate instrument to make far-reaching choices. For example, you completely miss the mark by hiring someone or not, based only on a DISC analysis. However, it is valuable to use a DISC analysis in addition to hard criteria such as education and work experience and doing a reference check. This way you can specifically test which preferred behavior someone shows and see to what extent this will be effective in the position.

• How do you deal with problems and challenges (D for Dominant);
• How do you convince others of your opinion (I of Influence);
• How do you deal with changes and tempo changes (S for Stability);
• How do you deal with established rules and procedures (C of Conformism)?

Where can you take the DISC test?

NL -> https://www.123test.com/disc-personality-test/

ENG -> https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/

Sources

- Dekker, T. (2022, 19 augustus). Ontdek nu jouw persoonlijk profiel met de DISC test – 2 stappenplan. StudiekeuzeMaken.nl. https://www.studiekeuzemaken.nl/ontdek-jouw-persoonlijk-profiel-met-de-disc-test/

- Development, F. (2023, 14 februari). Wat is DISC? Alles over de DISC analyse | DISC Boulevard. DISC Boulevard. https://discboulevard.com/wat-is-disc/

- Het DISC instrument - Informatie over DISC en trainingen. (z.d.). https://www.impact-ontwikkeling.nl/pagina/disc/disc-model/