“Was it something I said?!?”
I think we can all relate from time to time to the feeling of bewilderment when a colleague (or friend or family member) reacts unexpectedly to something we said or did. A colleague rolls her eyes and crosses her arms when you suggest an icebreaker activity. Your usually-jovial boss responds with sullen silence to what you thought was a good-natured tease. Your teammate shoots your ideas down like it’s a circus sharpshooter game. Those moments can be headscratchers that leave us feeling like we need a decoder ring to understand why people act the way they do. Well there is such a decoder ring; it’s called DiSC.
DiSC is a personality model that is simple to understand and remember yet surprisingly accurate and useful.
Imagine an x and y axis, making a cross shape, resulting in four quadrants (this is the most algebra I’ll ask you to remember, I promise). The top half of the model represents fast-paced and outspoken tendencies, the bottom half of the model represents cautious and reflective tendencies. Which half would you situate yourself in? Top half or bottom half?
Now consider a different continuum for the left and right sides: the left side of the model represents questioning and skeptical tendencies (think of these as logic-focused people), and the right side of the model represents accepting and warm tendencies (think of these as the “people people”). Which side do you most relate with? Left side or right side? Based on where you are situated vertically (top or bottom) and horizontally (left or right), you will find yourself in one of the four quadrants, that’s D, i, S, or C; that's Dominance, influence, Steadiness, or Conscientiousness.
Do you relate to one of these styles? Do you recognize your colleagues and teammates in these styles? Each style has its own unique characteristics and certainly, there is plenty of variation within the styles—not all D styles are alike, and so forth. I have seen a wide variety of teams learn this content and begin to use it to understand themselves and their colleagues better. Learn more about the DiSC model and the workshops Begin Development offers at www.begindevelopment.com/disc
Want to learn more about each style? Watch this quick video that explains the four styles >>
- Cecily Breeding, Principal Consultant
