Use DiSC for quick team-building activities

DiSC offers a powerful solution for team building. Now, teams can engage in quick team-building activities using Everything DiSC Catalyst. 

This new tool, called Conversation Starters, provides DiSC Profile users with discussion guides to help teams and groups talk about their personalities and behavioral needs. The tool offers three guided conversation topics:

1. Get to know your team
2. Make decisions together
3. Communicate more clearly

The tool pulls in DiSC Profile data to make the conversations more engaging. Rather than talk generally about these topics, DiSC personalizes it to the group so the discussion can be more focused and effective.

If you have a Everything DiSC Profile on Catalyst, you can use this tool immediately. Take these steps to get started:

• Login to your Catalyst Account: https://catalyst.everythingdisc.com/
• Navigate to 'Your Groups'
• Create a group by searching and selecting other individuals within your organization
• Choose the tab called 'Conversation Starters' and host a quick, 15 - 20-minute, team-building activity using the guide.

It's that simple! Start your quick team-building activity today! Read this guide for more information on how you can leverage DiSC for a quick team-building activity: https://internalchange.com/quick-team-building-activities-using-everything-disc/

Why you should become DiSC Certified

Benefits of DiSC Certification

Are you considering becoming certified in DiSC? DiSC Certification is a course designed specifically for individuals who plan to teach or coach using Everything DiSC. The coursework takes place online or in person, depending on which one you join.

Here are three benefits you will receive when you sign-up and complete the DiSC Certification course:

1) DiSC Certification = Career Opportunities

Once you complete the DiSC Certification course, you will have a credential you can take with you to any organization. Many jobs on Linkedin, Indeed, and other job boards are seeking individuals with this credential.

2) Increased Understanding of Human Behavior

Anyone who wants to make an impact in organizational development, employee development, or coaching needs to understand personality and behavior. DiSC Certification will teach those core concepts.

2) Practical Solutions to Complex Problems

Everything DiSC offers comprehensive solutions that can help you solve complex interpersonal problems. DiSC Certification will help provide the foundation for using these tools and developing the confidence to deliver them.

Interested in learning more about the benefits of DiSC Certification? Learn more here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-benefits-you-receive-when-become

Let's talk about Leadership Mindsets

Leadership Mindsets focus a leader on the responsibilities that matter most in achieving the goal and mission of their team or organization.

There are three leadership mindsets. These mindsets were developed and outlined through a book titled the Work of Leaders. The three leadership mindsets are:

1. Crafting a vision - This mindset helps leaders recognize the true purpose of their team / division or organization.
2. Build Alignment - This mindset forces leaders to recognize their vision will only succeed once they have buy-in from their team(s).
3. Champion Execution - The final leadership mindset ensures that a vision can take off once it has began.

There are different drivers that tie into each of these three different leadership mindsets. 

Learn more by reading the full article here: https://internalchange.com/learn-these-3-leadership-mindsets/

What are the Four Behavioral Styles?

 The Four Behavioral Styles are:

• D - Dominance
• I - Influence
• S - Steadiness
• C - Conscientiousness

These styles were theorized by William Moulton Marston and created into an assessment by John Geier in the 1970s. Today, DISC is used by millions of people each year for professional and personal development.

We all have a combination of each of the behavioral styles. However, our behaviors and preferences can be narrowed down into a single behavioral style.

People with the D-Style are assertive, outspoken, task-oriented, and competitive.

People with the I-Style are outgoing, social, and personable.

People with the S-Style are reliable, patient, calm, and supportive.

People with the C-Style are accurate, analytical, reserved, and detail-oriented.

Learn more about the behavioral styles here: https://internalchange.com/understanding-the-four-primary-behavioral-styles/

How do you deal with difficult people at work?

How do you deal with difficult people at work? 

In a former job, I had a manager that was insufferable (to me). 

Each day, she presented new ways to showcase that we were complete opposites. My style is to keep things lively, ensure that everyone on the team is respected and acknowledged. My manager, would bulldoze through people and try to control every aspect of how they did their job.

My tenure didn't last long there at this organization because of this manager. However, as I reminisce about that position, I have come to recognize that DiSC could have helped me deal with difficult co-workers like my former manager.

While we all expect the manager or boss to be the more mature person, we all have a responsibility to be mature ourselves and recognize how our own work style might negatively affect someone else.

In the case of my manager, I could have been more proactive in leaning into her need for self-control. Instead, I did the exact opposite. I went behind her back on tasks. My goal was to annoy her greatly, and it worked.

Because we had opposing work styles, I started to develop automatic thoughts that pushed me towards destructive behaviors. I felt entitled to 'fight back' when in reality I made our work environment worse.

Myers-Briggs vs DiSC - What are the differences?

Myers-Briggs or DiSC? Which assessment do you choose when you are conducting a soft-skills training program? 

The Myers-Briggs (MBTI) and DiSC are the two most popular assessment based programs.

Assessment based training programs provide an immense amount of value. They can cut through conversations that could otherwise become judgmental? 

Don't believe me?

Try talking to someone and telling them you see they value tasks over people. I'm sure they will become defensive. However, if you ask them if they have a D Style on the DiSC graph, you will be able to talk about the same observation without making them feel judged.

For this reason, many corporate trainers, coaches, and facilitators use assessment based programs. It can help build self-awareness, communication, and bridge divides on teams.

But which assessment training program do you use?

Often, many trainers choose to use the program they are familiar with. If you took Myers-Briggs in college, used it during a Masters program, and then were offered it at your job, there is a very good chance you will continue using it in your own training.

Often, we have heard that organizations that have switch from Myers-Briggs to DiSC switch because Everything DiSC is easier to understand and use. Myers-Briggs measure a 16 unique behavioral styles. It's true that Myers-Briggs measures more than DiSC. However, don't believe that DiSC offers any fewer insights than Myers-Briggs.

Both tools provide insights into extroversion / introversion, thinking / feeling and DiSC uniquely offers insights into the Dominance / Submissive traits. Myers-Briggs doesn't offer this scale. Often, this is a scale that people identify as the largest characteristic of a person's personality.

Want to learn more about Myers Briggs and DiSC? Click to learn more.

Learn the S Personality Type

The S Personality Type is the DiSC style that seeks stability and harmony. Someone with this style is 'flexible' in how they see the world. Their ideas and beliefs are more fluid because they place stability in higher regard than challenging what they hear. This doesn't mean that they don't have strong beliefs, it's just that they are willing to bend what they believe to accommodate someone else's beliefs. 

This ability allows for them to be the ultimate peacemaker on teams. 

They are able to listen to what someone is telling them without questioning what they are hearing. They prioritize relationships and they will be demotivated in environments where teamwork isn't regarded well. Often, they are seen as the keystone for cohesive teams. They will check the more dominant and challenging styles to ensure that these team member's more demanding priorities don't hurt the group or individual members of the group.

Individuals with this style will often avoid conflict. If they are having issues with a person on their team, they might bury the tension deep within them. It's important that they find a way to bring that tension out or they might engage in destructive behaviors like gossiping, rudeness, or being petty.

Learn more about the S Personality Type on the Center for Internal Change blog.

 

Learn the D Personality Type

 

The D Personality type is often the hardest personality to collaborate and work with. If you prefer to take a more methodical approach to your tasks, working with someone with a D Personality could be your own personal nightmare.

Individuals with the D Personality Type are:

• Driven
• Forceful
• Questioning
• Task-oriented

Individuals with the D Personality often come across as intense because they are focused on completing the task at hand. Furthermore, many individuals with this style will challenge what they hear. They have a desire to not only get things done but to understand why they are being done in certain ways.

That said, don't let their style scare you off - they are an incredible asset for your team if you are able to help them harness their energy to help move your team's or organization's tasks. When a team provides a person with the D Personality Style with clear tasks, work will get completed quickly. They are able to help keep goals and projects on time with their need to move things forward. 

When a person with the D Personality Type questions your approach to a topic, don't take it personally. They have a clear idea in their mind how something should be done. If you respond to their questioning with a thoughtful and reasonable response, they will listen to you. They are focused on getting the task done, and they will comply with opinions outside of their own when they understand your point of view.

To learn more about the D Personality Type, read more on the Center for Internal Change blog post.

What is the Everything DiSC Office of Unicorns?

The Office of Unicorns is an advertising campaign for Everything DiSC. In videos and banners, individuals are depicted as their office's "Unicorn" by being able to adapt their natural behaviors to meet someone else's natural behavior. Everything DiSC is an assessment-based training program that has been developed and researched over the past 40-years as a tool to help increase inter-personal effectiveness.

Why Office of Unicorns?

The term Unicorn was heavily embraced in the tech and start-up world as it described an entity that was both elusive but highly sought after. Companies like Facebook, Uber, and Robinhood are good examples of companies that take what seems like a far-reaching idea and they are able to implement it in a way that catches on with the general public. Additionally, they are able to take their ideas and make them profitable.

From this advertising campaign, we see that Everything DiSC is trying to use this term as a way to promote how employees with strong interpersonal skills are the Unicorns of their office because they are highly sought after and potentially able to help add more value than their other colleagues.

What DiSC tool is the Office of Unicorns promoting?

Everything DiSC recently released a new platform for teaching DiSC. Everything DiSC Catalyst provides a way for learners to engage with their DiSC results in a way that isn't available with other DiSC tools. This platform also provides trainers and coaches an easier way to run a training virtually.

The platform combines content in four different training areas:

1. Workplace Culture / Self-development
2. Emotional Intelligence
3. Management Training
4. Team Building / Inter-personal Conflict

In the past, each of these topics were represented by a single assessment and training program. Today, Catalyst combines all of these topics in one assessment experience. Trainers can then choose which topic they want to cover.

Listening Styles help us understand how to communicate

 Listening Styles + DiSC create a powerful learning program

Listening Styles might be a new concept for regular DiSC users, but they are an integral part of learning how to effectively communicate. In this blog post, we will dig into what Listening Styles are and how you can learn them.

What are Listening Styles?

Research has shown that there are at least 15 different listening styles. When a person finds out their listening style, they can better understand what information they are seeking when they are listening. This allows them to 'benchmark' their listening experience so they can understand their strengths and areas of improvement. They can understand why they might miss someone's point because they are listening for the wrong message! 

With DiSC, we focus on how we can adapt how we communicate based on a person's behavioral style. When we understand our personal Listening Style, we can adapt what we are listening for. This completes both sides of communication!

There are 15 different listening styles. Five Styles make-up the primary styles, and then these five styles turn into 10 combination styles. Here is a list of each style:

• Primary: Appreciative
• Primary: Empathetic
• Primary: Discerning
• Primary: Comprehensive
• Primary: Evaluative
• Learning-Oriented - Discerning & Comprehensive
• Goal-Oriented - Discerning & Evaluative
• Receptive - Discerning & Appreciative
• Engagement - Oriented - Discerning & Empathic
• Analytical - Comprehensive & Evaluative
• Creative - Comprehensive & Appreciative
• Insight-Oriented - Comprehensive & Empathic
• Personal Values-Oriented - Evaluative & Empathic
• Astute - Evaluative & Appreciative
• Relationship-Oriented - Appreciative & Empathic

Once a person finds out their style, they can find out their strengths in their listening and also areas they can improve. The Personal Listening profile is an assessment that will help anyone find out their listening style, and it's published by Wiley - the same company that publishes Everything DiSC.

To find out your Listening Style - read this blog post.

Catalyst - the newest way to experience Everything DiSC

Catalyst: The newest way to experience DiSC

Catalyst provides a way to help teams connect while working remotely.

For long-time or new DiSC users, there is a new way to experience this 50-year-old behavioral assessment. 

In the 1970s, DiSC was one of the first paper instruments to enter the marketplace. It was an extraordinary way for learning and development professionals to really connect with their learners. Then, in the early 2000's the assessment transformed. DiSC was one of the first behavioral assessments to allow a computer system to both score and provide a personalized report for an individual. Today, Everything DiSC has once again taken a leap into the future by releasing a personalized platform. Catalyst is a person's home base for Everything DiSC.

Catalyst continues to prove that Everything DiSC offers the most personalized way for learners to experience DISC, and a great way to help teams and organizations reconnect as remote work increasingly becomes the norm. Catalyst does this by immediately connecting individuals to their organization. This feature is perfect for the many project teams that organizations are increasingly building. Additionally, Catalyst allows the learner to take on some of the learning themself. Everything DiSC Catalyst provides videos, podcasts, and encourages the learner to explore DiSC on their own.

The first Everything DiSC application on Catalyst is Workplace. Workplace on Catalyst presents DiSC the same way that a person's PDF or printed out report does, but it's now interactive. The interactions on DiSC Catalyst prove to be really useful through the immediate connections with others in your workplace. If you feel that you had some difficulties with someone in your organization or team, look them up on Catalyst. You can see your behavioral differences laid out really easily.

To learn more about Catalyst, watch this video.

DiSC Training Workshop

DiSC Training - $995 for 1.5 Hour Session

A DiSC training workshop is the best way to learn about your DiSC style. In these sessions, participants will receive their report and go through activities and small group discussions to really understand themselves better and those around them. It's in this setting that the DiSC model really comes to life.

As an example, if I were to take a DiSC assessment and receive my profile, I could read it and learn that I am an Si DiSC style. However, do I really know what that means and how my style might affect someone who has a different style of me? In DiSC training, learners can come to together work through these types of questions. By talking with others in a facilitated DiSC Workshop, learners get to

DiSC trainings are the best way to learn about DiSC. After all, the

One activity that is used in the training is called a personal coaching session. In this exercise, learners will exchange reports and then coach the other person through a relationship that they are having trouble with. This exercise is unique because it really forces the other person to think about DiSC generally. Then, they must take that general view, and really hone in on the application of DiSC in a relationship that needs help. It's so simple, but so effective!

Schedule a DiSC Training Today!

Everything DiSC Catalyst - Experience it now!

Everything DiSC has added a new learning platform called Everything DiSC Catalyst. This new platform couldn't have arrived at a better time as we are working with numerous trainers and coaches to help them transition to running a virtual training event.

Catalyst is helpful in a couple of different ways. First, it provides a much better user experience. The email that participants receive is.. warm, inviting, and it feels like you are about to start an adventure.

The user experience continues to improve in the testing environment itself. Learners will only encounter one question at a time rather than 5 questions on the screen. This small improvement allows the learner to really focus on the question at hand.

Finally, when a learner completes their profile, they are immediately brought to the catalyst platform, and also immediately connected to their organization.

Many trainers might be uncomfortable with providing instant access to a person's profile. We hear you, but we feel for a virtual environment, this is the best practice to use.

Additionally, trainers will receive an update to their Everything DiSC Workplace training materials that will combine the training with the platform. The training breaks out the 3 standard modules into 5 shorter modules that are designed specifically for virtual training.

Catalyst will eventually replace MyEverythingDiSC, but both options are still available today. Check out this short video and experience the new platform!

5 Dysfunctions of a Team

In today's digital world, how much does team work matter?

This was a thought that I had before the CoVid-19 or coronavirus hit, but it seems like an even more pressing question now. After all, we typically think of team work in a physical sense. At the writing of this blog post, a large portion of the country (and the world) is working remotely and alone.

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni has the answer to this question. In this book, Lencioni's main character, Kathrine Peterson, joins an organization as the new CEO. She is not only tasked with leading her new company through a troubling time as the company was once seen as a leader their software, but recently, their performance is more than disappointing.

Peterson, showcases how her team's 5 Dysfunctions are limiting their performance:

1. Lack of trust
2. Inability to engage in conflict
3. lack of commitment
4. no accountability
5. no shared results

Looking at this list, if we, as a remote workforce, engage in any of these dysfunctions, our organizations are still in trouble. If anything, stronger teams are MORE important than ever. 

Let's look at the first dysfunctions from the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team (lack of trust). In a digital environment, if I want to offer feedback to my colleague using a digital platform like Slack - they might not receive my feedback as 'constructive feedback' if we haven't established a firm sense of trust.

As an example, I might offer to them "when you suggested that they use a poll in module one, I felt you could have used an example to really bring home your point". Potentially, they might read this suggestion and just feel that I'm nitpicking. We don't have an established foundation for where feedback can be viewed as constructive. In this sense, no matter what type of feedback I offer, they will view it negatively.

Lencioni's 5 Dysfunctions of a Team explains that each level ties in with the level above it. Continuing with the previous feedback example, if my co-worker and I had foundation of vulnerability-based trust, where we were open with each other past only what we know about each other, they might push back on my feedback and challenge it in a way where we are seeking the truth of the best way to present the information that our organization is presenting to our client.

Regardless of us having this conversation on Slack, these types of conversations will continue happen. If we don't have a strong team, we won't be able to best serve our clients.

Pre Employment Testing: what you should know

Should you keep using DiSC in selection?

Pre Employment Testing is a common practice for many businesses. Once you have a pool of candidates that have applied for a position in your company, using a standardized process to select the best candidate to interview is crucial. this process has been around since the 1950s, and it is still being improved upon today.

In years past, DiSC was used as a primary pre-employment test. DiSC is an incredible too because it is so easy to understand, yet it really can tell you a lot about a person. That said, DiSC is limited compared to what other hiring assessments will tell you about your candidate. It's important that whatever tool you are using, make sure it is validated for hiring. DiSC (with the small 'i') is only validated for use in a training capacity.

If you have used DiSC for hiring, or if you still use DiSC for hiring, it's important to ask yourself if you have a way to know if your candidates are able to problem solve, their ability to communicate, and if they are going to be interested in the work your position requires. For all of the insights that DiSC offers, it can't offer any of these items. If you chose to use DiSC as your pre-employment test, you would need to provide an additional assessment to understand the other sides of your candidate. This could be costly and time consuming for your candidate. 

Today, it's important to consider the candidate's experience. After all, your candidate chose to apply to your organization. Chances are, they appreciate what your organization does or creates. They might even be a customer! If you have a poor candidate experience you could loose that support from them after the hiring process regardless if they are hired or not. In today's social media world, that could equate loosing your candidate's friends and family also.

Finally, it's important to note the underlying risk of not using a pre-employment test that is validated for selection: lawsuits. While these lawsuits are hard to prove, there is precedent that an organization is liable when they use a test or assessment that isn't validated for hiring. The EEOC has very strict guidelines on what constitutes a test and outlines all of the various categories that employers must consider when using a selection assessment. To name a few, ensure that your assessment doesn't discriminate against any race; ensure that those with disabilities are able to read or take the assessment (especially the blind or deaf). The ADA has become increasingly weaponized against employers who's websites aren't compatible with screen readers. If an employer doesn't allow someone who is blind an opportunity to take a test that is compatible with their disability they are opening themselves up to a larger lawsuit.

Whatever pre employment test you are using, we want to encourage you to read this pre-employment testing guide to better understand to how to use this process in your organization.

Online DiSC Certification vs In-Person DiSC Certification

Which DiSC Certification Should You Choose?

DiSC Certification is often a topic most new facilitators and trainers ask about before the run a DiSC Workshop. It's an important topic, and this blog post will help demystify the process so you can choose the best option for your needs. In this article, we will cover why DiSC Certification is important, and the benefits to joining an online certification versus an in-person certification.

Why DiSC Certification?

It's important to note that Everything DiSC does not require trainers and facilitators to become DiSC Certified when conducting an Everything DiSC Workplace workshop. For this reason, it's easy to question why a trainer or a company would want to spend money on something that isn't required.

The answer we find comes directly from those that took the time (and made the investment) themselves. We find that many trainers walk away from certification with greater sense of confidence in how they present the tool and answer questions from their learners.  DiSC is an incredibly simple model that reveals a lot of complex information about a person. There are numerous instances where a simple question can lead to a large conversation and many trainers wouldn't have thought of 'that simple question' without having a deeper background into the tool.

Here are the reasons we received when we asked why someone choose to join a certification class:

1. Hands on training using the tool
2. Time to use the tool with other trainers
3. Experience using the tool prior to teaching with it

Like any other type of tool, being able to spend time learning how to us it will increase how effective your training will be in the classroom.

Online DiSC Certification or In-Person DiSC Certification

Today, there are multiple options for trainers and coaches to become certified in DiSC that is recognized and licensed by the publisher. Online DiSC Certification might seem like a second rate option compared to an an in-person DiSC Certification, but the publisher of Everything DiSC actually does a great job at keeping the course active. The course is hosted on Adobe Connect and learners actually get to join small group discussions, participate in polls, and engage in discussions. It's not a 'sage on the stage' learning environment.

With that in mind, if you can commit to have two days fully learning, you will get much more face-time compared to the online option. If you are near Philadelphia, DC or NYC, check out the Lancaster, PA DiSC Certification option.

The Everything DiSC “D” Personality Style Under Pressure – Part 1

Understanding your Everything DiSC style and personality traits is a powerful tool. Equally important is to be able to understand to DiSC personality and behavioral preferences of other on your team. Imagine that you’re on a team working on a huge, organization-changing, once-in-a-lifetime project. Everything is going great until the deadline changes. The new deadline is aggressive, and you openly wonder if the team can deliver on time.

Your friend, a high D, feels the tension. And like high-D people tend to do, when she is under stress, she lets everyone have it. 

“This deadline isn’t a problem if everybody just toughens up,” she fumes. “Am I the only one working late and on the weekends? What is wrong with people?”

You see, high D’s are likely to become impatient and demanding when the pressure builds. So your friend may lash out at others and berate people to get them moving. Her empathy may go on hiatus while she pushes others to meet her high standards, and it can appear that she cares only about achieving results. And yes, she can be brutally — and we mean brutally — honest about the situation.

So how does her blunt, take-no-prisoners attitude mesh with the other members of your team?

You can learn more about others behavioral styles and personality preferences and how they relate to you and your team by using the Everything DiSC Workplace Profile, Everything DiSC Comparison Reports, and the Group Culture Report.

To be continued…

Are There Different DiSC® Profiles For Different Cities?

Are there different versions of the DiSC based on which U.S. city you live in? 

There is a website would have you believe there are. Clearly this site is trying to game Google by tying the keyword DiSC to specific cities so when people search for the DiSC Profile from a certain location the results will appear to be based on the location being searched from.

This is expanded upon in my Everything About DiSC Blog post and read recent research reports about how the Everything DiSC and DiSC Classic Profile are designed and validated.

Here is a link to research reports on DiSC assessments.

New Online DISC profile and Everything About DiSC Blog.

I am excited to announce that we have moved our new blog postings on my thoughts, opinions and sights into the Everything DiSC and DiSC Classic Personality models over to OnlineDiscProfile.com/blog. We have also started an Everything DiSC blog at Thank you and please follow us there.  We have also posted our old articles and posts there for your convenience.

-- John C Goodman, MSOD, MSW

DiSC Content And DISContent With Your Career

This blog is on incorporating the DiSC model into a process of determining what is important to you in a job or career. This same exercise is equally powerful in determining what is important to you in life (life-balance using DiSC will be explored in a later entry). The following is an approach I have used with my private coaching and psychotherapy clients, as well as with myself in the past.

Focus on what you want or need from a job. Take some time and look at where you are now, where you want to be and what is in between here and there. Question yourself. Note: This exercise will only be as useful as you let it be, so do this when and where you won't be bothered by external distractions. Realize there are no right or wrong answers.

Sit down somewhere quiet with a pad of paper, a computer or an audio recorder and prepare to brainstorm. Ask yourself the following question and others that may be relevant to you.

What Is Important To Me? Make a quick list of whatever pops into your mind. Do not judge or edit your thoughts. Do not worry about grammar or spelling. The list below is for example purposes only. Do not limit yourself to these and replace the ones that don‘t fit.

• Career
• Job security
• Freedom
• Not being limited by others
• Financial security
• Family
• Social relationships
• Health
• Status
• Understanding what is going on and why
• Having control over your future
• Recognition
• Being a part of a greater whole
• Just being apart
• Having tangibles
• Cultivating intangibles
• Making a difference in your life

What would make me happy?

How would I know if I was happy?

What is keeping me for being happy?

What needs of mine are not being met?

Now focus on your job or career (or the one you want) and ask these questions.

What is important to me in a job?

• Money?
• Results?
• Status?
• Teamwork?
• Being creative?
• Getting it right?
• Details?
• The bottom-line?
• Relationships?
• Loyalty…?      Again these are just some examples.

How would I know I had the right job?

Is it important for me to have a job I love or is it just a means to an end?

What motivates me?

What would my ideal job be?

What aspect of that job make it ideal?

Is it the job that is ideal or is it the things I do in that job, the title, the position, the roles within that job ?

Is my job consistent with my career path? Does it need to be?

How much is my identity tied into my job?

Using The DiSC Profile To Reinforce What Is Important To You

Next review the results of your DiSC profile. If you have not completed the DiSC Profile within the last six months and there has been major changes in your life during that time, you may want to take the DiSC again. If you want detailed feedback on your DiSC style and how it relates to others in the workplace you should take the Everything DiSC Workplace Profile.

Use your DiSC report as a tool to stimulate thoughts of what is important to you in a job or career. Look at what your preferences are, what motivates you and what stress you out. Is what you are looking for unique to a particular job or industry or can you find it in many totally unrelated jobs and industries? Again, is it a particular job or title that is important to you or is it  what you do within that job that is significant to you?

Previous Job Evaluation

Review the jobs you have had in your past. Create two columns on a page. On one side list: "What did I like about that job?" On the other side list: "What didn’t I like in that job?" Review the list. Look past the obvious and search for patterns. Look for common threads, e.g. "I liked helping people because it made me feel good" or "I felt great when I achieved my goals and I take pride in my independence."

Next make the three columns: 1) What do I want in a job? 2) What do I need in a job (non-negotiable)? 3) What I don’t want in a job (non-negotiable) and fill it out referring to the above exercise. Look for common patterns and roles you have been in that transcend job title, position, or industry.

Why is it so powerful to add the DiSC assessment to this exercise? Here are two reasons:

1. It reinforces what we already know about ourselves.
2. It brings out blind spots about ourselves that we are not aware of, take for granted, or think unimportant. For example a person with a “S” DiSC style may discover that being a part of a team is important to her, but might be totally unaware how important that is to her in a job and how in certain jobs it would be an asset that differentiate her. She just assumes that everyone would be happier being part of a team. Another example is a “D” style sales profession who doesn't realize how vital it is to his sense of self to work independently and get immediate feedback on his success through daily commission reports and can’t figure out why he is unhappy when he has been moved to a straight salary sales position and has to be a part of a "sales team".

Think about the insights your DiSC personality assessment reveals. Then go back to the questions above and refine your answers. See what you learned about what is important to you and use it to expand your job and career options.

-- John C Goodman, MSOD, MSW