Archive for DiSC Assessments
How to Keep DISC Fresh, Even If It’s Not New
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As coaches and trainers, if you have used or plan to use the DiSC®, it can be a valuable tool in measuring and getting to know and understand your clients. But remember, your clients might not share your enthusiasm. They might be polite, or some may even be just tolerant, and see it as “the flavor of the month’” greeting it as just another assessment. After all, we do get quizzed all the time. Sometimes, honestly, as trainers, coaches and organizations we do over assess people.
Depending on how you, personally, process this you might see it one of two ways. Those of you who are external may shrug and think that you have no control over your clients’ attitudes towards assessments and not be concerned. Now, if you tend more toward internal processing, you will be more aware of how your clients feel about them and take that into account.
Having worked with DiSC® for some time, I accept that. But I see it as modern version of 2600 year old model. I’ve noticed that my clients really like this concept. Think about it. This model goes all the way back to the work of the great philosophers Hippocrates, Aristotle, Plato, and many others who tried to understand human behavior. There just really is not much new under the sun. The work of Hippocrates, Aristotle, Plato and all of the forefathers of our more modern version of DiSC® were built on the same four quadrant models of behavior. In fact, some of you may be familiar with the terms sanguine, phlegmatic, bilious, and melancholic. These are the four models of behavior that preceded DiSC®.
In 1928 a psychologist by the name of William Molten Marston wrote a book called “The Emotions of Normal People.” He, essentially, took 2600 years of work by all those people before him and put it into a cultural context to fit today’s society. When you look at Marston’s original work, he referred to D’s as dominance and I’s as influence, but he referred to S’s as submissive, C’s as compliant, and I’s as inducement. As I said, nothing new here, but a fresh take on human behavior that continues to earn more validation and confirmation that what we are doing works!
DISC: You Want to Keep Focused
Posted by: | CommentsYou might have heard me mention, either in an earlier post, a class, or even a coaching session how important it is to choose a focus for prior to completing a DiSC® profile. One problem I have had with that is even when people pick broad focus, like work, for instance, they get stuck on a particular set of words that trigger certain images.
One set of words might trigger their kids, another their spouse, while another might even trigger a sibling. So one of the things I often tell my clients is to use a Post It note and put it somewhere visible as a reminder. That way they will stay focused and remember to tell themselves, “OK, this isn’t how I am at church or at home or as president of the PTA. This is how I as senior HR director of this organization.” Using that little Post It device tends to help my clients stay on track. That’s just one tip you might try when you are working with someone.
DISC Profile Benefits from a Focus to be Effective
Posted by: | CommentsThe focus is really important when you do a DiSC profile. When you give clients a DiSC profile, be very clear about the specific situation you are focusing on. Your measurement will only show behavior in a distinct set of circumstances.
Remember the DiSC® provides a nonjudgmental language for exploring behavioral issues across four primary dimensions:
- Dominance: Direct and Decisive
- Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing
- Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative
- Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct
Let me explain what I mean. I will use my own profile as an illustration. I have done profiles with various focuses. They include, how I am as a:
- Trainer
- Coach
- Manager of my own business
- Manager of people
For me, the two constants is my D. My dominant trait is above the midline. And the midline is about 3.5 or 4, like at the 4 line. My S is always below the midline. But as a manager I’m a creative pattern. My D is above the midline. But my I and my S are below the midline, and my also C comes up. So that is what makes me a creative pattern. When I am training, my D drops down a little bit, but is still above the midline. My I actually inches above the D, but the S and the C are low.
I am always a high D and a low S. But my I and C can change dramatically, depending on my circumstances at any given moment.
Whatever your profile, be aware that if you show it to your best friend or your spouse, they might say “That doesn’t seem like you.” That’s because you may not be that way when you’re with them. You likely have a different set of behaviors with your friends or loved ones.
I have had so much success with my clients by having them take the assessment, even from multiple work perspectives. Some senior managers come to me saying they are experiencing difficulty in managing their employees. So that’s where I start the coaching process, having them take the profile on how they manage their employees.
Then these same managers might express an issue with peers. For instance, they are in a meeting with the senior VP of marketing, senior VP of technology, senior VP of sales, and the senior VP of manufacturing. Now that’s a whole different ballgame. I’ll have them take a profile on how they are in that environment. Like my profile, they will usually see a constant. We don’t turn into completely different people. You are likely to see some scores that remain the same, but other scores may comes up or go down.
So, when you ask your clients or employees to complete their profile you can choose whether you want them just to take a general work focus or you want to ask them to have a more specific work focus. Either one will work.
Be a More Competent Coach Using DiSC®
Posted by: | CommentsWorking with clients while using the DiSC® assessments is its own separate skill. Clients often ask for help in building their skills in reviewing the DiSC® assessment results with their clients or staff, as well as improving their methods in administering them.
Knowing how to coach your clients when using DiSC® tools makes all the difference in the results you achieve. After you have refined your skills, deepened your understanding, and built your business around the DiSC® model, your competence and confidence will improve exponentially.
One of the joys of DiSC is that it is elegantly simple. It can be easily understood in an hour yet can allow for a lifetime of learning. People can decide how deep they choose to go.
With coaching I find that the process works best when the coach is part of the background, not at the center, of the process. Try to include a mixture these qualities along the way and your clients will feel confident they are getting guidance and support from a superior coach.
- Compassion
- Drive
- Experience
- Expertise
- Focus
- Honesty
- Humor
- Integrity
- Knowledge
- Passion
- Perspective
- Support
After you develop synergy and are working in sync, a clear understanding and trust develops. This is the basis of the relationship. From there you can move into affecting change or toward reaching the goals set early on in the process.
