Archive for DISC Styles
How to Keep DISC Fresh, Even If It’s Not New
Posted by: | Comments
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.
Everything DiSC® Virtual Showcases
Posted by: | CommentsYou’re Invited to one or two Everything DiSC® Virtual Showcases (showcases are from Noon to 1:30 pm Eastern):
- Management Virtual Showcase: February 24, 2010 $40* Buy Me
- Workplace Virtual Showcase: March 25, 2010 $30* Buy Me
*Virtual showcases are a great way to be introduced to the new Everything DiSC® Application Library. You’ll leave the seminar with far more value than the cost of your registration fee. You’ll receive a personalized Everything DiSC® Management assessment valued at $77.50 or a $46.50 Everything DiSC Workplace depending on the webinar(s) you choose and a 90-minute webinar taught by Inscape trainers and a new reality for improving work relationships (priceless)!
Best of all, I’ll continue to be here to support you through any questions or applications you may have. Once you register you’ll receive an email receipt and within 48 hours will receive an access code so that you can take your assessment prior to class. The phone number and pin codes will follow.
Alicia
Alicia Smith, DiSC Ninja™
http://www.aliciasmith.com
Relieve Your Test Anxiety
Posted by: | CommentsThat four-letter word, test, can lead to a lot of anxiety when it comes to an online assessment. So let’s just remove it altogether. Assessments are more appropriately referred to as assessments, surveys or profiles. They are not tests. In asking someone to take an assessment “test” is a “dirty four-letter word.”
Anytime someone takes a test, they think first of pass or fail or having to give the right answer. If anyone taking an assessment is thinking “test”, they are likely to give the answers they think you want from them. As a result, when someone says that the results of an assessment are not accurate for him or her, this is my first question to them:
“Did you answer the way you think you should have or the way you really are?”
Another thing to remember is we are not measuring IQ or even core personality, but behavior within a given environment. Understanding what the assessment measures and what the results indicate helps manage expectations of the profile are key to DiSC® use.
One of the greatest benefits available with these assessments is that there are training materials to support you and your clients/staff. For more information on a variety of training tools check out http://www.internetassessments.com/trainingmaterials.htm.
Evolution and Online Assessments
Posted by: | CommentsTo be useful, any tool must adapt and change as conditions change. DiSC® assessments have shifted and evolved over time and continue to do so. The online DiSC® profile has made the process even more valuable as it becomes more accessible. As the online version also provides anonymity, its effectiveness also increases.
The online behavioral profiles allow researchers to crunch huge numbers. Five years ago a sample might have been 400 – 1000 people. Whereas, now, the last major DiSC® online research had a sample of 26,000! Computational power allows us to make greater distinctions about human behavior and how to best deal with self and others.
Having these online profiles at your fingertips, evolving all the time, means that you are assessing accurately and researchers are getting data from broader and broader samples:
- DiSC® ® Classic Online Profile
- DiSC® ® PPSS Online Profile
- DiSC® ® Indra Online Profile
- Team Dimensions Profile
- Time Mastery Profile®
- DiSC® ®
- Action Planners Personal Listening Profile®
- DiSC® overing Diversity Profile®
- Work Expectations Profile
Business Transformation Through Leadership
Posted by: | CommentsMaybe you have already started to use DiSC® Products in your organization or in your coaching practice as tools for performing personal assessments. Now you might be looking for ways to transform your business and become more of a leader in the field. I know I am starting to hear that very thing from attendees at recent DiSCNinja coaching sessions that are doing career assessments and possibly thinking of marketing themselves as experienced and knowledgeable DiSC® profilers.
You can literally transform your coaching business with assessments. After years of research, I find that assessments will get you to the desired goals with your clients/staff sooner. The reason for this is you can work more effectively with your clients/staff when you understand what motivates them. Assessments can provide that information quickly and accurately. Your client/staff will see you as more knowledgeable, competent, and professional.
Getting a reputation for having these attributes will come consistently when you use assessments with your clients. Repeatedly producing these results will gain you the label as a leader in your field. Transform yourself through leadership with assessments.
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.
Power Up the Assessments You Use
Posted by: | CommentsMany of us use Microsoft Outlook, ACT! or a similar program to send and receive email. For some, that is all we use them for. But with each new version more and more features have been added so that email is the least of what these programs do.
These programs are just tools, much like the EPIC platform (Electronic Profile Info Center) used to deliver a variety of assessments electronically. The power of an assessment tool only comes with its informed use. We need to be trained or coached in the use of a tool to its full and most effective capacity. Using the assessments available to you through the EPIC platform is no different.
After we administer assessments and get the results, the next logical step is to work with a coach or trainer, whether internal or external, to facilitate change. We will be able to identify your strengths and limitations and use the assessments as a primary tool to facilitate the necessary changes to help you or your teams become the best you can be.
Build Your Top Team Using DiSC®
Posted by: | CommentsEver thought about using DiSC® assessments to get the best and most suitable talent? Resumes and interviews are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hiring personnel for your organization. They tell you who you are getting, but not necessarily how they will perform. Many people will have the education, background and skills for a job BUT it is also important to get an idea of their behavior so that you can assess how well they will fit into the company culture.
In the interview, you are relying mostly on intuition for the assessment of each candidate. We all know almost any candidate can present a positive impression for the time that most interviews last.
Recently a manager attending a DiSC® coaching assessment session shared that DiSC® assessments have been used in a number of curriculum spin-offs in his company.
I wanted to know more about these spin-offs and what they were. He gave one example saying that the Vice President of Financial Management expanded into project management. The DiSCÒ assessment was key for him in selecting an existing staff member as the project manager. This staff member was able to make a much-improved contribution to the company in her new capacity since the work required of her was a good fit for her most natural strengths.
In addition, the manager in charge of Controls and Accountability was able to spin-off a Resource Center and used DiSCÒ to select an excellent director to head the unit.
This manager readily saw the value of learning about the flexibility and diversity of the assessments and how they can be applied throughout these various situations within his company.
So you can be assured there are assessments that will help you select the best talent, identify issues, or make appropriate change within yourself or your organization. We can work together to get the appropriate assessments to fit your needs.
