DISC Personality Test for Workplace Productivity
DISC personality test is both exercise of your creativity and a step to workplace awareness
We all face depressing troubles at our workplace. Sometimes our coworkers make a mess for their selfish interests. Sometimes our boss totally crushes us. Sometimes our juniors show utter carelessness. And sometimes people play games because we are too helpful.
If you’re facing such troubles, you should take a DISC personality test. DISC will help you to understand your personality in the context of your workplace. Unlike other personality tests, which determine our broad-ranging traits, DISC is specific to the workplace.
And when you know your own personality, you can easily understand the personalities of people working at your workplace.
Who Developed the DISC Personality Test?
William Moulton Marston, who was an American psychologist, developed the basic theory of DISC. He is the same psychologist who developed the character of wonder woman.
Marston’s theory of DISC came across the people when he published his book “Emotions of Normal People” in 1928. But Marston only wrote about styles of people, he didn’t develop any test.
People knew nothing about DISC unless Walter Vernon Clarke, who was an industrial psychologist, picked Marston’s theory in the 1950s to transform it into a personality test. Clarke wanted to understand people at workplaces so that the right people could be chosen for the right job.
Do you know?
During this era, Katharine Cook Briggs with her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers were also struggling to develop a personality test. Both wanted to help the women workforce to find jobs in the difficult market condition. This ambition led them to develop the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test. And popularity of MBTI was rapidly growing.
What is DISC?
DISC is an acronym for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness & Conscientiousness. Same as MBTI divides personalities of the people into 16 types, DISC divides people’s personalities into 4 basic types.
Your type is determined after answering 28 questions or choosing the words which most likely and least likely relate to you. We’ll talk about it in more detail in later sections.
For now, let’s understand these four types.
D-Dominant
If you have a dot on Dominance (D), you’re result-oriented. As a boss, you can be challenging and critical. You can be hard on your juniors and push them beyond limits to achieve targets. As a co-worker, you can be highly competitive.
However, sometimes you can be intimidating and insensitive to the concerns of the people. You may strongly dislike easygoing employees. In MBTI, if you’re ESTJ or ENTJ, you most probably have a dot on dominance. ESTP & ENTP also tend to be dominating.
I-Influential
If you have a dot on Influence (I), you can drive others by enthusiasm and appreciation. You are probably a motivational speaker and a fast-paced worker. You like to collaborate with others on mutual tasks.
However, you may lack planning and analytical skills to manage long-term projects and strategic goals. You may also be considered to be pushy and sloppy. In MBTI, if you’re ESFJ or ENFJ, you most probably have a dot on Influence (I). ESFPs and ENFPs also tend to be influencing.
S-Steady
If you have a dot on Steady (S), you’re a stable and agreeable person. You like to cooperate with others and tend to be accommodating. You love to work on tasks on which others can collaborate and support you. As a boss, you can be easygoing, and disciplining others can be difficult for you. As a co-worker, you can be very supportive.
But others may consider you to be too flexible and easygoing. In MBTI, if you’re INFJ or ISFJ, you most probably have a dot on Steady (S). ISFPs and INFPs also tend to be steady.
C-Conscientious
If you have a dot on Conscientious ( C), you are focused on accuracy. You can challenge the ideas and thoughts, dig in facts, and seek stability. You have an admirable ability to perform tasks with high-quality output. You don’t miss important details.
However, you tend to work alone rather than collaborating with teams. Others may also consider you to be dry and boring. You can be critical and insensitive to others. In MBTI, if you’re ISTJ or INTJ, you most probably have a dot on Conscientious ( C). ISTP & INTP also tend to be conscientious.
How 4 types are related?
You may wonder what is the link between each personality type on DISC. Are these just randomly divided on the DISC or each type is logically assigned?
Yes! There is some logic behind it.
Types in the upper half of the DISC are outgoing. This means Dominant and Influencing are outgoing types (this relates to extroverted types in other personality systems). Similarly, types in the lower half are reserved. This means Steady and Conscientious types are reserved (this relates to introverted in other personality systems).
Likewise, types in the left half are task-oriented. This means Dominant and Conscientious are task-oriented types. Similarly, types in the right half are people-oriented. This means Influencing and Steady are people-oriented.
Where to take the DISC test?
There are hundreds of different online tests available. I will give you an overview of a few of these to help you decide where to take tests.
Here you can take a free DISC personality test. Just fill up your information: first name, last name, and email address, and begin the test. It has a total of 12 questions. In each question there are 2 MCQs — in one, you have to select a most likely choice and in the second you have to select the least likely choice.
This website provides reports in HTML as well as pdf formats. It also offers a small course worth $9 to deeply understand Discprofile. For a comprehensive DISC assessment, you have to pay $29.
123tests offers many personality tests for free. Here, DISC test is straight to start. You don’t need to type your name or any email address and can directly begin giving answers. After giving the test, you’ll be asked for some basic information about you like gender and age. Then you’ll be provided the result. You can buy an extended report for $14.99.
If you want authentic testing, a paid test is the right choice. At discprofile it costs $72. In 20 minutes, you can complete the test and in the end, you’ll be offered 20-page detailed report on your discprofile.
This article was originally published here.
