Why Should I Care About My DISC Personality?

People tend to fall into two camps on the topic of personality tests like DISC:

• "I'm a ISTJ/D/Fiery Red/Low Openness --Woo! What are you?!?"
• "Don't put me in your pseudo-scientific alphabet soup box, nerd."

Clearly, Person 2 above is a high Conscientious, low Agreeable -- like duh.

In all seriousness, given the controversy of personality tests, why should you care?

Why It Matters

DISC's validity has been debated, but to me, the real-world experience gives me all of the information I need to know.

Despite the limitations of personality tests like DISC, for me, they have been immensely useful in understanding myself and others. And possibly more importantly, they give you a vernacular for categorizing and grouping behaviors that TEND to be correlated in a way that is very helpful.

As personality tests go, DISC is the model that makes the most sense for me, although I also advocate for others because DISC isn't the end-all-be-all (no personality test can be that).

I'll write in another post about what DISC is. For this post, I want to talk about how DISC can help you understand your career.

"Don't Put Me In a Box!"

Listen, I would never put you into a box. I like you too much. :)

And I don't believe in labels and fixed destiny. But we do have tendencies and models like DISC can help you understand the universe. So, in this point, I will illustrate with a couple of tables that can gently suggest ways to capitalize on your strengths or accommodate for weaknesses.

You can decide how to interpret them from there. If something doesn't make sense in your experience, discuss with a colleague and/or toss it to the side.

Behavioral Strengths

Below are some of the natural HR and leadership skills of each DISC type. If you are high on these dimensions, you will find these actions more natural. If you are low on them, you will struggle more. with those behaviors.

DRIVER Directing Focusing a team Being honest/direct Supporting business goals Getting things done quickly	STABILIZER Empathizing, including others Managing conflict Predicting how people will feel Encouraging stability Fostering calm and welcoming
INFLUENCER Teaching Facilitating/collaborating Initiating ideas Generating fun, energy, and social interaction	CORRECTER Validating facts Seeing potential problems Making things accurate Giving accurate interpretations of law, policy

Possible Job Titles in HR

Below is a list of job titles that could be optimal for each DISC type. Put another way, these titles would feel most natural for these DISC types.

WARNING: This shouldn't be read as a limiting list. This doesn't mean you can't be an HR VP if you're not a Driver. However, it means that some aspects of these job titles might be a struggle for you without help and development.

DRIVER HR Director, VP, CHRO	STABILIZER Employee relations HR generalist FMLA/ADA DEIB specialist
INFLUENCER Trainer Recruiter Organizational development Internal consultant	CORRECTER Benefits and compensation Leave manager Payroll specialist, leader

Ways to Apply DISC at Work

DISC can help you make better decisions in the following areas:

• Hiring: I'd never recommend administering the DISC test when hiring, but I would recommend knowing your weak areas and seeking someone who LOVES and EXCELS where you are weak.
• Relationships at Work: People who are different from us will feel less safe when we flex our strengths. High S and C people are often distrustful of high D or I people. High D people can get frustrated with the methodical approach of some high C people. Be aware of your preferences can help peers warm up to you.

Applying your Strengths and Weaknesses

My advice for your strengths is to move toward them. Find work that maximizes those skills and use those skills in the job you have to really shine. Find more ways to use your strengths in new and creative ways. Flex your areas of confidence!

My advice for your weaknesses is to reduce how much you need to use them and find tactics to ensure they don't become fatal flaws.

I find it very useful to look at:

• the aspects of DISC where you are weak or strong AND
• the aspects where you are weaker/stronger RELATIVE TO others on your team

Using the above tables, you can infer the weaknesses you will need to overcome and strengths you bring to a team.

For example:

• A Stabilizer in an HR VP role may struggle with being direct and they may struggle with finding good new ideas and pushing them through
• A person who is higher on Influencing than the others on the team will be perceived as a good communicator/trainer -- and possibly perceived as slick, fake, and not humble.
• A person high on Correcting will be a great help to a Driver, because the Correcter will see how the Driver can improve their process.

Ways to compensate for weaknesses include:

• Telling others where you are weak and where you need help
• Hiring a team member who is strong where you are weak
• Asking for a heads up from your team when your weaknesses get the better of you
• Get counsel from a peer or mentor who you respect - see if they feel you are looking at the issue correctly
• When a situation arises that requires you to use a weakness, move slowly and thoughtfully

Ways to focus on your strengths include:

• Check with others to make sure you aren't over doing your strengths
• Openly discuss your areas of strength and discuss how they can become stumbling blocks for you (e.g., Drivers might over run people)
• Practice taking the edge off of your strengths
  • Drivers - practice asking others if things are going too fast, practice delegating power to others
  • Influencers - learn to encourage others to speak up (since you love to voice opinions so readily)
  • Stabilizers - use your people skills to connect one-on-one with your team
  • Correcters - learn to point out flaws diplomatically
• Take more opportunities to offer your services in your area of strength
  • Drivers - offer to run a project team or help get some onerous tasks done
  • Influencers - offer to help generate ideas or rally a team
  • Stabilizers - offer to mediate on conflicts or welcome new people to the team
  • Correcters - offer to review proposed plans for any red flags
• Develop training or mentor others in your area of strength. Share your confidence and your knowledge!

Conclusion

It's smart as an HR person to at least be conversant in DISC.

Your DISC preferences are a window to your strengths and weaknesses, and they can help you understand and mentor others more effectively. Amplify your strengths -- and take action to ensure weaknesses don't become major blockage points for you.

Mike Lyons is an HR professional and consultant in the Austin, TX area. He can be found on LinkedIn.