DISC Profiling

My last article concentrated on the ‘S’ of D.I.S.C. This week we are looking in more depth at the ‘C’ – Compliance type.

High C’s are reserved and task-orientated. They are Competent, Cautious, Careful and Conscientious. They are always in pursuit of excellence and are very mindful of rules and regulations. They will be happy to sit in a room with a computer or a set of accounts, and enjoy being around other people who are outgoing as long as they don’t have to join in with the fun! Being competent they frequently research the facts and will enjoy investigative work. C’s will follow instructions to the letter and will enjoy reading manuals! They can stay on track with projects and enjoy seeing things fall into place step-by-step. Being lovers of detail they will frequently write “To Do” lists and plan as much as they can. Other groups will write “To Do” lists, but the C’s will stick to them! C’s like to be correct and enjoy being right. If you challenge a C they are more likely to go away and check their facts and figures and then come back to you and present you with the evidence! They love to be accurate and produce work of excellent quality. But beware! Because they are always in pursuit of excellence, they will sometimes miss deadlines because their best is never good enough for them.

C-types can normally be found in specialist roles – IT, Accountancy, Law, Music, Teaching etc. Their analytical nature likes to ask “Why” questions. They are not risk-takers and would be unhappy if they were pushed into making quick decisions without having time to think. They respond best to a manager who is supportive and is detail orientated themselves, who works by the rule book and doesn’t change their minds on a whim. They like to communicate in writing so a backup email/letter following a phone conversation would be very welcome. Beware that they don’t handle criticism well, as they have a strong desire to be correct – so if you need to be critical make sure it is handled sensitively!

Have you recognised your “type” in the past 4 articles? Most people will identify with 2 types and it is the combination of these two, that makes you unique.

This subject is endless and if anyone would like me to address a specific issue, I will be happy to write further articles.

Are you a High S?

This is the 3rd of my postings about DISC Profiling and this week we are looking at High S’s – the ‘S’ traits are all about the Steadiness/pace of work. As you know some people work faster than others and from this trait, we can assess your work rate as well as lots of other things!

High S’s are Steady, Supportive and Stable and desire a great deal of Security. Routine may be boring to some, but not to S-types. It gives them security to know that things are not going to change for change sake. S-types are “nice” people to be around – they will always try to help you no matter what, and for this reason are sometimes seen as a soft-touch and colleagues may put on them. They look for ways to cooperate and help and rarely say no. They quite like being given orders and like to do a good job.

At home, they can be very sentimental and have favourite films, memories etc. S-types are ideally suited to the service industry as they are the cogs in the wheel. If you manage any S-types then you will be lucky enough to have a workhorse that doesn’t mind repetitive jobs and will work their way steadily through any pile of paper. For those of you who are not S-types – don’t even think about trying to liven up their workloads by throwing them into unknown situations or changing things for change sake. The S-types hate this! They like security and fear change.

The way to motivate S’s is by showing them how much you appreciate them – smile and say ‘thank you’! If you are a manager of this type of personality then please use a coaching style. Encourage, motivate, inspire and watch!

More next week on the C-types in DISC – Compliance. If you like to work by the rule book and strive to achieve quality then this could be you!

Are you a High I – a ‘people person’?

If you read my last blog you will know that I’m working my way through the various personality types in DISC profiling – Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. This week we are going to explore the Influence type.

High I’s are very people-orientated. Nothing matters more than people, people, people! They are Inspiring, Influential, Impressive, Interesting and Impulsive. They make inspiring leaders. When you are with them you will feel great – their cup is always half full! They make good sales people and make everything sound great. Optimism is their middle name!

They can influence you with their charming ways because they are good talkers. For this reason, they make good ‘front line’ people for any business. They also make good speakers, coaches, actors, comedians and teachers.

I‘s are not primarily interested in getting a job done – their primary interest is how everyone gets along with each other during the job. Give them a project and they can visualise creative outcomes, endless possibilities and will be great at generating enthusiasm and getting a willing team together to do the work.

Relationships are paramount and they network very easily because they are naturally friendly. After you have been talking to them for a while you will feel like you have known them all your life. I‘s are compassionate people and would give you their last pound if they thought you needed it more than themselves. Be careful though – don’t take advantage of their generous nature!

Next week we’ll be looking at the ‘S’ in DISC, which stands for Steadiness. If you are steady, stable and dislike change then this could be you!

As a Licensed DISC Profiler, I’ve used this extensively, not only in my career coaching work but also for personal development with my clients.

But how can you know yourself inside out? You can, of course, take the time to write adjectives about yourself also ask others to describe you too. That’s an interesting thing to do by the way, as people invariably see things in you that you don’t see yourself! You might get some nice surprises!However, there is an easier way. DISC profiling looks at your behavioural style and the assessment can tell you how you behave and perform in the work environment. How fantastic to have such an insight into yourself so when you are at the interview, you can talk confidently about yourself with the back up that the DISC profiling has confirmed these traits. And, it’s fabulous information that you add to your CV! For instance, it can reveal:

• how you prefer to communicate with others and what’s the best method of communication for you
• what types of work environments you like and what you need to be motivated and productive
• how you go about achieving goals and what you need from others around you to support you to reach those goals
• how you react under stress