The DISC Personality Test

Teams are formed for many reasons. Team members are also chosen for many reasons. Sometimes team members are chosen for their “functional skills” (Chamorro-Premuzic & Winsborough, 2015). Sometimes they are picked because they are well liked by the person who is forming the team. Sometimes they are picked because they are considered smart people. It has been proven that this way of picking teams does not work. “Interpersonal relationships depend on individuals’ personalities, not on hard skills or expertise” (Chamorro-Premuzic & Winsborough, 2015). In order for teams to be successful, they need to be cohesive. A team can be cohesive when their personalities work well together. There are many different types of personality tests that organizations

The DISC is a quadrant behavioral model to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation. Therefore, it focuses on the styles and preferences of such behavior (DISC Personality Test, 2018). The DISC model has four main personality traits. The dominance trait describes the way you deal with problems. It is the way you assert yourself and how you control situations. The influence trait describes the way you deal with people. It is the way you communicate and relate to others. The steadiness trait describes the temperament, patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness of an individual. Lastly, the compliance trait describes how a person approaches and organizes activities, procedures, and responsibilities. (DISC Personality Test, 2018) Generally, people will have one trait that is more dominant than the other

The first was just about one year ago. The results from each test were basically the same. I scored highest in the dominant trait and lowest in the compliance trait. Of interest, my score for the steadiness trait changed a great deal within the year. The steadiness trait score went down within the last year. This means that I have less patience with people that are less dynamic then myself. I get bored with tasks that are routine and that I need to have changes in my work and non-work life. By taking the two test a year apart I have learned that I am becoming more self-sufficient and I am independent and impatient. This change could be attributed to my increase in education or it could be from my increase in age, or it could be from the changing climate of the world in general. Regardless what the reason for the change is it is helpful for me to know these aspects of my personality so that I can improve what may make me a non-effective team member or leader. The DISC test also tells me what aspects of my personality make me an effective team member and