D.I.S.C. can be a powerful business tool in the right hands, but unfortunately only a fraction of teams realize its full potential.
The situation that tends to happen is this: someone within your organization becomes interested in D.I.S.C., and decides to share the concept with your team. It sounds like a useful resource, so you all sit down one day to complete the D.I.S.C. assessment. This part is easy enough – after all, personality quizzes are fun!
Here's the problem though...after you get the results back, nobody knows what to do next.
Sure, you'll read through the different D.I.S.C. profiles, and everyone will nod along as you go through the different behavioral traits. But by the time the meeting is over, employees will already be thinking about other things. And by the following week, you'll be lucky if your team even remembers what all the letters in D.I.S.C. mean.
So how do you keep D.I.S.C. alive, and inject it into the very DNA of your organization?
This article will outline three steps you should take during the implementation process to keep D.I.S.C. relevant within your company:
Within any organization, the first step you should take to implement D.I.S.C. is to sit down and take the self-evaluation test. But how do you know which quiz is right for your group? Here are three of the most common solutions you might want to consider:
| Type of Quiz | Description | Who Should Use it? |
| Free tests, such as: www.123test.com |
Free versions are usually not accredited, but are easily accessible. | Teams who just want to dip their toes into D.I.S.C. and are not interested in long-term benefits. |
| Paid products, such as: Personality Profile Solutions |
These official versions come with instructions for facilitating the test, comprehensive reports, and business recommendations. | Teams who are looking to use D.I.S.C. to create more effective and productive working relationships. |
| Training sessions with D.I.S.C., such as: Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Resolution |
Incorporate your D.I.S.C. assessment into a broader leadership training program to build stronger team dynamics. | Teams who are interested in the long-term effects of embedding D.I.S.C. into their workplace culture. |
Remember, taking the quiz is only the first step! Once every member of your team knows what their D.I.S.C. profile is, you'll want to help them unpack the results.
Immediately afterwards, your team should:
You can also bring in a third-party professional to help unpack your D.I.S.C. assessments, while tackling your group’s unique challenges. When it comes to D.I.S.C. profiles, working with a facilitator can help provide your team with:
“Anytime you get an outside perspective, it really helps,” says Lyndon Friesen, Lead Skill Development Facilitator at Outback. “Somebody who understands what the actual dot means within the graph or chart. Someone who then allows you to begin to see where your teammates are, and gives you the understanding as to why somebody might react one way to a situation, and you might react very differently.”
So, how do you keep D.I.S.C. alive in the weeks and months following your initial session? Ensure that your team has a few advocates within the company to help keep D.I.S.C. assessments working for you.
One of the best ways to do this is to identify someone who is passionate about the topic, and willing to lead the charge within your organization. They will be responsible for keeping D.I.S.C. visible, and will make an active effort to keep it top of mind for employees.
For example, your company's advocate could organize:
Learn More About D.I.S.C. in the Workplace