DiSC Theory (The four quadrant to success)
I’ve had the opportunity lately to participate in a small office group study of the DiSC Model with the help of a facilator/motivator. DiSC is the four quadrant behavioural model based on the work of William Moulton Marston Ph.D. (1893 - 1947) to examine the behaviour of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation.
DiSC is defined by four categories of human behavioural styles, types or temperament, now know as "D" for Dominance-Drive-Direct, "I" for Influence, "S" for Steadiness or Stability and "C" for Compliant, Conscientious, or Cautious.
Now a days DISC has become one of the most popular and user friendly four quadrant models for understanding behavioural styles and personality types, with various companies offering models with quadrants, circles, wheels, and diamonds to graphically represent the positioning of these behavioural and personality styles and types.
At first, like most, I could not relate nor understand how one can categorize people into four basic categories. Twenty four hours of talks later, I’ve begun to understand the four quadrants. I’ve learned to Identify others in my immediate surrounding and most importantly I’ve have identified myself. I, with no doubt am “I” for Influence.
I very much thrive daily connections, social situations and communication.
These four dimensions can also be grouped in a grid with "D" and "I" sharing the top row and representing extroverted aspects of the personality, and "C" and "S" below representing introverted aspects. "D" and "C" then share the left column and represent task-focused aspects, and "I" and "S" share the right column and represent social aspects. In this matrix, the vertical dimension represents a factor of "Assertive" or "Passive", while the horizontal represents "Open" vs. "Guarded".
Here are brief outlines of each Quadrant, perhaps you will see yourself in one of them. Remember, not one is better than another but each have to be connected in different ways.
Anyone who scores high in the D quadrant is oriented toward changing their task environment. They exhibit these characteristics:
* They attack the task at hand.
* They are goal- and solution-oriented.
* They make things happen and move swiftly.
* The greater the challenge, the more active they become.
* They often works best independently.
* They thrive on competition.
* They are assertive, efficient, and focused on results.
* Under the right circumstances, they can take direction well.
* They will exhibit strong organizational ability and operational skills in reacting to chaos.
* They are self-starters.
* They push others to succeed with the same rigor as they possess.
* They tend to be pioneering and adventurous.
* They are rather self-sufficient.
* Achieving one goal will encourage them to go after the next one
* They can come across as dictatorial.
* Their focus is on getting results, not on how people feel in the process.
* They can be viewed as impatient, arrogant, or overly demanding.
* They can be perceived as cold.
* They tend to have a low tolerance for negative feelings, bad attitudes, and ineffectiveness.
* They can be hasty and blunt as well as critical of others.
These personalities are oriented toward changing other people.
Here are some of their common traits:
* They see themselves in the role of persuader and motivator.
* They tend to be enthusiastic, outgoing, and interested in getting things started.
* They are people-oriented and are comfortable in both one-on- one situations and big gatherings.
* They can be very outgoing and personable.
* Social recognition and influence are key drivers.
* Their optimism can be evident since they are often very expressive.
* They are charismatic and inspiring.
* When projects involve others, they are enthusiastic and participative.
* They are idea people and get others interested in their innovations.
* They can be entertainers with a natural warmth and likeability.
* They are spontaneous with others.
* They can easily multitask.
* They can adeptly manage several people at the same time by juggling priorities as needed.
* Once comfortable with the people involved, they can bring them together to achieve a goal
* They can sometimes come across as self-promoting or superficial.
* Because of their need to persuade, they can be seen as somewhat manipulative.
* They can get excited, which leads to observable impatience or potentially inappropriate
behaviour for the circumstances.
* At times they are perceived as overly optimistic and overly confident.
* They generally have a lower concern for facts.
* They also tend to have an opinion on most topics.
“S” Quadrant (Consistent)
* They utilize systematic approaches to manage goals.
* They keep things in check by controlling the system.
* Team recognition and appreciation for a job well done are key drivers for them.
* They don’t need public recognition for their efforts
* There is security in tradition.
* They are predictable and dependable.
* Often they are even-tempered.
* They are easily able to get assistance from others because of their balance.
* They can be very loyal and tend to build long-term relation-ships.
* They are excellent listeners and are good at concealing their own emotions while conversing
with others.
* They can often be very patient.
* They are dedicated to task completion.
* They systematically finish one task before moving to the next.
* The following may hamper the Supportive’s success:
* They tend to procrastinate.
* They are slow at making decisions, especially if they fear that those decisions will be
unpopular.
* When under stress or duress, they may withdraw and try and let the dust settle.
* They are slow starters, especially when the project is a directional change or lacks a
systematic approach.
“C” Quadrant (Consistent)
* They tend to be more analytical, reserved, and focused on getting things done right.
* They attempt to avoid antagonism.
* They are accurate, precise, and attempt to remove risk from a decision.
* They are conservative and disciplined in their approach to any task.
* They do not typically need public recognition for their efforts.
* They do seek reassurance that the job is being done correctly.
* They are agreeably compliant.
* They are not argumentative.
* When their decision is made, however, they can be strong advocates for a position.
* Their strength comes from research, analysis, and detailed knowledge of their subject.
* Being logical, they look to eliminate emotion in a debate.
* They also tend to be good listeners and can therefore adapt their own behavior to the
circumstances as they analyze conversations with others.
* They are patient when dealing with facts and tasks.
* They are dedicated to task completion.
* They finish one task accurately and within the appropriate parameters before moving to the
next
* They can become irritated with inefficiency and errors.
* Although normally diplomatic, they can be critical without enough regard to personal feelings.
* Because of their desire for accuracy, they can be seen as nitpickers.
* Their focus is on avoiding unnecessary risk, which leads others to believe that they are more
interested in the method of reaching the goal than in the goal itself.
* While non-confrontational, they can be rather critical.
* If they have a strong opinion, they are reluctant to back down, even when that might be in the
best interest of the team.
I'm curious to know what Quadrant you fall in, please comment on the post and share.
