The best time to plant trees was 20 years ago.
The next best time is now.

It is the same with people… Growing people.

Which of these @work are important to you?

• Helping staff perform better by discovering their unique strengths and motivations
• Building dynamic teams by delegating tasks or roles according to the right fit
• Resolving conflicts by uncovering and addressing the different underlying pain points
• Improving staff’s mental wellbeing by reducing the stress gap between their natural inclinations and workplace expectations
• Achieving organisation’s mission by building a culture that brings out the best in everyone
  

Equipping your staff with DISC Application skills can help fulfill all these important goals.

Enter DISC

DISC is a personality profiling tool that is based on Human Behavioural Science. One of the greatest contributors leading to its development was American psychologist William Moulton Marston. The four quadrants essentially capture the essence of 4 key different behaviours, thus opening a whole new world of understanding the emotions of people. This in turn helps to explain why people have different motivations, strengths, pain points, stressors as well as how they interact with others and make decisions.

How does DISC compare with other personality tools?

DISC is one of the earliest and most reliable personality profiling tools worldwide as well as probably the most widely used and practical skill in the workplace. Compared to other tools such as MBTI, Enneagram, Big Five, 16PF etc, DISC is preferred due to three key features as follow:

1. Develops Genuine Empathy for Others
   All tools focus in helping a person grow professionally through self-awareness. But DISC also allows the individual to understand others deeply through comparing and contrasting the 4 elements.
   
2. Measures Both Real and Practised Behaviours
   As most assessment tools use single level – simple multiple choice format, there is difficulty in ascertaining whether the results reflect on the true personality of the person. DISC assessment uses a double level – polarity choice format that can determine both the real personality and the practised behaviour. This is obviously critical as people need the truth in order to work on the right things. The gaps between the two sets of DISC results/graphs also reveal and explain the level of tension the person experienced in the workplace.
   
3. Is Simple Yet Powerful
   One of the most important considerations when choosing a tool is having a high probability of applying it after the training. Many tools involve several parameters resulting in difficulty in remembering, let alone applying. DISC is built upon 4 elements only (hence is easy to remember) and yet can produce 40 different styles, allowing uniqueness of people to be appreciated!

DISC Applications

As emotions are an integral part of human beings, the skills acquired from DISC training can be applied in numerous settings at the workplace. These include:

1. Individual Professional Growth
   • Uncovering Motivations & Developing Strengths
   • Anticipating Stressors & Working on Limitations
   • Improving Mental Wellness
2. Interpersonal Relationships
   • Improving Communications
   • Resolving Conflicts & Disagreements
   • Building Dynamic Teams
   • Enabling Good Leadership and Followship
   • Creating Pleasant Shared/ Co-Working Spaces
3. Specific Scenarios
   • Increasing Sales
   • Enlisting Supporters
   • Making Regular Meetings Productive
   • Achieving Think Tanks Outcomes
   • Enhancing Teaching & Learning
   • Engaging Negotiations Effectively
   • Thriving in a VUCA World

Not all DISC trainings are the same!

Before you get too excited and randomly pick a DISC training provider that shows up in Google search results or one that suits your budget, take note that choosing a wrong one can be disastrous.

Here is why.

When DISC profiling was first introduced, it generated so much interest that many training providers jumped on the wagon. Certified DISC trainers were churned out like trays of hot buns from the ovens of central kitchens in hope of getting a slice of the pie. (Buns… pies… Getting hungry). There were (and still are) little or no assessment on capabilities or proficiencies for newly minted “trainers”. As a result, dilution of training and erroneous teaching have become prevalent. Some of these things to watch out for are:

1. Scratching the Surface (This is a waste of time)
   There is a high chance of the staff NOT applying what they are taught if the trainer merely provides a superficial understanding of DISC. This includes just reading off adjectives that start with D, I, S & C followed by labelling people with a combination of these letters. Meaning-making is essential. Hence it is extremely important to help learners understand why people behave in those specific manners due to their beliefs about the environment around them, and tracing back to their formative years. We know this is vital as the Ministry of Education has engaged us to train ECG key personnel from over 200 schools on underpinnings such as Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, Psychosocial Development by Erik Erikson and RIASEC by John Holland. To go far, go deep first.
   
2. Defining I = Influence (This is incorrect)
   Some training providers define I in DISC as Influence. Not only is this inaccurate, it can lead to negative repercussions. Why? This definition implies that the ability to influence largely belongs to people with I personality. If this were true, the Most Influential People listed by Times Magazine annually should be mainly people with I style. Check them out yourself and you will discover that in fact, only a minority of them have I personality. Many listed have D (one good example is the Founding Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew) and C (many sportpersons, artists, inventors etc) personalities. People with S personality are also highly influential at one-to-one level. A more accurate word for I is Inducing or Inspiring. In fact, “Inducement” is the term used by William Marston, who developed the DISC Theory, to describe I in his book “Emotions of Normal People.”.
   
3. Neglecting the Practiced/Adapted Style (This is incomplete)
   Some DISC training providers only generates one graph (real/natural personality). Some others generate two graphs (plus practised/adapted) but do not make comparison between them in order to address the gaps. Either way, this omission affects the learners adversely. The gaps between the two graphs contribute significantly to workplace stress. A skilled trainer can help the learners uncover their source of tension and take practical steps to effectively reduce the stress, thus contributing to better mental wellness.

“DISC” Changes Everything!

Cliché as it may sound, DISC can really change many things for the better. It has. You have no idea how many times people have commented “Why didn’t I learn this XX years ago??”. Again, the next best time to plant a tree is NOW. As long as you have taken note of the important points above, you can engage any good training providers and we will be happy for you. Of course, we will be happier if you choose us. And when you do, you join the list of happy organisations (on the right) who trust us with their people!