DISC Personality Profile: Putting It All Together
By Chris Hammond
You have completed the tests and have a better understanding
of yourself through the DISC personality profile having gained new insights as
to your strengths and weaknesses. But how does your profile fit with
others? How does it relate to your
spouse’s profile, your co-worker’s profile or your child’s? How can the pieces fit together to form a
functioning group dynamic?
Each personality profile in DISC: dominating, influential,
steadfast, and conscientious, are different pieces of a whole package. The goal is not to become all things rather
it is to recognize the value in each part, utilize your strengths to achieve
results, and supplement your weaknesses by working with people who are strong
where you are weak. When you do this you
will discover how much more enjoyable life can be, how much less anxiety you
will have, and a huge reduction in everyday stress as you will no longer be
trying to be something that you are not.
Setting boundaries in your life based on your strengths will now become
easier and you will no longer be as tempted to take on tasks that are outside
your strengths.
Positive attitude. If you are a dominating or influential person
then seeing the glass as half full will come more naturally. Having fun and getting things done now are
all about the positive possibilities in the moment and what can happen in the
future. This of course does not mean
that a person in either of these profiles will not be negative on occasion
because when a dominating or influential person is stressed, they tend to
become almost aggressively negative and angry.
However it does mean that their natural tendency is to have a positive
attitude.
Negative attitude. If you are a steadfast or conscientious
person then seeing the glass as half empty will come more naturally. This is because no one else in the room cares
to do things as right as you do or cares as much about keeping the peace. Both of these tendencies are isolating in
nature as more people just want to get things over and done with instead of
being careful and more people stir up conflict then try to keep the peace. Of course you can train your brain to think
more positively however, this will not come naturally and will require more
effort on your part then for a dominating or influential person.
Task-oriented. Both a dominating and conscientious persons
are task oriented as opposed to people oriented. For them, people are a means to an end or a
necessary evil to accomplish a goal. A
person in either of these groups will usually prefer to get the job done alone
as other people tend to muddy the waters and require too much precious energy
that is better served accomplishing the task at hand. However lacking their people skills might
naturally be, they can learn to incorporate others into the task at hand to
help elevate some stress.
People-oriented. Both an influential and steadfast persons
are people oriented as opposed to task oriented. For them the whole purpose of work is to do
it together and their relationships at work are more important than their
tasks. If a person is struggling with a
personal problem, they will forgo a deadline in order to help the other person
out because the relationship matter more than the work. However difficult it may be to keep an
influential or steadfast person on track, they can learn to see completing
tasks as a way to preserve relationships which will matter far more than a
deadline.
By looking at how all of the pieces fit together you can begin
to see the value in each group. For
instance, if your spouse is relational and you are task oriented, then they
should be in charge of setting the social calendar with limitations on the
frequency of outings. Or if your
co-worker is constantly seeing how things are falling apart, then having them
work together with a person who looks on the brighter side of work is a healthy
balance. Opposites attract and
complement each other making all the pieces work together is a cohesive manner.
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"Reprinted with permission from the LifeWorks Group weekly eNews, (Copyright, 2004-2012), To subscribe to this valuable counseling and coaching resource visit www.LifeWorksGroup.org or call 407-647-7005"
About the author- Chris Hammond is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern at LifeWorks Group w/ over 15 years of experience as a counselor, mentor & teacher for children, teenagers & adults.
"Reprinted with permission from the LifeWorks Group weekly eNews, (Copyright, 2004-2012), To subscribe to this valuable counseling and coaching resource visit www.LifeWorksGroup.org or call 407-647-7005"
About the author- Chris Hammond is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern at LifeWorks Group w/ over 15 years of experience as a counselor, mentor & teacher for children, teenagers & adults.