DISC Profile is an Excellent Team-Building Tool
What can DISC Personality Test do for us as a team?
First, DISC Test will help each team member understand his/her behavior in relation to others, especially with the use of the DISC Team-Charting Tool, that allows each team member to enter their profile code and see their place on a grid, with options to view each person’s concise profile.
Second, DISC Personality Test provides an objective basis for discerning why one acts a certain way.
Third, DISC Profile helps teams affirm the strengths and refine the weaknesses of each member’s relational patterns.
Fourth, DISC Assessment helps everyone appreciate differences that may have been misunderstood previously. Without a tool like DISC, people may judge those who are different as behaving wrongly or inappropriately, when it may simply be a matter of how they are “wired.”
Fifth, DISC Profile helps to clarify and emphasize the unique contribution of each person, especially with the help of the DISC Team Charting Tool.
Sixth, DISC Personality Test helps create an environment where each can operate within his/her “sweet spot,” making maximum contribution to team effectiveness.
Seven, DISC Profile reduces conflicts by equipping team members to respond to others based on their style preferences.
Is DISC Personality Test the right tool for team building?
Yes. DISC Profile is focused on the relational and behavioral dimensions of team-building, i.e. it helps improve relationships and provide clarity on the behavioral tendencies of you and your team members. Other dimensions of team functioning – mission, philosophy, and structure – are not addressed by DISC profiles and exercises. But for the relational and behavioral dimensions, nothing surpasses DISC.
Why is DISC Personality Test so well-suited to the relational and abilities dimensions of team-building over against other tools?
First, the DISC Test offered on this site is a scientifically validated instrument. You can trust it as an accurate measure of one’s behavior in a given context. I use it with confidence in academic settings where validity is important.
Second, DISC Personality Test is user-friendly. While I highly recommend using a trained facilitator to administer, interpret, and explain the DISC model, this is not always feasible, especially in mission contexts. Unlike more complex tools, DISC is very accessible.
Third, DISC Profile is understandable and memorable. This is especially true in comparison to other popular team-building tools such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Firo-B, FIRO-F, Grip-Birkman, etc. Each of these instruments and others like them are outstanding, but they have the added frustration of being virtually useless without the help of a qualified consultant. Also, ask the average person who took the Myers-Briggs a few years ago to name their psychological type and explain it in Jungian terms. They may muddle through a list of initials that closely resembles their type, but stumble when describing the difference between extrovert vs. introvert and intuitive vs. sensate. My experience with DISC Assessment, however, is that people identify with the model very easily and usually remember their style for years to come.
We are having a lot of problems as a group that have motivated us to do team building. Is DISC Profile the right tool for us at this stage?
Maybe. Maybe not. DISC Personality Test strengthens relationships, helps people understand why they differ with some and get along with others, and gives tools for dealing more effectively with people. That’s the purpose. Whether DISC is the right tool at this stage of your team development depends on two factors:
It is important to have realistic expectations about what DISC can and cannot accomplish. For example, if your team is in intense conflict, you may need mediation or conflict coaching before using DISC. Sometimes teams need honest soul-searching to restore a constructive relational climate before anything else. Without this, there may be too much internal “noise” inside team members that limits the benefit of something like DISC. Once this is done, however, it provides a more productive environment for DISC to have its effect. In fact, DISC Profile may help to explain how the conflict became so intense and provide helpful tools for keeping it from happening again.
We don’t have any serious problems working/relating as a team, but we do like to conduct periodic leadership development. Can DISC Profile help in such cases?
Absolutely. In fact, this is probably the best situation one can have. DISC Personality Test will help to make your good relationships even better.
We just appointed several new leaders, can DISC help us at this stage of team formation?
Yes. Shifts in the make-up of a leadership team provide a ripe opportunity for using DISC Profile to enhance your effectiveness.
These are a few of the ways DISC Personality Test and the Team Charting Tool can help everyone work together more effectively.
