Each personality type has natural strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your type can help guide you to personal and professional success. The DISC personality profile (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) is a common model used in the workplace to match personality to career.
In this article, you will learn about the DISC personality type and a full explanation of the 12 DISC personality types.
Table Of Contents
1 What is DISC personality?
2 Types of DISC personality
2.1 1. D: Dominance
2.2 2. DC: Dominance and Conscientiousness
2.3 3. DI: Dominance and Influence
2.4 4. I: Influence
2.5 5. ID: Influence and Dominance
2.6 6. IS: Influence and Steadiness
2.7 7. S: Steadiness
2.8 8. SI: Steadiness and Influence
2.9 9. SC: Influence and Conscientiousness
2.10 10. C: Conscientiousness
2.11 11. CD: Conscientiousness and Dominance
2.12 12. CS: Conscientiousness and Steadiness
What is DISC personality?
The DISC personality profile, based on William Moulton Marston’s theory nearly a century ago, assesses the way you work with others based on your personality traits.
The DISC personality profile looks at how you respond to certain situations, how you influence others, and how you respond to coworkers. Employers use DISC personality to assess teams, communications, and potential candidates. It has four main personality components:
- Dominance: Relating to control, power, and assertiveness
- Influence: Relates to social situations and communication
- Steadiness: Relating to patience, perseverance, and attention
- Conscientiousness: Related to structure and organization.
In the DISC personality profile, employers are asked to choose a description or word that is most similar to them and the least similar to them.
Answers are plotted in one of four personality categories on a pie chart or DISC quadrant. Because the DISC personality assessment focuses on four main behaviors, the DISC personality test is fairly easy to understand. Although everyone is a mix of traits, one or two dominant personality styles usually stand out.
The DISC personality assessment is often used in the workplace because it focuses on behavior rather than intelligence, aptitude, mental health, or values.
Employers use DISC information to put teams that work and communicate well together which often results in more productive and efficient meetings. With less conflict, teams usually face a less stressful workplace.
DISC personality type
While there are four DISC personality styles, there are 12 recognized combinations. Each style has unique strengths. Most people fall into one or two combinations in the DISC chart. The first letter indicates the most prominent style followed by the second area of influence. As different companies offer DISC-related tests, the labels may differ. Here are the 12 results:
1. D: Dominance
Employees who rank exclusively in the Dominance (D) area are focused and inspiring as well as strong-willed, independent, and independent. They are beginners who like to take risks. D personalities tend to look at the “big picture”, identify the best next step in the process and delegate day-to-day tasks.
Type D is task-oriented and prefers a fast-paced work environment. However, they may struggle with teamwork, detail, and planning. Their strong and impatient tendencies can be scary, especially because they sometimes forget to involve other people in the problem-solving process.
2. DC: Dominance and Conscientiousness
The DC personality type has a dominant prevalence (D) which is influenced by conscientiousness (C). As such, they tend to be leaders focused on challenge, results, and accuracy.
They are often overachievers driven by the motivation to succeed. Challengers can benefit from slowing down and taking the time to listen and understand others on their team.
Instead of focusing on the instant gratification of short-term wins, they should take a step back and survey the long-term effects and intangible benefits of a decision.
3. DI: Dominance and Influence
An employee with DI style has a dominant Dominance (D) personality combined with Influence (I). The DI type personality is action-oriented and enthusiastic.
They tend to bring creativity and innovation to the work environment, always looking for new and fresh ideas. Seekers are focused and tend to work well in teams with a sense of urgency and direction.
Because they are not very analytical or detailed, a career that focuses on small details may not be a good fit for them. The DI type thrives on change, excitement and spontaneity rather than slow or tedious work.
4. I: Influence
Those with the exclusive I personality are energetic and sociable, but may seek acknowledgment with verbal approval. They are people who can bring out the positive in difficult situations, making them good communicators at work. Type I have strong socialization skills due to their friendly nature.
However, my personality tends to have trouble with a consistent and predictable routine. As a result, they are unlikely to thrive in careers that focus too much on routine and structure.
My type is people-oriented and prefers a fast-paced work environment. They require regular interaction with others and usually prefer jobs that require a lot of teamwork and collaboration.
5. ID: Influence and Dominance
Employees with the rank of ID have a common influence (I) style is influenced by dominance (D). They are motivated by the feeling they get when their team succeeds vs. motivated by extrinsic values such as a job promotion.
ID types are passionate and perform better when they are given the freedom to take risks. They are attracted to positions in less traditional environments, such as working remotely or in outside sales. If ID is on your team, you may be able to keep them engaged in day-to-day operations by encouraging them to share their bold ideas and innovative solutions.
6. IS: Influence and Steadiness
IS combines influence (I) with stability (S). IS employees are good listeners and empathetic. They value peace and harmony and want to make every situation work out.
Their main goal is to promote others to help them grow in their abilities. They feel most satisfied when interacting with the people around them and often use their kindness to build strong connections.
However, their desire to make friends can hinder their ability as authority figures. They dislike routine or consistency and may have trouble making rational decisions or plans.
7. S: Steadiness
The S personality is often the bridge between management and their coworkers because they are both sincere and reliable. They have the ability to understand all sides of a situation. They are good listeners, which makes them effective mediators.
Type S’s are thoughtful and willful in their actions and won’t take big risks, whatever the outcome. They struggle when dealing with angry or unruly individuals, provide potentially negative feedback and often fail to be productive in emotionally charged environments.
Type S is people-oriented and prefers a slow-paced work environment.
8. SI: Steadiness and Influence
SI employees combine steadiness (S) with leverage (I) to be team-oriented and supportive. They excel at bringing teams together to work effectively and efficiently. They tend to be very empathetic, good listeners, and care about the feelings of their fellow team members.
Because of these qualities, SI types work well in teams and can develop into great leaders. They are also good at working independently in roles that require them to collaborate with others, such as technology consulting.
9. SC: Influence and Conscientiousness
The SC personality combines steadiness (S) and conscientiousness (C). This results in logical and pragmatic employees who want to get the job done right the first time. They may not necessarily be tech savvy but they are technically proficient with the work for which they are responsible.
Professions that require a high degree of precision, organized work are best suited to SC. They love to make plans, rules, and guidelines. Less social than some of the other DISC model personality types, SC types are often satisfied with getting their job done and are described as hot-tempered and dependable.
10. C: Conscientiousness
The conscientiousness (C) type strives for accuracy and perfection. They are data-oriented, highly organized, detail-oriented perfectionists. Type C’s tend to be very logical and don’t get carried away easily by emotions, which can be beneficial when working in a team.
They are very focused and broad-minded, but they need a project that interests them. Whether researching a new topic or analyzing an important data set, C personalities can be very productive and conscientious employees, especially when they love what they do.
Type C’s are task-oriented and prefer a slower work environment.
11. CD: Conscientiousness and Dominance
The CD personality displays a combination of conscientious (C) and domineering (D) traits. They are very detail-oriented, very organized and love to get a task done. This personality type will be assertive at work. As managers, they have high standards and will engage in discussions with employees if expectations are not met.
The type of CD in management should consider their coaching strategy. Communicating problems to employees is only half of an adequate management strategy. The rest includes developing employees to ensure they do it the right way in the future.
12. CS: Conscientiousness and Steadiness
CS personalities emphasize conscientiousness (C) which is influenced by steadiness (S) and is determined by reliability, readiness, and responsibility to their teammates. They are very responsible and thrive in a routine environment.
CS types can be shy, which may make them difficult to listen to in group projects. They may feel more comfortable when they don’t have to ask, so if you’re managing a CS type, it’s important to be careful when giving instructions.