DISC Marketing Overview
DISC Profiling
Trideco has recently received accreditation through Corporate Plus (Australia) to offer DISC profiling services to our clients. We have been licensed and accredited to train our clients in the appropriate use of the DISC profiling system, enable them to explain and administer the questionnaire and to interpret the profile graphs correctly.
Many of you will know what DISC is all about, as it is a tried and tested tool within South Africa; for others it may be a new concept. You will be interested in what DISC has to offer if you require any of the following:
- An easy to administer, pragmatic tool for describing an individual’s behaviour in the workplace
- A structured way to describe the behaviours required for a particular job and organisation
- Insight into why certain individuals are attracted to certain jobs
- A tool to identify areas of strength and development in an individual
- A profile that will assist in team development and enhancement
- A career management tool
So what is DISC all about?
DISC behavioural modelling can be traced back to Hippocrates, known as the “father of modern medicine”. In 460 BC he identified four styles of behaviour, the “four humours”: Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic and Melancholic. In 1928, William Marston revisited Hippocrates’ as part of his studies into human behaviour, and developed much of the behavioural theory which makes up DISC today. He renamed Hippocrates’ humours and they are now commonly known as: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance (or DISC).
In the 1950s, Ph.D. students at Columbia University developed the first questionnaire which could be used to produce a DISC profile. In the years since, DISC has evolved to incorporate a broad range of applications. Truly a ‘Universal’ language used by companies large and small across a wide range of cultures throughout the world.
DISC is a four quadrant behavioural model that examines the behaviour of individuals in their work environment, within a specific role. It focuses on the styles and preferences of behaviour displayed by an individual in the workplace.
DISC is an acronym for:
- Dominance - relating to power, task, results-orientation, control and assertiveness
- Influence - relating to self in relation to other people, social situations and communication
- Steadiness - relating to pace, patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness mainly related to other people
- Compliance - relating to policy, structure and organization
The DISC profile is generated by the completion of a self-assessment tool and captures and describes how people behave in the workplace. It can help you to:
- Know yourself and gain an insight into the people you deal with and how to interact with them more effectively
- Be a better communicator and team player
- Examine and enhance your leadership style
- Consider your behavioural match to the career you choose
- Improve your organisation’s productivity
- Improve your personal relationships
- And much more...
Applications for DISC
The DISC behavioural model provides a framework through which to consider not only your own behavioural characteristics, but also the behaviour of the people you interact with. In turn this provides you with a lens/perspective through which to consider how you may react under different circumstances and how best to interact with others. It also indicates how an individual is likely to react under pressure and how this can impact on the way in which he/she behaves.
It has many applications, some of which are:
Recruitment
DISC profiles can be used at every stage in the recruitment cycle:
- Determining the behavioural demands of a position
- Highlighting potential selection pitfalls
- Determining key selection criteria
- Identifying appropriate interview questions
Training & development
DISC profiles can be used effectively by coaches, mentors and development practitioners as the building block for a range of training and development interventions including:
- Team development
- Sales training
- Assertiveness skills
- Change management
- Communication skills
- Conducting appraisals
- Conflict management
- Customer service
Performance Enhancement
DISC profiles can be used as a tool when managing performance:
- Exploring the root cause of performance problems
- Developing flexible management style
- Uncovering stress points
- Anticipating possible job pressures
Coaching and Personal Mastery
DISC profiles can be used as a tool within the coaching and mastery process:
- Developing personal insight and awareness
- Highlighting development areas
- Developing personal coping mechanisms
- Leveraging strengths and minimising barriers to personal performance
Succession Planning
DISC profiles can be used as a tool in the succession planning process:
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Identifying key individual behavioural characteristics
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Assisting individuals to identify suitable careers for themselves
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Creating development plans
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Identifying behavioural synergies
Assessment & Career development
Increasingly DISC profiles are being used to provide regular self-assessments for existing staff members. Regular and ongoing assessments can help to detect and resolve certain problems before they become too serious. The profiles increase self-insight and used with care can facilitate appropriate behaviour change.
DISC can help not only the organisation, but also has a valuable part to play in personal career development. It can be used to highlight career directions suited to a particular individual’s personality and behavioural style. It can help explain interpersonal and workplace frustrations and assist the individual to develop coping strategies.
Redeployment
Just as DISC can be used to select a new employee, it can also be an invaluable resource in selecting existing staff for internal movement or redeployment.
Sales
DISC profiles can be used as a tool in the selling process:
Using the DISC model of behaviour to appreciate one’s own behavioural style
Identifying the DISC style of customers
Recognising and managing DISC characteristics
Identifying influencing strategies for the various DISC profiles
At Home
Sometimes not understanding what our family members and friends look for in a relationship can have a major effect. If we apply the knowledge gained through DISC outside of work and at home, we can gain insight into what different personalities look for and use this understanding to underscore our expectations, be more sensitive to their needs and improve communication with them.
DISC offerings from Trideco
Trideco is integrating the DISC concepts and tool into many of its existing and established development interventions. We can provide a reliable, flexible and accessible service to any client utilising DISC.
We offer a profiling and feedback (bureau) service to clients who wish to profile their employees, or potential employees. We can also license and set up accounts for clients to access the DISC profiling tool and reports themselves.
In addition, we can offer the following DISC specific interventions:
- DISC Application and Awareness – an introductory workshop to overview DISC and its applications in the workplace
- DISCover Yourself – a personal mastery workshop aimed at developing self-insight and awareness
- Selling with DISC - aimed at sales people who wish to utilise DISC to enhance their rapport with and ability to sell to their customers
- Selecting with DISC - a workshop for people wanting to use DISC within a recruitment environment
- Coaching with DISC – a workshop aimed at equipping coaches with the understanding and insight to use the DISC profile within their coaching framework
- DISC Accreditation – an in-depth workshop to equip DISC users to explain and administer the DISC profiling tool, and to interpret the DISC profiles and graphs
- DISC Teams – a workshop for natural teams to explore their DISC profiles and understand and manage the impact of their DISC characteristics on team effectiveness
Detailed outlines of these offerings, and others, can be obtained on request.
By WJ King with revisions and additions by James G Skakoon