What are the four DISC personality types?

The DISC Personality types originate from the work of Carl G Jung and William Moulton Marston, who identified four primary personality types that correspond to different behavioural responses. The main characteristic of each disc profile type is used as a representative word for that type. 

The DISC personality profile descriptions are:

• D (Dominance)
• I (Influence)
• S (Steadiness)
• C (Compliance)

When placed on two overlapping axes, the disc personality types form four DISC quadrants. 

Four-Quadrant Model

Carl G. Jung proposed four primary functions of consciousness, and each created a behavioural axis.

1. Sensing – Intuition
2. Thinking – Feeling

Jung’s work formed the basis of the four-quadrant model later developed by Marston. By placing the two axes at right angles, four quadrants form. Each describes a behavioural pattern, which we refer to as the four DISC personality types.

How to Determine your DISC personality?

The most reliable way to determine your DISC personality type is to take a questionnaire. The Extended DISC® Assessment takes less than 10 minutes to complete and will produce your report instantly. The assessment plots your location on the DISC quadrant and describes how you may come across to others in the workplace. In comparison to other DISC tools, Extended DISC® reports on 160 different disc assessment types. The disc assessment results are more personalised and unique to who you really are rather than putting you in one of only 4 disc personality types.

With lots of training and practice, you can also learn to speed read others’ DISC personality types, using a simple three-step process, called OAR. OAR is an acronym that represents the three steps, Observe, Assess and Recognise. As you become more accustomed to the DISC Personality Types, you will find it more natural to identify the styles of others. You will think to yourself ‘she’s an I style’ or ‘he’s a C style.’ As with most skills, learning the OAR process takes practice and concentration. 

What is the Best DISC Personality Type?

It’s tempting to believe that there is one personality type that is better than the rest. However, the truth is that none of the DISC personality types is better or worse than the other. The DISC personality theory does not have any good/bad categories, making it a behavioural inventory, not a test that one can pass or fail.

We can all exhibit behaviours from all four disc quadrants and disc profile types. However, some of these behaviours will come naturally to us with very little concentration or effort required. Whereas, other behaviours will require a lot more energy and focus. 

Understanding your DISC personality type will help you recognise which jobs are naturally suited to your style and which roles may require more effort and concentration from you. Knowing your DISC personality will also help your manager to understand your ideal working environment and whether you need lots of instruction or to be left alone to work independently.

The DISC personality types each have their unique strengths and areas in which they naturally excel. They also have development areas, which are areas they need to focus on to achieve. For example, a D style person needs to make a conscious effort to focus on lots of information and details as this is not something that comes naturally to them. As a result, they will consume a large amount of energy adapting to this behaviour. 

Your DISC Personality type does not limit you in any way. It merely helps you understand what behaviours will take energy and which come naturally to you.

What DISC Personality Makes the Best Leader?

Wouldn’t it be easy if there was one! We could continuously hire that DISC personality across all organisations, knowing that they would always succeed in their role. Unfortunately, the answer here is no. There is not an ideal DISC leadership personality type that is better than the others. 

Leaders come from all four disc quadrants and each leader has their unique disc assessment type, strengths, and development areas. Some areas of leadership will come naturally to them, whereas they will need to apply lots of concentration and effort in other areas. 

• D styles are task-orientated leaders. Their authoritative leadership style is based on power, results and distance. They are decisive and tend to make quick decisions. They perform well in a crisis. 
• I styles are people-focused and the most social of leaders. Their authority is based on charisma and motivation. As a leader, they tend to create a positive, relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. 
• S styles are steady and sincere leaders. They are cool, calm, and collected. The S styles authority is based on experience, expertise and bureaucratic status. They are comfortable in maintaining routines and are generally very service orientated. 
• C Styles are slower-paced than other personality types. They are deep thinkers and usually more serious than other DISC personality types. C styles authority is based on rules, standards and quality. They make sure all team members know what is expected of them.

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