Using DISC assessment for project team management

Abstract

Project managers are considered to be responsible for what a team produce and the end result or outcome of a project. In order for project managers to succeed and reach objective goals it is crucial to make the best use of their team and their resources. Many resources are wasted due to poor communication, little or no understanding of the individual team member or lacking knowledge about group dynamics. Several tools and techniques seek to improve teams to enhance overall team performance which in general leads to better projects . One of the most famous and often used tools to help managers understand their employees is the DISC tool. In 1928 the psychologist William Moulton Marston published his book Emotions of Normal People, which contains the initial theory behind the DISC analysis. The theory was later translated into the DISC analysis that is broadly known today and used by corporations all over the world. (se wiki eng). The DISC analysis focuses on four primary emotions: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness, which mirrors the four main behavioural responses of Marston’s theory. The tool is fairly simple and easy to use from where it has gained its popularity (kilde). The DISC analysis can help project managers to understand their employee’s behavioural responses to factors such as motivation, effective and efficient communication, stress, increased productivity, increased team cohesiveness, conflict management, negotiation, reduction of staff turnover and more. The aim of this article is to describe the main theory of the four primary emotions and appertaining behavioural responses of Marston’s theory. Furthermore, the article will describe why, when and how project managers should use the DISC tool to enhance team environment as well as the limitations of the tool. This wiki article is predominantly based on Everything DiSC theory by Wiley and Sons.

Historical background

The theory of the DISC tool originates from the book Emotions of Normal People by psychologist William Moulton Marston. The book was published in 1928 and described what Marston called four “primary emotions” – emotions that later was translated into four behavioural styles: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S) and Conscientiousness (C). Marston’s work was during half a century further developed, but it wasn’t until the 1970’s where psychologist John Geier created the Personal Profile System, the model became available for general use . Geier’s system was later translated into the DiSC assessment and the patterns of his original model is still used in today’s DISC models.

Introduction to the DISC model

The DISC model is described as a simple yet powerful tool used to characterize different types of personalities. It describes the four basic behavioural styles: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S) and Conscientiousness (C). Each behavioural style is characterized by traits that makes each behavioural profile unique.

The DISC model is a two-dimensional model containing a horizontal and vertical axis. The horizontal axis separates the upper half and lower half of the circle. The upper half consists of behavioural styles D and I and is described as fast-paced personalities. They are often described as bold, outspoken, active, assertive and dynamic and tend to perceive themselves as more powerful than their environment. People with these traits tend to try to change their circumstances rather than adapt to the current circumstances.

The lower half consists of behavioural styles S and C who tend to be more moderate-paced. They are often described as reflective, cautious, calm, methodical and thoughtful. These people tend to see themselves less powerful than the environment and would rather adapt to the current circumstances.

The second dimension of the model is the vertical axis differs between sceptical and accepting personality types. People who to fall to the left in the DISC model tend to be more questioning, logic-focused, reserved and challenging. Those personality types have an antagonistic approach toward their environment and possess a vetted approach towards society.

Personalities that fall to the right in the DISC model tend to be warmer, people-focused, empathizing, respective and agreeable. Opposite of those who fall to the left, those to the right see their environment as being more aligned with their own interests and possess a more friendly perception of their surroundings.

A finer personality analysis can be obtained by segmenting the four quadrants into twelve smaller behavioural styles that let the quadrants merge into each other. Eg. a person is able to obtain a Di or an iD style if answers indicate their personality to be somewhere between Dominance (D) and Influence (I). In the overview of the behavioural styles below only the four main behavioural styles are discussed.

An important aspect of the DISC theory is that the four behavioural styles are not static. All people feature traits from each of the four quadrants with one being dominant. The degree of dominance of traits can also vary, with some people that featuring more traits from their quadrant and some that possess less. In general, the four quadrants shows that people within each quadrant tend to show more behavioural traits from within their quadrant than an average person. Behaviour is able change when situations and settings change, making behavioural styles dynamic and should only be used as a reference to behavioural tendencies. In DISC there is no right or wrong. All traits are equal and can provide beneficial and valuable information about the different behavioural styles. Furthermore, work style is affected by other factors such as educational level, maturity and life experience.

Dominance (D)

The dominant (D) behavioural style is dominant to approximately 19% of the population on earth . People with dominance as their behavioural style are described as competitive and prefer to get started with tasks right away. They often find it easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission which support their fast-paced mindset. Their communication style is very direct, and their lack of patience shows when group members are not fully focused on the task. Due to their extroverted approach, they are confident with being the leader and they are very result oriented. D’s have a tendency to display a more aggressive behaviour and don’t find others beliefs or preferences as valuable as their own. D’s also tend to seek justice and dislike more than other behavioural styles when people take advantage of them.

Influence (I)

The behavioural style Influence (I) is dominant to approximately 32% of the population on earth . I styled people are very outgoing and are quicker to seek out social opportunities than the average person. They are often described as risk takers and feel free when unbounded from constraints. They are very charismatic and use their verbal skill to interact and influence others to a greater good. Due to their love for unboundedness, they are great at creating ideas, but tend to be better starters than finishers. They believe in the best in all people, thus it can be shocking when other take advantage of them. They love fun and don’t mind being the center of attention. Due to their optimistic mindset, they don’t like to let people down, thus they sometimes promise more than what they are capable of doing.

Steadiness (S)

The behavioural style Steadiness (S) is dominant to approximately 35% of the population on earth, making it the style that is the most dominant among the four styles (i.e. the style obtained by the largest amount of people) . S’s are very faithful and tend to put others needs above their own. They are very loyal, and people usually find it very comfortable to open up and share thoughts with S’s. They prefer to think before they speak and due to their reserved approach towards conversations, they may not contribute a lot to a discussion unless there is made room for them to communicate. In groups they focus on others well-being and they don’t want to show their own emotions. S’s like to be recognised for the work they are doing but, don’t like public accolades as they don’t like to be the center of attention. On teams they are very adaptive and possess a great amount of patience. They are very stable workers and prefer a slower-paced and predictable environment.

Conscientiousness (C)

The last letter of the DISC model is C that describes the conscientiousness behavioural style. This style is dominant to approximately 14% of the population in the world making it the style that is the least dominant among the four behavioural styles (i.e. the style obtained by the smallest amount of people) . C’s are described as being very analytical in their way of thinking and they are very observant to the attention of details. C’s gets the job done from start to finish but tend to be slow starters due to the amount of planning and questioning to get everything right from the start. C’s are very information seeking and usually don’t speak before they think. They want to understand and play by the rules and procedures of their surroundings and expect others to so as well. They tend to be sceptical towards emotion and their beliefs relies on a reflective and logical approach, thus uses the same approach when making decisions. C’s tend to be reserved, like privacy and thrive in a quiet environment.

Management approach towards different behavioural styles

When using DISC assessment to manage a team it is first and foremost important for the manager to understand the different DISC behavioural styles. When learning about the behavioural styles managers most understand the key qualities, what motivate and what each style fear. Furthermore, it is important that the manager understands how to communicate with different styles and how to empower different styles.

When the manager is fully aware of the different traits for each behavioural style, the manager needs to identify their own style. By being aware of their own style, managers can identify how they usually behave, and they also become aware of traits that might seem offensive or misaligned with other behavioural styles.

In order to use the knowledge gained from their own DISC assessment the manager must identify the behavioural styles of employees within their team. When the manager is fully aware of the different behavioural styles within their team, the manager needs to improve self-awareness to make the most effective adjustment towards their approach to the team and the individual.

The manager now needs to modify their behaviour towards their employees to enhance communication, assign the right tasks to the right employees to improve effectiveness and to motivate employees based on their individual behavioural style.

The table below shows how managers should use different approaches towards the different behavioural styles.

Dominance profile (D)
Motivation and fear Employees with a dominant behavioural style are motivated by results meaning that being assigned to valuable task where their contribution is clearly shown is a motivational factor. Significance is another key word as D’s wants to be seen, heard and recognized for their work. D’s have a fear of being controlled to much which suggests that they should be assigned tasks that are open and unbounded by their managers. Furthermore, they fear being taken advantage of, suggesting managers should update those employees.
Communicating with D When communicating with D’s managers should always be direct, since that’s the preferred method of communication. D’s easily get bored so managers should get to the point quickly and doesn’t necessarily have to provide all details, but rather inform what is most important and quickly get to the bottom line of the conclusion.
Empowering D D’s are empowered by being in a highly challenging and fast passed environment, so managers of D’s should make sure that the task that they assign to those persons are likewise. Managers should provide tasks that have broad objectives and leave boundaries open, so the D’s can find their own way on how to get to the finish line. However, D’s do need clear boundaries of their responsibility.