ORG Blog

The DISC behavioral preferences assessment is widely accepted as a useful, accurate way to help individuals and groups to understand behavior traits and preferences for interaction, as well as approaches to dealing with conflict. DISC is an easy, quick self-assessment that creates a behavioral profile along four quadrants: Driver, Influencer, Stabilizer, and Conscientious. DISC helps us to better understand ourselves and others, too.

DISC helps us recognize the approaches we prefer, and adapt our style to appreciate and interact better with those with different DISC types. DISC is flexible, providing valuable insight on any scale -- individual, interpersonal, teams, and entire organizations. DISC provides a shared “shorthand” to understand preferences.

DISC is simple, accurate and easy

DISC is highly accessible and easy to understand. It doesn’t require users to learn complicated assessment terms or remember a seemingly endless combination of variables. In every case where we have used DISC, clients asked us to share it with others, at all levels of their organization. Overland client organizations have benefitted from DISC, by building more effective teams.

Less Storming, More Performing

Awareness is essential for high performing teams. With DISC, teams consistently improve interpersonal awareness and communication. Productivity and effectiveness increase as a result.

‘Heat Map’ – Overland’s unique approach to DISC

We’re turning up the heat for DISC assessments. Our clients who use DISC love Overland’s unique graphical “heat map” technology that plots the team’s composite DISC profile. The team heat map graphically helps to understand the predominant nature of the team, including how to make the best use of personalities and communication preferences. It also shows how the team tends to behave under “stress” created by the challenges facing them in the workplace.

The heat map helps us analyze the team. We then draw from a full suite of tools and develop the most effective training and tools, custom designed for that team. Our approach factors for all four DISC types, since most teams are a combination of types. For example, the training and tools for the team below, made up of predominantly Stabilizers would be different from the team with a more distributed set of preferences.

Training and Tools Custom Tailored

No two teams are identical. So we design a powerful interpersonal communications workshop that helps each team member, and the team collectively, to identify and understand the most effective ways to interact. The training helps members understand one another’s DISC type preferences, and learn tactics for how to best adapt for one another. The workshop is interactive, engaging, and a fun way to build team rapport.

Our DISC approach is effective on larger scales, too, to groups, divisions, facilities, even entire organizations. At the organizational level, we use valid sampling to help map strategies for large scale transformational change efforts.

Case Study: Quantum Change at a Large Federal Agency

A large government organization was facing quantum change for its role and structure. The organization’s dominant personality types were C (Conscientious) and S (Stabilizer). Highly analytical and stability-driven leaders were being forced to change. Using DISC and the heat mapping, we helped leaders understand how their organization deals with change. Based on their DISC composite, we helped design a tailored approach for effective change management that took into account the specific S and C perspectives suggesting:

1. They provide a lot of detail about the vision – why the change and what was needed, and how it would improve the organizations level of quality and service;
2. A structured plan on how they planned to get there;
3. Provide plenty of time and a venue to discuss, understand and process the change;
4. How to take care of everyone (each of the four DISC types); and
5. Putting structures and processes in place to create balance in the organization to augment the of I and D behavior.
   
   The result of this approach reduced stress, mitigated conflict, and engaged a diverse group to meet the challenge of massive change efforts.

Learn How DISC and Heat Mapping Can Work for Your Organization