By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

How do you know what to study?  What career is right for you? You may have spent years pounding a round peg into a square hole, just because a well-intentioned teacher or family member suggested that you should follow a certain profession, even though, deep in your gut, you knew it was all wrong.  

Psychologist Travis Bradberry's book, The Personality Code (Putnam, 2007), details fourteen fundamental personality types based on his research and his updated version of the classic DISC test. You may be familiar with the original DISC test which was developed and implemented during World War II to match soldiers with assignments. Although many people think it's a personality test, what it really does is map self-reported behaviors. The updated test is here: http://www.personalitycode.com

One might wonder why the original DISC test would need updating. Bradberry explains that his purpose in conducting research was to explore the validity of the test and to create composite fundamental personality types based on gathering information from more than 500,000 people in 90 countries. The research results can be grouped into fourteen personality types:  ally, architect, coach, detective, diplomat, entrepreneur, expert, innovator, mobilizer, motivator, opportunist, researcher, sponsor, and strategist.

Back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, behavior or personality tests such as the DISC and the Meyers-Briggs test were everywhere. The "scientific" approach to managing people was popular, and being able to really get to know your employees (even if it did involve some potentially destructive pigeon-holing and type-casting) seemed to be a good thing, especially if you had a "cradle-to-grave" employment policy, and you trained, nurtured, and guided employees who could end up spending a lifetime in a single company.

However, as we've all observed over the last 25 years, corporate loyalty evaporated the minute that mergers, hostile takeovers, divestitures, and acquisitions crept into common parlance. Later, with globalization and outsourcing, even more "shock changes" started to occur. Now, the wise employee resists taking personality profiles because they may lead to being limited in one's job choices. Better than a corporate-sponsored personality test is a set of training initiatives.

These days, it's up to the individual to direct his or her own career path. Individuals use personality and behavior profile tests for self-knowledge and empowerment. By knowing your strengths, you can avoid making mistakes of chasing careers and jobs just because they seem trendy, glamorous and high-paying - at least at the moment.

Let's take a step back and look at what the original DISC test was all about. In a nutshell, DISC "provides nonjudgmental language for exploring behavioral issues across four primary dimensions" (http://www.lrandc.com, 2007).  The acronym stands for the following behavioral traits:

• Dominance: Direct and Decisive.
  D's are strong-willed, strong-minded people who like accepting challenges, taking action, and getting immediate results
• Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing.
  I's are "people people" who like participating on teams, sharing ideas, and energizing and entertaining others.
• Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.
  S's are helpful people who like working behind the scenes, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and being good listeners.
• Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct.
  C's are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches, and checking and re-checking for accuracy.
  (from http://www.lrandc.com/)

The DISC evaluation identifies how people respond to problems, co-workers, conditions of work, and procedures. Here is a list of what it can, with fairly high accuracy, provide.

• Overall profile of individuals.
• Analysis of traits.
• Ability to adapt one's behaviors.
• Strengths and weaknesses of behaviors.
• Decision-making approach.
• Strategic planning.
• Motivation.

Bradberry's updated DISC test, the IDISC, goes a step further. Instead of guiding the company to understand how to manage you, Bradberry's approach focuses on personal empowerment. If you have better self-awareness, you can accept yourself, make sound decisions, understand why other people are behaving the way they are, and develop positive beliefs about yourself and your ability to succeed.

To summarize, here are the top ten attributes and benefits the new, updated IDISC addresses:

1. Self-awareness
2. Relationship management
3. Courage
4. Self-management
5. Communication
6. Planning
7. Acumen
8. Vision
9. Risk-taking
10. Rehearsal

Bradberry repeatedly stresses that self-knowledge is power. The more we understand ourselves, the more we can play to our strengths, rather than feeling as though we have to compensate for weaknesses.  Ironically, the attribute you have felt most uncomfortable about may actually be the secret to your success.

---

[Listen to the companion podcast at:
http://community.elearners.com/blogs/inside_elearning/attachment/3823.ashx - 2.13 MB]

To learn more about the differences between different majors, check out the eLearners "Mini-Guides" to Online Degrees.