Inspiration and Life

Four types of people in the world

Understand others the easy way

Did you know there is a simple way to identify how other people prefer you to communicate with them? Some of the best leaders, managers, and salespeople have used this method for years.

Wouldn’t it be great to quickly and easily gain a better understanding of the people you are around each day? Read on to learn how to develop this skill quickly and easily.

It is all about behavior

Have you heard of the DISC system of Behavioral Styles? Many of you may be familiar with it and other such assessments as Meyers-Briggs (MBTI) or the Enneagram, both excellent in their own right. Compared to DISC, these two systems take considerable effort to learn because of their inherent complexity.

The advantage of learning DISC behavioral styles is you gain an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand language. I speak of this from experience. Before retiring, I taught DISC to numerous individuals, leaders, and teams. The largest group I worked with consisted of 250 high-level executives from around the world in a multinational company.

The primary difference between DISC, MBTI, and the Enneagram is that DISC is a behavioral assessment. MBTI and Enneagram define personality types. Unfortunately, many sources on the internet incorrectly claim DISC is a personality assessment, which it is not!

“Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.” Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

Another inherent benefit of DISC compared to other systems is that most behaviors are observable, while much of a person’s personality is not.

The best thing about DISC is how quickly most people grasp it. With the most basic understanding of the four styles, you can immediately use them in your life. You will not only understand yourself far better, but you will quickly begin understanding other people’s behavioral styles. The benefit in your relationships can be immediate!

The four behavioral styles

DISC consists of four primary styles or types of behavior. A quick study of each behavioral style’s preferences lets you learn a great deal about people. (Please note styles and types are synonymous and thus used interchangeably in this article.)

Since everyone must interact with others, it is invaluable to understand one another’s behavioral preferences. When you know why another person behaves the way they do and what is behind it, a world of opportunity opens to you.

If you are in sales, learning about DISC will significantly enhance your sales skills and results. If you are interested in getting along better with others, DISC is invaluable.

By simply understanding the basics of DISC, your life and career can change radically. To perform at your peak in any work or social environment, the skill of getting along with others is invaluable. If you work on no other skill, work on this one!

What is DISC

The basis for DISC dates back thousands of years. Hippocrates identified it as four temperaments, which include:

• Choleric — fire — independent and decisive (now D)
• Sanguine — air — enthusiastic and social (now I)
• Phlegmatic — water — easy-going and caring (now S)
• Melancholic — earth — detail-oriented and reserved (now C)

Early in the last century, American psychologist William Marston prototyped the modern version of the four temperaments in his 1928 book Emotions of Normal People. Marston’s technique gained prominence in the 1940s when the United States Military adopted it to recruit during World War II. Since that time, DISC has flourished worldwide.

In modern parlance, the four behavioral styles are identified as Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness, forming the acronym DISC.

The most used assessment worldwide, even a minimum of DISC training, can help you understand the four behavioral styles. This understanding will open a world of opportunity for you.

I discovered DISC many years ago and began using it with sales teams. Soon after, I found it to be an invaluable tool for everyone in the company. When people who work together understand the basics of behavioral styles, it enhances all organizational communication.

By becoming aware of others’ styles, each person can learn to interact differently. This will manifest as greatly improving how people communicate, creating greater understanding and peace in the organization.

“If you want to change attitudes, start with a change in behavior.” Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003)

Before diving into each, there are a couple of things to know about DISC.

Learn all four styles, not just your own.

Understanding each of the four styles is important so you can see where your style and others’ styles conflict or complement one another.

No one style is better than any other.

DISC is not for ranking or judging people. It is simply information about their behavioral preferences. Everyone possesses a combination of the four styles.

The four behavioral styles of DISC

Each person has at least one primary style. A few will have two or more primary styles, one typically stronger than the other(s). Every person has some amount of each of the four styles to varying degrees.

For example, I am a very high D, high C, moderate I, and a very low S. My wife is a very high I, high D, moderate C, and a moderate S.

Our behavioral styles can create plenty of conflict along with some compatibility. Thankfully we understand each other well because of DISC!

DISC is situational

When taking the DISC assessment, consider where it will benefit you most — at work, home, church, etc. Each of these settings can influence your behavioral preferences; therefore, you must choose where you intend to use it to get a more accurate assessment.

Let’s look at each of the four primary behavioral styles.

D — dominance

Its estimated about 3% of the population has a high D behavioral style. D’s prefer to have control or be in charge and will challenge others. They are usually direct and self-assured, results-oriented individuals. Ineffective traits of D’s can be that some are demanding, boastful, or sarcastic.

I — influence

I’s make up about 11% of the population, so you have likely run into more I’s than D’s in your life. They are people-oriented like to talk, are typically good communicators, and can be persuasive. I’s ineffective traits can include talking too much, being over-enthusiastic, and being unable to maintain focus at times.

S- steadiness

S’s are often the world’s team players, making up about 69% of the general population. There is a good chance you know quite a few S’s in life and may be one yourself. S’s lean towards tradition, can be great listeners, loyal, consistent, supportive, and persistent. Their ineffective traits can include being indecisive, passive, overly tolerant, and resistant to change.

C — conscientiousness

About 17% of the population consists of C’s. More than likely, you know a few C’s. They are typically detail-oriented, precise, accurate, and often critical thinkers. Some ineffective traits include being overly perfectionistic, detached, somewhat aloof, and critical of themselves and others.

Quick assessment

The following chart will help you better understand each of the four styles. The extremes of the X (horizontal) axis are guarded vs. open. Another way to state this is as task vs. people-focused.

The Y (vertical) axis’s extremes are direct vs. indirect. Another way to state this is as faster-paced vs. moderately-paced.

At each extreme is a preferred style. For best results, I recommend using a DISC assessment service to determine your behavioral style by taking a simple 10 to 20-minute online test. In the meantime, you can easily identify your preference by looking at the chart and asking yourself some simple questions.

Question 1

Look at the top and bottom of the chart. Do you prefer to be more direct (faster paced) or less direct (slower paced)? Choose a point along the line from top to bottom, approximating how strongly you feel.

Question 2

Look at the left and right sides of the chart. Do you tend to be more guarded (task-oriented) or more open (people-oriented)? Choose a point along the line from left to right, approximating how strongly you feel.

Now draw an intersecting line between your two choices. You will find these lines intersect in one of the four areas of the graph, As you can see, if you landed above and to the left, your primary style is likely D. Below, and to the right, your primary style is likely S, and so forth.

Now you have an approximation of your primary style. If you wish to learn more about DISC, you can read the article: How to Better Understand Other People the Easy Way.

Even better, you can find many free and fee-based DISC assessments online. I highly recommend taking one.

“Time decides who you meet in life, your heart decides who you want in your life, and your behavior decides who stays in your life.” Anonymous

Final thoughts

There is no greater reward than getting along well with others; DISC can help you achieve that.

While the golden rule states, “do unto others the way you would have them do unto you,” the DISC rule underlies that wonderful rule.

Before a person may accept the golden rule, they often want you to “do unto others the way they want to be done unto!” When you learn to communicate in their preferred style, their world, and your world change. Often drastically!

“The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee, and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.” John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937)

You can begin experiencing the benefits of using DISC in your life or at work by deepening your understanding of the basics outlined in this article. Share it with someone you are close to, do the quick assessment above, and begin uncovering the amazing benefits of learning to understand others better.

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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