A Short Guide To Using DISC Assessments for Effective Goal Setting
The DISC assessment can be an insightful tool to help employees and their managers set performance goals.
With self-awareness, employees can play to their natural strengths, address areas that need development, and improve communication. Managers can develop talent with a better understanding of how their employees approach goal setting.
Use this short guide to improve goal setting and help create a more engaged, productive, and satisfied workforce.
The 4 DiSC Styles
The DiSC behavioral assessment describes four personality types with different communication styles, providing unique insights into an individual’s work habits and motivations.
No style is better than any other. We’re all a blend of all four styles. Some people can have strong traits from two or even three styles. The key is understanding ourselves and each other, including how to adapt to your audience to get both your needs met.
D (Dominance): Driven and decisive, D styles often prioritize results and facts over feelings. They may tackle challenges head-on but may struggle with patience for differing opinions.
i (Influence): Sociable and enthusiastic, i styles may thrive on interactions and tend to inspire and motivate others. They often focus on recognition and collaboration but can sometimes overlook details in favor of maintaining positive relationships.
S (Steady): Supportive and cooperative, S styles tend to value stability and diplomacy, often being the glue that keeps teams together. They may approach change cautiously and provide a calming presence, prioritizing empathy and routine.
C (Conscientious): Analytical and detail-oriented, C styles tend to seek precision and can be driven by logic, data, and facts. They often value expertise and thoroughness, often questioning changes that may disrupt their structured approach.
Learn more about the 4 DiSC styles here.
By leveraging the clarity provided by knowing oneself, both employees and managers can craft performance goals that not only align with an individual’s innate strengths but also help them stretch, grow, and improve.
Natural Goal Affinities of DISC Styles
Each DISC style may gravitate toward certain types of goals, shaped by their inherent traits:
D Styles may be drawn to ambitious, high-impact goals. They thrive on challenge and autonomy, often seeking to lead significant projects or initiatives.
I Styles may favor goals that involve social interaction, influence, and collaboration, such as networking, client management, or team-building.
S Styles may gravitate towards goals that emphasize stability, support, and consistency, often focusing on enhancing team cohesion or refining support systems.
C Styles may be attracted to goals requiring precision and detail, such as improving quality control processes or mastering technical skills.
Goal-Setting Strategies For The DiSC Styles
For Gaining Self-Awareness
With DISC, employees can approach the goal-setting process with more self-awareness and knowledge of their growth areas.
D Styles may want to balance their ambition with realistic planning, ensuring goals are challenging yet attainable.
i Styles may need to better document their goals in more detail, breaking them down into actionable steps to maintain focus and follow-through.
S Styles could aim for goals that push them beyond their comfort zone, address problems more directly, or alleviate a sense of overwhelm.
C Styles may benefit from looking beyond the minutiae to the big picture, celebrating daily or team achievements, and maintaining a big-picture perspective.
For Leaning Into Strengths
An employee can use their understanding of their DISC style to set objectives with their personal strengths in mind, aligning goals with activities that give them energy.
D Styles may choose goals where they can be assertive, results-oriented, and overcome big challenges, such as with a high-stakes project.
i Styles could aim to increase networking or client-facing opportunities, lead team-building activities, or projects that require influencing others.
S Styles might set goals that give them consistent routines or the opportunity to improve support systems.
C Styles could set goals focused on accuracy, quality, and competency, such as improving a quality control process.
For Setting Stretch Goals
Employees can also use DiSC to set goals that help them stretch beyond their comfort zones and contribute to their personal and team growth.
D Styles, known for their decisiveness and drive, might work on active listening by setting a goal to ask more open-ended questions in meetings to fully understand others’ perspectives before making decisions.
i Styles, who may be naturally enthusiastic and persuasive, could focus on time management by allocating specific time slots for tasks each day to ensure they meet deadlines without compromising their social interactions.
S Styles, who value stability and support, might set a goal to proactively seek out and participate in new projects outside their comfort zone to become more adaptable to change.
C Styles, who excels in accuracy and analysis, could stretch by setting a goal to consider multiple approaches to a problem (and its impact on others) before settling on the most efficient solution.
For Improving Communication
DiSC can also help employees set goals to improve interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and management or leadership communications.
D Styles may want to work on giving others a chance to share their ideas, considering the impact of their words, or getting buy-in before moving ahead.
i Styles may want to acknowledge problems rather than glossing them over, taking care to get things right the first time, avoid monopolizing the conversation, focus on follow-through, or give others time to process their message.
S Styles may want to work on being firm and standing their ground, being more direct with tough feedback, or increasing their sense of urgency.
C Styles may want to work on increasing their sense of urgency, recognizing the value of networking, or showing more willingness to work as part of a team.
A Note For Managers
Understanding your employees’ DISC style can help you ensure they set realistic goals that align with their strengths and help them improve in growth areas.
D Styles often thrive on challenges and independence. They may prefer to be involved at higher levels of the process and need to see how achieving goals benefits them. As a manager, it’s important to include D styles in goal setting and provide them with a clear vision of success. However, they require some autonomy and can be demotivated by close management.
i Styles are known for their enthusiasm and positivity. However, they may need your guidance in documenting their goals and breaking them down into specific daily behaviors. For example, making a certain number of sales calls each day. Managers should help i styles maintain a long-term focus and hold them accountable to prevent them from getting distracted by new opportunities to shine.
S Styles may appreciate the support of step-by-step direction. They may hesitate to start without a clear plan. Managers should frequently check in with S styles, offering support and encouragement. It’s also effective to remind S styles that the team is counting on them, as they do not want to let others down.
C Styles often require detailed plans and may not respond well to criticism. They can take mistakes personally and need to focus on the big picture rather than daily setbacks. Managers should focus on numbers and facts, helping C styles quantify progress.
Conclusion
The DISC assessment is more than just a personality assessment; it’s a wealth of information for personal growth, interpersonal communication, and organizational development.
By understanding and applying the insights gained from DISC, individuals can set meaningful goals that resonate with their core behavioral tendencies. Managers can facilitate this process by creating an environment that recognizes and nurtures the diverse strengths within their teams.
