Throughout our lives, we all are curious about our personalities. Something goes very right in our lives (or very wrong!) and we wonder – did our personality make that possible? Is there anyway to improve my interactions with others to get better results?
Any mature person has introspective moments. We wonder if somehow, we could be better. There’s no shortage of advice about how to act. The biographies and self-help literature of just the past decade could fill vast libraries. The first step to self-improvement is self-knowledge. If we can learn from an unbiased source a little bit about who we are at this moment, we can then look at who we can become. The DiSC assessment plays a vital role in this. Over the next several weeks, I am going to examine each of the four major divisions of personality in the DiSC system, one at a time. Each week, you may recognize a little bit of yourself or others in these descriptions. If you look closely, you will also find clues to your personal preferences, your strengths and even your weaknesses. Most likely, you will also find that one of these descriptions over the coming weeks fits a person who has always “set your teeth on edge.” Hopefully, I’ll be able to help explain why this is. Last week, we looked at people whose personality is strongly “Dominant.” As discussed, people who are “D’s” have specific personality traits that drive them to achieve goals – over and around obstacles. One might think that these are the only people who might be best placed in charge of projects – but that’s not necessarily true. Today, we’re going to look at personalities that are predominantly guided by “influence.” The descriptions here will be broad sweeps and highlights. For a complete personalized rundown of your own DiSC personality, I invite you to take your own DiSC assessment.Are you an “i?”
Do you talk more than your peers?Do you attempt to persuade others to participate through enthusiasm and optimism?
Do you think that the best way to gain cooperation is through positive encouragement and team building?
If these traits describe you, than your personality may be an “i” or “influence-driven” personality. If this is the case, then you are probably motivated by the chance to improve other’s lives and the idea of building relationships with others. You are probably good at “networking” and would rather pull together a team of people to achieve a goal than go “lone-wolf.” However, some people may find your lack of organization and impulsive behavior difficult to work with, and you may have a fear of not being heard or of social rejection. You may have difficulty working with others who you consider to be too blunt or pushy, or those who are too detail-oriented. You probably also do not appreciate those who are what you would view as overly critical. You may discover that combative or competitive environments to be stressful. Situations where you are required to work methodically with close accountability for each step of a project may be difficult for you, as you would rather move quickly and take fast action with cooperation to achieve a target.