#106 My DISC Assessment
Solving My People Puzzle
The purpose of this paper is to understand my personality and how it relates to others. This observation will be done in a way to help prepare me for future counseling and pastoral situations. As Paul writes to Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness” (2 Timothy 2:15-16 NASB). It is with this aim in mind that this paper is written.
Question 1: Guiding Purpose Statement
I am Seeking to be an imitator of Christ. I am committed to become a representative of Him. This is my GPS because of Ephesians 5:1 (NASB), which says “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Then the end of my GPS says to become a representative of Him. This is because of 2 Corinthians 5:20, where we are called to be Christ’s ambassadors. Wherever I go I want to remember that I am a child of God and as such, I must seek to be more like Him daily. This GPS informs my daily life and actions as I seek to improve myself to become more like Christ. Furthermore, I seek to find where God may use me as His representative here and now. To inject myself into situations where God is needed and to serve well. I seek to be seen as a pastor to my community, to imitate Christ and His sacrificial nature, to represent Him in the daily life of believers and unbelievers alike.
Question 2: DISC Description
According to the Disc Assessment, I am the Persuader Pattern. Which means that I am “focused on shaping your environment by influencing or persuading others.” I have noticed this to be true about myself. As I do, I gravitate towards environments where I have more influence. While I also genuinely enjoy shaping the beliefs and actions of those around me. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on the situation at hand. Furthermore, I have also noticed that I have a hard time dealing with situations where my influence is low or non-existent. Throughout the report the accuracy to both the good and bad of my personality is surprising. Below I will explore how my personality may relate to other types.
Question 3: DISC Style Alignment
Active/Task-oriented "D"
While in a leadership position, relating to the “D” oriented personality, I will need to be decisive. I scored high in the “D” category in the areas of adventuresome, decisive, self-assured, competitive and such. But not as high as some who may be forceful, demanding, daring, or direct. When leading people in the high”D” category I tend to reflect their characteristics being direct and forceful or on the other hand being quiet and not caring about the outcome. I think my inquisitiveness may be useful in these sorts of situations, as I may inquire into the strategy and ideas of the high “D” and socratically lead them in the right direction. Consequently, I also need to be aware of my tendencies and choose my battles wisely.
Active/People-oriented "I"
I scored pretty high in the “I” category which may be helpful in relating to other high “I” people. The high “I” oriented person has a tendency to be enthusiastic, persuasive, and impulsive. According to my assessment I tend to be sociable, influential, trusting, and emotional. The high “I” person tends to communicate in stories, which I do as well. When leading a high “I” person I should share stories that communicate the overall vision and keep us motivated and on the same page. When the high “I” becomes belligerent I need to defuse the situation by regaining their trust and hearing the stories they share. When leading high “I” people I need to be sure to praise positive work and behavior.
Passive/People-oriented "S"
People in the high “S” category tend to feel “inadequate and unworthy.” When I lead high “S” people I need to be less firm and obstinate and instead opting to be a better listener. Coaxing out the thoughts and ideas of the high “S” person. My wife is someone who scores high in the “S” category. When relating to her I need to be aware of her valuing steadiness and friendships. This category craves consistency. Thus, when relating to high “S” people I need to make changes slowly and be sure to be consistent and a real friend.
Passive/Task-oriented "C"
“C” oriented people tend to focus on the current situation and strive to work well within that structure rather than change their environment. When working with a high “C” I need to be sure to delegate work to them as they can handle it. But I also need to be aware that this personality tends to be diplomatic and may not express their frustrations and concerns. As such, I need to give them space to focus on the little details that they care most about. And further seek out their criticism as it may not be forthcoming.
Question 4: Care-Seeker Connection
Bruce was a husband to Cindy and the father of three children. He is the owner of a construction company but the present “economic state of affairs forces Bruce to focus on getting and maintaining contracts.” His life changed forever when his wife and daughter died in a car accident. He is my care-seeker connection. Bruce appears to fit the investigator pattern with a high “D/S.” As such, Bruce has the general goal of gaining power through formal roles. When he works on tasks he feels most like himself and he is likely to lose himself in his work. When Bruce loses his wife and daughter he becomes blunt and suspicious. Yet this is turned around after meeting the teenager who killed his wife. Where Bruce takes on a personal involvement in stopping the same thing from happening again.
When counseling Bruce it would be important for me to focus on his problems rather than the ones I see. Bruce owns the problem, not me. In seeking to connect with Bruce and build rapport, it could be useful to follow technique #17 “ramp up your intensity to within two points” of your client. By matching Bruce’s intensity I will communicate that I understand where he is coming from. In seeking to align relationally to Bruce, I will recognize that his “D/S” means he judges others using factual information. So I need to shift my focus onto the facts of the issues that Bruce presents. Downplaying my “I” type and leaning into the “C” type by being more accurate and a fact-finder. It would additionally be beneficial based on Bruce’s personality profile to make “progress toward specific, mutually agreed upon goals.” as Bruce appears to be a results oriented person who values facts. Because of my GPS Romans 8:28 is an important verse informing my approach to counseling Bruce. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Together Bruce and I would work together to orient the pain of his situation into the reality of God’s love for us. Nichols describes the “four movements: creation, the fall into sin, redemption, and restoration.” We know the story is not over yet and our current portrait is not the finished work of God’s love.
Question 5: Mentor Connection
My mentor, Nic, in many ways has the opposite personality to mine. I scored in the “I/D” type whereas Nic scored in the “C/S” type. My mentor responded to the interview questions very positively; which is normative for his personality type. Nic has very strong opinions about right and wrong and truth. He is a philosopher by profession, and the phrase “You aren’t very assertive unless people try to do things wrong” aptly describes him. We often find ourselves in theological debates, where Nic and I both have well founded opposing beliefs about the same subject. It generally comes about that we have a similar understanding of a verse, a dissimilar application of the verse, and similar results of behavior when applying it to our lives. Nic falls in the category of the Perfectionist Pattern, as opposed to my Persuader Pattern. Nic’s attention to detail forces me to think more critically about my beliefs and actions. I need to realize that Nic is unlikely to change his opinion about most subjects because he is more detail oriented than I am. As such, I need to know when to back off and hear what he is saying with agreeing or disagreeing. As Petersen writes “Disagreeing is more quickly and obviously argumentative as it too shifts the focus from the talker’s viewpoint to the listener’s.” Instead of trying to persuade my mentor I should learn from him and genuinely hear what he is saying to me.
Nic observes, “I am not sure if Elliott has a “typical” interaction because he interacts with each person according to what the situation demands.” He goes on to suggest that you can tell when Elliott “disagrees with someone because he will pause before responding.” This in general appears to be a good sign communication wise. Yet it points out to me that I need to work on being aware of when to respond and when to listen. Especially when communicating with Nic as his “C/S” type may tend to be passive when I disagree when in reality I ought to be listening.
Conclusion
“So What? of it All!” there is an almost infinite amount of combinations of personality types. We may never know how to communicate well with all of them but we must persevere. Understanding how to communicate with others is essential to listening and talking. When we understand who we are and who we are speaking to we become better representatives of God. Forming a GPS statement and connecting it to how I relate to other Disc types, Bruce, and my mentor, has taught me how to better serve God in this life.
References page
Carbonell, M. (n.d.). “Uniquely You DISC Assessment. Retrieved from https://uniquelyyou.org/
Carbonell, M. (2008). How to solve the people puzzle: Understanding personality patterns. Blue Ridge, GA: Uniquely You Resources.
Harris, G., & Eikenberry, K. (n.d.). A Free DISC Personality Test: Gain Insights to Build Better, Stronger, More Fulfilling Relationships. Retrieved
from https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/
Jantz, E. L. (2018). Mentor’s 360° Interview Worksheet.
Kollar, C. A. (2011). Solution-focused pastoral counseling: An effective short-term approach for getting people back on track (updated and exp. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan.
Nichols, K. (2017). Masterpiece: Seeing yourself as God's work of art changes everything. Lynchburg, VA.: Liberty University Press.
Petersen, J. (2015). Why don't we listen better? Communicating and connecting in relationships (second ed.). Portland, OR: Petersen Publications.
Rice, D. (2018). A case study on crossroads: A story of forgiveness. Lynchburg, VA.: Liberty University.
