DISC Assessment Builds Collaborative Partnerships

In UVAFinance we’ve begun a professional development initiative using the DISC assessment. Each team member will complete the assessment and spend an hour reviewing their individual results with our certified DISC practitioners, Angela Knobloch or Patty Marbury. Each team within UVAFinance will also participate in a team workshop. 

The goal of this initiative is to provide an opportunity for team members to learn not only about themselves but also how to work more effectively together across UVAFinance. And not only do we all learn how to work more effectively together, but the activity also equips us to communicate more effectively with everyone we work with, across Grounds.

The DISC assessment is a way for UVAFinance to invest in our value of being a collaborative partner, as we look to understand more clearly what makes communication successful and fulfilling between individuals who have different perspectives and styles.

What is DISC?

DISC is a measurement of behavioral styles that focuses on individual patterns of external, observable behaviors. It measures the energy an individual puts into:

• Dominating problems and challenges (D = Dominance)
  
• Influencing people (I = Influence)
• Steadying the pace and consistency of the environment (S = Steadiness)
• Complying to rules, procedures, and constraints (C = Conscientiousness)

What DISC Is NOT

Although similar to MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), which is a commonly used personality assessment, an important distinction is that DISC does not measure personality, introversion, or extroversion, but rather focuses on behaviors in both a natural and adaptive state.

Your natural state is your instinctive reactions or behaviors, and the adaptive state is how you adjust to your environment to be successful. While MBTI and other personality assessments typically stay more or less the same, DISC may change (especially the adapted style) depending on the environment.

Why is this important?

DISC is a great team-building activity that helps team members learn how best to communicate with each other and work effectively as a team.

For Leaders, DISC helps to learn how best to communicate with each of their team members in a manner that works for them. It also helps them learn what motivates their team members, what kind of environment they need to be effective, and how they may react to stress and conflict. 

DISC follows the Platinum Rule -- “Do unto others as they want done unto them.”

If you have questions about the DISC assessment or workshop, please contact Angela Knobloch or Patty Marbury.