Every week I run into a person who either trains the DISC model or has been trained on a DISC model – that have only looked at the high factors in the scores. What a mistake. Low DISC element scores can tell more about a person than the high side scores.
Okay, for some of you “rookies” – the highs and lows of DISC relate to how the four elements are positioned on the graphs. Anything above the 50% line is considered a high score and anything below the 50% line is considered low.
Now there is another critical factor – intensity. This is critical when debriefing a person on their DISC graphs. The higher a score moves up towards the 100%, the more intensity of an individual’s behavior will be influenced by the behavioral core element. And, others will see the behavior easily – and often.
The lower a score moves toward the 0% again more intensity to the lower side of the behavioral core element and others will see this behavior quickly and easily. However, the low side of the behavioral patterns are mostly overlooked by many DISC trainers and coaches. Bad mistake. It is the intensity that drives a person’s behavior and it is the behavior others see and hear.
Let me describe some of the impact of low scores on the four DISC elements… (more…)