Personality assessments can be a valuable tool in workplace training. Not only do they help employees to figure out more about their own personalities but they can also dictate communication and collaboration styles and training.
As for the type of personality assessment you should use, two of the biggest options for workplaces are DISC and Myers-Briggs. You might have heard of either of these before – more like Myers-Briggs. So, which is best for workplace training, and what are the differences? Let’s take a look.
What is a DISC Assessment?
A DISC assessment is a relatively short test in which participants are asked a range of situational response questions. They answer on a 5-part scale and this is then converted into a personalised profile. The DISC assessment can be up to 90% accurate in its profiling of a participant.
DISC categorises people into one of 4 groups. These are:
- Dominance: These people are direct, strong-willed, firm and results-orientated
- Influence: These people are enthusiastic, optimistic, lively and people-orientated
- Steadiness: These people are patient, humble, accommodating and people-orientated
- Conscientious: These people are analytical, systematic, reserved and task-orientated
Everyone has a dominant DISC style but is also a blend of multiple. Generally, results are displayed on different graphics that identify a participant’s blend of styles. It’s more common for people to be a blend of related styles, such as steadiness and influence or dominance and compliance.
What is a Myers-Briggs Assessment?
A Myers-Briggs assessment is a longer test that can be up to 100 questions. It uses either/or questions in which participants choose the response that best matches their opinion. While some answers may not be entirely relevant, participants are required to choose the answer that best suits them.
These answers are then correlated along 4 binary groups, which are:
- Extroverted or Introverted: This first factor describes how people want to interact with others and to what degree
- Sensing or Intuition: This refers to how a person processes information, whether this is from their own senses or by interpreting external information
- Thinking or Feeling: This refers to how a person makes decisions, whether this is through facts and figures or emotions
- Perceiving or Judging: This refers to how a respondent interacts with their environment, whether flexibly or rigidly
The Myers-Briggs test categorises people using a combination of these 8 factors, which results in a 4-letter code. For example, someone might be ENTP or IFNJ. There are 16 combinations in total and there is no blend for any group. As they’re binaries, people are either one or the other.
The Differences Between DISC and Myers-Briggs
DISC vs Myers-Briggs
Considering both personality assessments provide similar results, are there any important differences between them? Should these differences affect your decision about which is the most suitable for your workplace? Well, the answers are yes and yes, so let’s look at why.
1. Complexity
The first important distinction is the test’s complexity. DISC is far simpler than Myers-Briggs, which is evident through the length of the test. A DISC test is around 24 questions, whereas a Myers-Briggs can be up to 100. While a longer test might seem like it’d provide more comprehensive information, this isn’t necessarily the case.
A DISC assessment generates a personalised profile based on a participant’s answers, which can be 20-25 pages long. Not only does this define their DISC style but it also gives them information on their motivations, stressors and fears.
A Myers-Briggs will also generate a report, but the information isn’t necessarily as in-depth. After all, categorising someone on a binary scale can’t accurately capture the nuances of a sliding scale, such as the one used in a DISC report.
2. Purpose
A personality test is a personality test, right? Well, not really. Although the overall goal is to assess aspects of a participant’s personality, the information this provides and what is done with this information can vary wildly. For example, being told you’re a dominance style person doesn’t mean the same thing as an ESTJ (Director) style.
This specific difference comes down to the test’s focus. A Myers-Briggs test is focused on information – it describes a person’s learning style and tendencies, such as how they deal with tasks and other people.
A DISC assessment, on the other hand, focuses on development. It defines a participant’s social and interaction styles to help them develop stronger relationships with others. It’s less about how a person takes in and deals with information and more about how they interact with people with the goal of obtaining information.
For this reason, a DISC test is better suited to team-focused education and training, whereas a Myers-Briggs is good for improving a person’s self-awareness. It’s worth mentioning, though, that a DISC test also improves a person’s self-awareness but specifically in how they interact with others rather than how they process and learn information.
3. Personal Disclosure
Personality assessments obviously require some level of personal disclosure when completing the test. After all, it’s looking at a participant’s responses to situational questions.
However, this isn’t necessarily a good thing when it comes to actually discussing the results of a personality test. For example, some people may feel uncomfortable delving too deeply into their results in a work or training context. This might not be the case for everyone, but if a test discusses a person’s potential weaknesses, they might not want to discuss them too heavily.
If this is the case, a DISC assessment can be a better option for workplace training. The results are not only relevant, but because they’re based on developing relationships, they don’t dig into a participant’s learning styles and tendencies in the same way as a Myers-Briggs test.
4. Comprehension and Applicability
This point is related to complexity but deserves its own discussion. Comprehension refers to a person’s ability to understand and utilise the information given in the test’s report, while applicability is a person’s ability to actually use this information in the workplace.
Generally, DISC assessments are both easier to comprehend and apply to workplace scenarios. Its information is easier to digest for those who might not have a background in behavioural psychology or workplace management or leadership. In simple terms, it’s more of a layman’s approach to behavioural testing.
Of course, simplicity is by no means a bad thing. Clear and concise information relating to relationship-building is a great foundation for shorter training courses, as it means participants don’t need to spend ages digesting their results.
A Myers-Briggs test, on the other hand, is inherently more complex in the information it offers. Both tests have 16 result types, but the Myers-Briggs results focus more on in-depth behavioural elements. It’s inevitably going to be harder to digest what an ENFP style is compared to a dominance-steadiness style.
Myers-Briggs, therefore, is better suited to people who focus on personal development spheres of workplace training. They can be ideal for HR training courses or similar environments that have with time or a deeper exploration of the topics.
When to Use DISC vs Myers-Briggs
DISC vs Myers-Briggs, As mentioned, each test has its relevance, and the one you choose will ultimately depend on your goals. Below are some examples of when you might want to use a DISC test and training compared to a Myers-Briggs test.
When to Use DISC Training
DISC training is typically shorter and more focused on workplace performance and relationships. This can include colleague, team and client relationships depending on the specific focus of your training. As such, it can be helpful for:
- Team-specific training, such as sales teams or project development departments
- Management training
- Leadership development training
A DISC training course is typically 1 day, making it a short and accessible course. The training is supplemented with participants’ personalised reports, which they can take home and reflect on after the course is complete.
The purpose of this training is to help identify and manage relationships, as people are given the tools and information to use their communication style effectively in the workplace.
Read more: Transforming Your Organisation Through Effective Leadership Training
When to Use Myers-Briggs Training
Myers-Briggs training is better suited to departments or individuals who might need a deeper look into personality types and how this can affect workplace learning and interactions. As mentioned above, this can make it more suitable for HR teams who might need to use a person’s Myers-Briggs profile to understand any workplace issues they might have.
It does have applications for team-building and improving communication, but its higher complexity means it’s less suited to people who don’t have a background in behavioural psychology. While it’s possible to break results down into digestible information, you’d struggle to do this effectively in a 1-day course.
Final Thoughts
So, which is better, DISC vs Myers-Briggs? The short answer is that it depends on your needs. That said, DISC assessments are simpler and quicker to take, and their results are more immediately relevant in a training context.
DISC training gives participants the ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their communication style without using excessive jargon. As such, it generally makes for a better basis for a personnel development course focused on workplace relationships.
