DISC

Teams! Everyone doing their part.

Teams! Everyone doing their part.

DISC versus Strengthsfinder

This is a great question and one that is very helpful to know the answer to, The DISC and Strengthsfinder measure two completely different things. The DISC measures your behavior and attitude preferences whereas Strengthsfinder measures your top of mind thought processes which Gallup calls talents or Strengths themes.

DISC uses four colors which are also broken in five subcategories so there are 20 potential combinations. In their basic form Red stands for Direct-Dominant and can also be signified by the number 1. Yellow stands for Influencing-Inspiring and can also be signified by the number 2. Blue stands for Steady-Supportive and can also be signified by the number 3. Green stands for Cautious-Correct and can be signified by the number 4.

Many times numbering works well once you get into combinations of colors. For example a person who is a 12 is a RED-Yellow Direct-Influencing. They prefer to lead by being Direct but can also soften their approach by slipping into a Yellow Influencing mode. One major difference between a Red and Yellow is Red prefers to tell while a Yellow will ask. Both are high speed while the Red is task oriented, the Yellow is people process oriented.

DISC vs Strengthsfinder

Another example might be a 34. This person leads with Blue Steady Supportive and follows that with Green Cautious-Correct. The Blue is people oriented while the Green is more task focused. Both Blue and Green are normally at a more leisure pace than the Red or Yellow. Blue focuses on people and Green focuses on being correct.

Also you may have noticed Red and Green are task oriented and Yellow and Blue are people process oriented. Then Red and Yellow are a little quicker paced than the Greens and Blues.

Now what does Strengthsfinder measure? Strengthsfinder measures your top of mind responses which reveal your 34 talent themes. However Strengthsfinder has decided to only show your top 5 Strengths. Really that is no big deal except that often it would be nice to know your bottom 4 or 5 so you can easily add team members to fill those areas. One way to get an idea what they may be is to read all 34 theme definitions and see which ones you kind of feel uncomfortable with. The chances are they might be in that bottom 4 or 5 area.

So now that you know your top 5 Strengths or talents what should you do with them? If you are like most people you might say that’s cool but now what. Sometimes it takes many exposures to Strengthsfinder before you begin to grasp how important Strengthsfinder can be. In fact from my experience knowing your top 5 Strengths can be extremely important.

Direct - Inspiring Cautious - Steady

Direct – Inspiring Cautious – Steady

Strengthsfinder reveals my Natural way of Thinking!

The reason is Strengthsfinder measures your natural top of mind responses to various activities and puts them into talent or strength themes. Once you know those top 5 talents you now have a language that will help you develop and grow those responses or talents into Strengths. That doesn’t sound too important until you start to realize just like any other muscle your talents have needs. Some of those needs are more important than others. If you look at our Positivity article you notice several areas that when neglected can lead to stress and ultimately depression. I am not suggesting all Strengths are that way but some of them definitely can be more demanding than others.

Another talent or Strength is Strengthsfinder Responsibility. People with Responsibility often take psychological ownership of a task. What that means is they will absolutely be driven to complete the required task. The big problem occurs when people over time realize how responsible they are in getting tasks finished and the danger is when they start asking a Responsibility person to do more and more and more. That is a recipe for burn out and disaster.

[Related Posts: Strengthsfinder Positivity – What is it and How to develop Positivity?]

Those are some basic differences between Strengthsfinder and DISC. Make sure to subscribe to our site to receive updates. Please leave a comment and add your questions. Discovering the needs of your personality can be transforming and make each day brighter for you and those around you.

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What are your top 5 Strengths? Can you guess what color on the DISC you are too? Can you guess what my top 5 Strengths in strengthsfinder?