There are people you can connect with in three minutes. And others with whom you still have the feeling years later: I don't understand what makes them tick.
This is no coincidence. And it is usually not due to good or bad will.
The DISG model gives this pattern a name. It describes four basic behavioral tendencies that explain why people react so differently in the same situations and how you can use this knowledge to communicate better, defuse conflicts and see yourself more clearly.
The most important facts in brief:
The DISC model is a behavior-based personality model that describes human behavioral tendencies in four basic dimensions: Dominant, Proactive, Steady and Conscientious. The four letters stand for:
The model does not assume that people fit into a box. It describes behavioral preferences - tendencies that come to the fore in certain situations. If you know your own type, you can recognize your own patterns. Those who know the types of others understand why communication sometimes misses the mark.
According to a study by business psychologist Robert A. Rohm (Personality Insights, 2019), over 50 million people worldwide use the DISG model or one of its variants for personality development - making it one of the most widely used behavior-based diagnostic tools in the world.
The DISC model does not describe fixed character traits, but behavioral preferences that you can know and use in a targeted manner.
On the basis of a DISC personality test you can recognize which of the four characteristics is most pronounced in you. Here are the four types in detail:
As dominant type you are characterized by strength of will, responsibility, determination and ambition. You are committed, innovative, enjoy making decisions and thrive on challenges. You are also willing to take risks and don't hesitate for long - your strength lies in speed. No wonder, because you are impatient and waiting is not your thing. You are very direct in your dealings with other people. Why beat around the bush?
Dominant types love variety and demand their freedom. An analytical approach is not one of your strengths, nor is service by the book. Instead of executing, you prefer to give orders. You may strive for power and like to see yourself in leading positions. You have a lot of power! However, your self-confident manner can make you appear inconsiderate and arrogant to others.
The dominant DISC type makes quick decisions and takes responsibility - they need freedom, not control.
As influencing type , you are the relationship person par excellence. You love to surround yourself with friends and family and build a large network. Recognition from others makes your self-esteem skyrocket. You're extremely outgoing, persuasive with charm and optimism, and you sweep others along with your passion, enthusiasm, and positive energy.
As the proactive type, you also like to be the center of attention. You like to have fun and find it easy to make new contacts. Approaching strangers openly is no problem for you. What you don't like so much, however, is attention to detail and an analytical approach. Your work tends to be unstructured, which sometimes makes you seem incompetent to others. Your communicative nature gets in your way from time to time, because not everyone you talk to wants to listen to you for hours on end. You avoid conflicts. If an argument threatens, you put it off for as long as possible.
The initiative DISG type moves people through enthusiasm - it opens doors that others don't even see.
As steady type you are characterized by friendliness, balance, helpfulness and level-headedness. Others can count on you: Whenever they need you, you're there to help. You are a great listener, patient and modest - the perfect team player who holds every team together. Harmony is essential for you. One of the reasons why you hate nothing more than arguments. You avoid conflict. Change is not your thing either, because you seek stability and a regulated environment.
Steady types tend to leave leadership tasks to others, instead they want to work closely with people and support them. You find it difficult to say no, don't you? You take on a lot from others - this can lead to self-abandonment and cause you a lot of stress. You are indecisive from time to time. Your careful, caring and compassionate nature comes across as easily predictable to others.
The constant DISC type is the invisible anchor of every team - its value usually only becomes apparent when it is missing.
As cautious type you love a logical approach, accuracy, planning reliability and high quality standards. Whatever you do - it's systematic and has been thought through umpteen times beforehand. Analytics and attention to detail are your thing, you are extremely hard-working, persistent and able to concentrate. Nothing motivates you more than knowing that something is going perfectly and exactly according to your expectations. Others appreciate the reliability and competence of this conscientious type.
Instead of working in a team, however, you prefer to work alone - this allows you to live out your sense of order and focus completely without being disturbed. However, your critical nature can lead to you isolating yourself completely in the long term. Sometimes you even come across as distant, reserved or even dismissive to others. In addition, you sometimes lose your bearings due to your perfectionism. Then you do the right thing, but it's not important at that moment.
The conscientious DISG type ensures that things are not only done, but done right.
To help you not only understand the DISC model in theory, but also apply it in practice, we'll show you four typical everyday situations - and how the different types would react to them.
Do you recognize yourself in one of these guys? Or do you recognize someone from your environment? You now know what makes the four types tick. What you don't know yet is which of them is strongest in you.
The free Greator personality test shows you your DISG type in three minutes.
Tobias Beck, international speaker, consultant and lecturer, compared the four DISC personality types with four animal personality types in an entertaining and instructive way. It's well worth having a look at the Greator YouTube video "Tobias Beck - The 4 animal human types.
Tobias Beck transfers the four DISC types to animal characters, making abstract personality traits immediately tangible and memorable.
So, did you recognize yourself in several of the four types? That's not surprising, because of course no one person can be pinned down to just one type. They are almost always mixed types. There are 20 of them in total and their great advantage is that individual characteristics are assigned much more specifically.
At Greator the 20 personality types the following names:
Because almost nobody corresponds 100 percent to a single type, these mixed types reflect the reality of human personality more precisely than any simplified four-field matrix.
The DISG model goes back to the American psychologist William Moulton Marston, who laid the theoretical foundation in his work "Emotions of Normal People" (1928) in the 1920s. Walter V. Clarke developed the first practical test from this. In Germany, Friedbert Gay spread the model from 1990 under the name DISG.
Today, it is one of the most widely used tools in coaching, personnel development and leadership training worldwide. The four basic dimensions can be broken down even further: Find out more about what the DISG dimensions and color families about you in the linked article.
The DISG model has almost 100 years of scientific development and is now one of the most reliable behavioral models in applied psychology.
The DISC model is not a clinical diagnostic tool. It describes behavioral preferences, not immutable traits. Personality is situation-dependent, and the model takes this into account: it shows tendencies, not judgments.
Studies on the reliability of behavior-based personality tests show that DISG results are highly stable in repeated measurements if the framework conditions remain the same (persolog Forschungsbericht, 2021). The decisive factor is how the results are used: as a tool for Self-reflection, not as a drawer for categorization.
The DISC test is most valuable when you use its results as a mirror, not as a judgment.
The results that DISC personality tests give us are complex and profound, but at the same time easy to understand and comprehensible for everyone. This is why they are so popular and are used in many different areas of life. Below we present three of the most important areas of application.
DISC tests are invaluable in everyday work. Whether in personnel management or in dealing with your colleagues, if you know what makes you tick and the traits of the other three types, then you can assess your fellow human beings more effectively.A small example: you, as a very quality-conscious, cautious guy (blue), meet an unstructured but very chatty colleague during a work project. Thanks to your new knowledge, you can intuitively assign a DISC personality type to your colleague. Usually, you can rely on your gut instincts. So you now know that he's likely to be an influencing type (yellow).
Now, of course, you know that you will never change your proactive colleague - but you can adjust the way you communicate with him. Get involved with him, listen to him, show him appreciation. He will thank you by doing his best. Divide the tasks so that everyone plays to their strengths. For example, while you're working on the facts and data, your "influencing" type colleague presents them during the presentation. This way, you benefit from each other's strengths instead of getting on one another's nerves.
The DISC test is an ingenious way of finding out more about yourself and your strengths, weaknesses and action preferences within a very short time. DISC assessment gives you insights into your behavioural structures and shows which characteristics predominate in you and why. At the same time, different strengths are taken into account.
You can see that there are no "bad" qualities, but that each characteristic has certain advantages and disadvantages and can be beneficial or detrimental to your personal development. If you are looking for an entry into the field of Personality Development or would like to expand your knowledge? Then a DISC test is just right for you.
The DISG model can also help you to Improve communication and other types of people easier to understand. You learn which "language" you should speak if you want others to understand your messages. And you will learn how you can Resolve conflict situations or recognize them in advance and prevent it. With the DISC model you can improve your relationships with your partner, friends, family members, colleagues and business partners. You can strengthen your sense of empathy and become even more convincing, happier and more successful.
You can find out more in the article about empathetic people.
Everything clear so far? Then here come a few more, valid Reasons for a DISG analysisIf you do not know your action preferences, you may be acting according to other people's action preferences. You notice this, for example, because certain tasks are difficult for you, you feel uncomfortable in certain situations, or some activities take a lot of energy from you.
No wonder, because if you regularly fight against your personality traits this is very stressful in the long run. Therefore, find out which DISG type you are and whether you really live in flow! You will receive the solution to your test in just a few seconds.
At Greator we work daily with people who, through their DISC type, understand for the first time why they fall into the same patterns in certain situations and how they can change this.
The DISC model gives you valuable information. Here are all the advantages at a glance:
Your DISG type is not a judgment, it's a start
The DISC model does not explain who you are. It shows how you tend to react in certain situations. This is a difference that changes everything.
If you know your type, you stop apologizing for your strengths. And start to see your blind spots as areas for development, not as weaknesses. How you specifically start to overcome deep-rooted Change behavior patterns, shows the linked article.
Self-responsibility begins with self-knowledge. The DISG model is a tool for this, not a goal.
Take a minute now. Which of the four types in today's article reminded you most of yourself? Write it down. Just that.
