DISG model: The four personality types at a glance

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Update: 27.08.2024

Anyone who works in a team or has a large circle of friends knows that there are people with whom you get on effortlessly. And then there are those you can't really get on with, but with whom you have to come to terms. In the following sections, you can find out why you don't get along with everyone equally and which DISC personality types are behind this.

In such cases, it is crucial to find ways to facilitate cooperation and better understand the other person's communication. This is exactly where the DISG model comes in. This practical concept helps you to better understand the different personality types and their characteristics. Find out how you can use the DISC model in your everyday professional and private life in this magazine article.

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What is the DISG model?

As a first step, think of DISG as a model that analyzes and classifies human behavior. It is based on four different basic types, which are based on certain behavioral tendencies or so-called behavioral styles. The four letters represent the following DISG types:

  • D = Dominant (red)
  • I = Influencing (yellow),
  • S = Steady (green)
  • G = Cautious (blue).

DISC is based on the assumption that every person has characteristics of all four types but that some will be more pronounced. Depending on the model, sometimes four colours are used instead of letters: red, yellow, green and blue.

disc types

The 4 DISG personality types

Using the DISC personality test you determine which of the four personality traits - Dominant, Influencing, Steady, Cautious - is most Using the DISC personality test, you can determine which of the four DISC personality traits - Dominant, Influencing, Steady, Cautious - is most pronounced in your personality. We'll explain how the four types differ from each other: pronounced in your personality. We tell you how the four types differ from each other:

D - dominant type (red)

As dominant type you're characterised by attributes such as willpower, responsibility, determination and ambition. You are committed, innovative, enjoy making decisions and enjoy challenges. You're also willing to take risks and don't hesitate long - your strength lies in speed. No wonder, because you're impatient and waiting isn't your thing. Your dealings with other people are straightforward. Why waste time beating around the bush?

Dominant types love variety and demand their freedom. Being analytical is not one of your strengths, and neither is working by the rules. You'd prefer to give the commands than carry them out. You may be striving for power and like to see yourself in managerial positions. You have a lot of determination! However, your self-assured demeanour can lead others to find you inconsiderate and arrogant.

I - Influencing type (yellow)

As influencing type you are the relationship person par excellence. You love to surround yourself with friends and family and build up a large network. Recognition from others makes your Self-esteem skyrocket. You are extremely sociable, convince with charm and optimism and inspire other people with your passion, enthusiasm and enthusiasm. positive energy with.

As influencing type , you also like to be the centre of attention. You want to have fun, and it's easy for you to make new contacts. Approaching strangers directly isn't a problem for you. Things you're less keen on, however, are an attention to detail and an analytical approach. You work in a somewhat unstructured way, which sometimes seems incompetent to others. Your communicative style gets in your way now and then because not everyone you talk to wants to listen to you for hours. You avoid conflicts. If an argument is imminent, you postpone it as long as possible.

S - Steady type (green)

As steady type you are characterized by friendliness, balance, helpfulness and level-headedness. Others can count on you: Whenever they need you, you are 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 detest nothing more than conflict. You avoid conflict. Change is not your thing either, because you seek stability and a regulated environment.

Steady guys tend to leave tend to prefer others, instead they want to work closely with and support people. Saying nois difficult for you, isn't it? You take a lot of things from others - that can lead to self-sacrifice and cause quite a lot of stress in you. Now and then you are indecisive. Your careful, caring and compassionate nature comes across as easily predictable to others.

C - Cautious type (blue)

As cautious type , you love a logical approach, accuracy, careful planning and high-quality standards. Whatever you do has a system, and you've thought it through countless times beforehand. Analytics and attention to detail are your strengths; you're extremely hardworking, persistent and able to concentrate. Nothing motivates you more than knowing that something is going perfectly and just as you want it. Others appreciate the reliability and competence of the cautious types.

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. What's more, you lose sight of Perfectionism sometimes lose your bearings. Then you do the right thing, but it's not important at that moment.

DISG personality test

The 4 animal personality types

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". Have fun!

The 20 different DISC combinations

Did you recognise yourself in several of the four types? This isn't surprising, because of course, no one can be pegged to a single DISC personality type. They're almost always mixed types. There are 20 of them in total, and their great advantage is that individual characteristics are assigned much more precisely. At Greator, they have the following names:

  1. Pioneer (red)
  2. Entertainer (yellow)
  3. Stabilizer (green)
  4. Perfectionist (blue)
  5. Front-runner (red-yellow)
  6. Pacesetter (red-green)
  7. Inventor (red-blue)
  8. Persuader (yellow-red)
  9. Harmonizer (yellow-green)
  10. Strategist (yellow-blue)
  11. Specialist (green-red)
  12. Helper (green-yellow)
  13. Standard bearer (green-blue)
  14. Experimenter (blue-red)
  15. Assessor (blue-yellow)
  16. Critical Thinker (blue-green)
  17. Coordinator (yellow-green-red)
  18. Mediator (red-yellow-blue)
  19. Designer (blue-red-green)
  20. Practitioner (green-blue-yellow)

When you know the difference between the 20 personality types, you can classify yourself and other people much better and understand your own or their behaviour.

disg model

Origin and history of the DISC model

Hippocrates already recognized that character traits can be Characteristics of a person four "temperaments". Many centuries later, the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung divided his fellow human beings into "extraverted" and "introverted". At the same time, he distinguished four personality types on the basis of their attitudes and conscious functions.

In 1928, the American psychologist William Moulton Marston was the first to develop the DISC model. He's considered the founder and developer of the DISC theory (dominance, inducement, submission, compliance), on which basis John Geier developed the first DISC tests in the 1970s.

The goal of the tests is to evaluate people based on categories. One of Geier's employees, Friedbert Gay, conducted the DISC model in Germany for the first time in 1990. Thanks to him, the DISC model and the DISC personality test become a widely used method of assessing staff and selecting new employees.

How the DISG test works

The DISG test is very easy to use: First, you answer eight questions with the answer that best applies to you. You have four possible answers to choose from for each question. You then answer eight more questions. This time, the aim is to determine which answer is least likely to apply to you.

The result you get at the end shows you what personality type you are, where your strengths lie and how you can get the best out of yourself. You now know whether you are a dominant, initiative, steady or conscientious type are.

Inner, outer & integrated self-image

If you go one step further and take the PRO test, you will receive a DISC evaluation that takes into account all 20 behavioural combinations. You'll obtain a deep insight into your inner, outer and integrated self-image and thus receive more detailed information.

The inner self-image stands for personal convictions and shows how you react to pressure. The outer self-image describes the expectations of your environment. And the integrated self-image combines the inner and outer self-image and thus stands for the sum of your behaviour that can be observed in everyday life. The DISC model enables you to take a closer look at your personality and the character traits of those around you.

DISG personality tests are used here

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 in everyday work

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.

disg test

DISC for personality development

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 property has certain advantages and disadvantages and is not relevant to your personal development can be beneficial or rather harmful. Are you 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.

DISC for better relationships

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, increase your sense of empathy and become even more convincing, happy and successful.

What are the concrete benefits of a DISC personality test?

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.

Advantages of the DISC personality test

The DISC model gives you valuable information. Here are all the advantages at a glance:

Is the DISC model valid?

The DISC model incorporates important approaches by renowned scientists and psychotherapists, such as Erich Fromm, Alfred Adler and Martin Fishbein. In addition statistical studies shows the validity of the model and the associated tests. The impressive success rates in companies that use the test in human resources management once again prove the validity of the DISC model.

What to do if your test was inconclusive?

First of all, you can't fail the test. Sometimes, a result is not entirely clear. But that isn't a problem because, as mentioned above, everyone has characteristics of all four types - albeit to varying degrees. So it may well be that while you cannot be primarily assigned to one type, a combination of two types applies to you particularly strongly. In this case, it can be advisable to take the PRO extended test to achieve more relevant results with the help of the 20 personality types.

Gift: Your free DISC test

The more you learn about yourself and the better you know yourself, the happier and more fulfilled you will be. Therefore we give you our free personality test - so that you recognise your strengths and raise your awareness in the area of personal development to a new level.

The DISC test is perfect for free. You only need 3 minutes to answer 16 questions. Afterwards you will receive your result by e-mail within a very short time. Take the DISC personality test and see who you are and how to fulfill your potential!

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Reviewed by Dr. med. Stefan Frädrich

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