Each of us has a personality that determines most, if not all, of our behaviours. Some of us prefer change and excitedly try new things, add to our to-do list, and say yes to everything. Some of us like the status quo, choosing to do things the way they have always been done and only commit when we have as much information as possible. We believe that we are unique individuals and that our choices are our own, but the truth of the matter is that our personalities are not very unique. There are observable categories of personalities. Therefore, our choices are often predictable based on our personality type.
Most personality frameworks tend to group people into one of four different categories. At Evolved Metrics, we favour the DiSC model of personalities because it is the most valid and reliable model available as a predictor of workplace behaviours. The four categories that the DiSC model uses are: Dominant, Influencing, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Each of us exhibits traits from the four categories, but our behaviours tend to cluster in one category.
The Dominant and Influencer personality types prioritize taking action, gaining results, and generating enthusiasm. These are change-oriented personality types that favor new experiences and making progress and are very comfortable in uncertainty. The Steady and Conscientious personality types prioritize reliability, giving support, and challenging objectively. These are status-quo personality types that favor consistency, reliability and are very comfortable in certainty.
Often, we find ourselves in circumstances opposite to where we feel the most comfortable in life and business. We may favor certainty but operate in uncertain environments. Or we may favor new experiences but work in a routine and mundane job. We don’t realize that our personality type determines how we are going to behave because we strive to become comfortable when we are uncomfortable. So, we may make a routine job exciting by changing the way we do things. Or we may seek out more and more information on an issue to bring certainty to the uncertain. The point is that by recognizing our personality type and the environment we spend time in, we can predict and give voice to our own behaviors and foster better communication with those around us.
