InsightsR Discovery System vs. DiSCR

 

DiSC or the Personal Profile System (PPS) is an instrument which measures surface traits or characteristic ways of behaving in a particular environment. It explains how normal human emotions lead to behavioural differences among people as well as to changes in a person’s behaviour in different situations. The system theorized that human behaviour could be studied on a bipolar model according to people’s perception of their work environment as favourable or antagonistic and their perception of being more or less powerful than their environment This system explores behaviour across four primary dimensions.

 

In the DiSC system, there are adjectives describing each letter of the acronym DiSC. Some programs use colour, but the colours are not consistent across the DiSC range of providers.

 

DiSC has 4 measures - each representing one of 4 types of behaviours: D - Dominance, I - Influencing/Inducement, S - Steadiness/Submission, C - Conscientiousness/Compliance

 

The DiSC system has four scales represented graphically for each of the four adjectives above, collectively called a person’s profile. There are 15 classical profile patterns- each representing a popular pattern of most and least characteristics. With some DiSC Providers, in a workshop setting, it is not unusual to find more than one participant having identical reports. This can reduce credibility with participants as they feel their uniqueness is not captured. In fact, where ‘boiler-plate’ text is generated, the individuals may of course be significantly different from one another while their reports are identical.

 

The DiSC system has been designed for improving communication in the workplace. Its applications range from enhancing customer service, sales training, reducing stress, and improving relationships between employee and managers and enhanced organizational development.

There are numerous versions and providers of DiSC in the market.

 

Correlations between Insights & DiSC:

The four dimensions of DiSC are loosely correlated with the Insights colour energies, as follows:  D - Fiery Red       I - Sunshine Yellow       S - Earth Green       C - Cool Blue  

 

Benefits of Insights vs. DiSC:

Many users question the fundamental methodology of DiSC. The scales which form the system’s profiles are skewed without explanation, the DiSC questionnaire measures only 2 out of 4 question elements (“Most” and “Least” characteristics only, disregarding the 2 in the “middle”), and there are placebo questions which are answered but not counted at all. Insights profiles are represented graphically, using rational logic, and are not skewed in any way. The Insights evaluator measures all elements, and every part of every answer is counted. Insights profiles are more highly customized to the individual than DiSC. In certain short DiSC reports, only a list of adjectives is provided. This makes it difficult for the user to fully understand behaviour as it lacks context and a complete explanation. 

 

The Insights system is designed so that no two individuals will have the same profile. Group ratings indicate a 95% accuracy rate for Insights profiles due, in part, to the high level of customized content. The language used in the Insights program is simple, and the model clear, ensuring better recall and accessibility to a wide variety of clients.

 

The Insights Discovery system has been designed for improving interpersonal effectiveness through individual awareness and focuses on maximizing an individual’s potential. A wider variety of applications are available ranging from leadership development, team building, team effectiveness, sales and service enhancement to stress management, change management, conflict resolution and coaching. This range enables an organization to adopt the Insights model and apply it to many learning and development needs within the organization. This consistency of cross-functional training ensures a common language is adopted throughout an organization and that all individuals are learning and applying adapting and communication strategies that enhance collective performance.

 

Madeleine York

York Career Development, Inc.

Houston-Austin

866-502-8258 office

512-565-8506 mobile

www.yorkinc.com

myork@yorkinc.com