One of the keys to entrepreneurial success is to develop a greater awareness of not only yourself, but others that you work with.  While job skills and intellect are important, your level of emotional intelligence is far more important.  The more you can learn about yourself and operate from this awareness, the higher your emotional intelligence.

The DISC assessment is a great way to raise awareness about your working style and how you operate under normal and stressful situations.  Under two different occasions, I have taken this assessment and the results were enlightening.  As a matter of fact, I have even compared DISC profile results with potential clients to determine whether we were a good fit for one another.

The DISC profile measures four different dimensions of your behavioral style:

• The D stands for Decisive– this component measures how you tend to approach problems and make decisions.
• The I stands for Interactive– this component measures how you tend to interact with others and share opinions.
• The S stands for Stability– this component measures how you tend to pace things in your environment.
• The C stands for Cautious– this component measures your preference for established protocol or standards.

In addition to taking an in-depth look at each of these four components, the assessment report gives you information on a comparison of your natural and adaptive behavioral styles, a detailed explanation of your behavioral strengths and tips on how you like to communicate and be communicated with.  The assessment will also help you understand your ideal work environment, give insight into your effectiveness, and ways to improving not only yourself but your environment.

As an example, here are some great insights I learned when I took the DISC assessment:

• I tend to be somewhat conservative in decision-making on important issues
• I like an environment where authority and responsibility is mutual and shared across all members
• I tend to be generous with my time in helping others
• I can be an effective coach or counselor for others
• I am an excellent calming influence on people who are upset
• I am a very good team player
• I believe in maintaining high standards of quality control
• I think it’s important to adhere to specific and detailed instructions or procedures

What I especially like about the DISC profile results are the tips you receive on how to be more effective, along with ideas about how to stay motivated.  The report you receive also gives you a detailed plan for continual improvement with yourself.  Imagine how powerful it could be to know exactly what you can do to be more effective, motivated and successful.

If you work with a team of people, all team members can take the assessment and you can compare results so you can work more effectively with one another.  In one organization I worked at, all 40 employees took this assessment.  We plotted the individual results on a graph so we could see, as a team, where our strengths lied.  Because I worked at a technical company, it was very interesting to see that very few individuals in our organization were considered high I’s.  In other words, there weren’t too many of us that were people oriented and skilled at interacting with others.  As the office manager, thankfully, I was an exception to this norm.

You may think taking the DISC assessment is cost prohibitive, but there are many sites that offer the assessment for FREE.  My favorite place to take the assessment is Tony Robbins website.  The assessment will take you approximately 15-20 minutes to complete, but the results are invaluable.

As a bonus, Tony Robbins provides you not only with a complete 22-page DISC report, you also receive a Values Index report.  According to this report, “values help influence behavior and action and can be considered somewhat of a hidden motivation because they are not readily observable. Understanding your values helps to tell you why you prefer to do what you do. It is vital for superior performance to ensure that your motivations are satisfied by what you do. This drives your passion, reduces fatigue, inspires you and increases drive.”

This values report gave me important insight into what is important to me.  Measuring 7 different values, I learned that I am:

• High Aesthetic– I very much prefer form, harmony, and balance. I am likely a strong advocate for green initiatives and protecting personal time and space.
• Low Economic– I am a team player and may put others’ needs before self.
• Very High Individualistic– I demonstrate high independence and project self-confidence.
• Average Political – I am flexible, able to take or leave the power or clout that comes with the job title or assignment.
• High Altruist– I have a high desire to help others learn, grow and develop.
• Average Regulatory– I can balance and understand the need to have structure and order, but not paralyzed without it.
• Average Theoretical– I can balance the quest for understanding and knowledge with the practical needs of a situation.

Are you curious about what you can learn about yourself from the DISC Profile and the Values Index? Take the FREE assessment and let me know if you received any “aha” insights.