Truity’s DISC Personality Assessment is a 5 minute free personality test designed to measure your workplace behavior. After taking this assessment, you can discover your workplace personality in relation to the four DISC personality types.
In this article, we will explore this DISC assessment in detail. I have taken the test myself, so I will let you know how I found it. We will also discuss whether it’s worth upgrading from the free version to the paid version. So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
The theory behind the assessment
The DISC theory has a long and complicated background. I won’t go on about it too much here, but if you would like to explore the DISC theory in more detail, then check out my recent post [link when published].
However, in short, the modern day DISC assessment was introduced by Walter V Clarke in 1956. It measures our personality across four primary personality styles:
- Dominance (D). These types are results-oriented, decisive and competitive.
- Influence (I). These types are charming, enthusiastic, optimistic and persuasive.
- Conscientious (C). These types are analytical, diplomatic, precise and compliant.
- Steady (S). These types are direct, results-oriented, decisive and natural born problem solvers.
When looking we explore Truity’s version of DISC, you will notice that the use different names, namely: Drive (dominance), Influence (influence), Clarity (conscientiousness) and Support (steady). This is not uncommon, many tests will use different names. They use these terms because they believe they are better understood in the modern day, but essentially they mean the same thing.
What did I think of the test?
The test, which is comprised of 54 questions, was really quick to take. You are asked to mark how words describe you, from inaccurate to accurate. Words are those such as “deliberate”, “dominant”, “precise” or ‘cheerful‘.
With the free version, you will take a quick look at your behavior across the four broad styles. This is shown nicely in a diagram, which clearly shows what type you relate most to. Underneath, there is a couple of paragraphs that explain each personality style. However, to look at your personality in any amount of depth or detail, you will need to pay to upgrade.
Should I upgrade?
At Truity, you can upgrade your report for $19. You’re probably wondering whether it’s worth it. Well, the short answer: yes.
The paid version starts the same as the free version. However, after giving a brief bit of information about each type, the report then gets exciting, as it discusses your preferred style, which in my case was ‘Influence’, in A LOT of detail. It is important to remember that this assessment is designed to be workplace related, so most of the report discusses your personality with regards to the workplace.
Firstly, you will see a list of adjectives that your personality style is also likely to be describes at in the workplace. For example, mine was: engaging, impulsive and persuasive. You will also see a list of adjectives you’re not likely to be described as.
1. Core motivations and fears
The core motivations and fears of your personality style are discussed in the first section. This part of the report also explores how, based on these fears and motivations, you may be seen behaving in the workplace.
2. Workplace priorities and talents in action
This section offers detailed paragraphs on what strengths and talents you are likely to have at work. This is followed by a bullet point summary of those strengths. In my opinion, I LOVE how Truity offers bullet point summaries, it makes information feel digestible. Under the same section, there is a list of potential workplace blind spots.
3. Balancing your style
The next section discussed ‘balancing the Influence style’. You learn about not overusing your strengths. You are given information as to what you will look like when you’re balanced (e.g., for me it was: listening to others stories, practicing patience) and then when overdoing it (e.g., constantly seeking excitement or not finishing tasks). This section is a really useful self-assessment tool that I can refer back to and look at whether I’m over doing it.
4. Communication and conflict style
In the next section, your communication style is discussed. You will see bullet points of your strengths and limitations when communicating. This section also talks about your default communication style and what you can do to optimize your communication. For me, it was to a) stick to one issue at a time; and 2) reduce exaggeration. These are things that I know I do too much, so I found this section particularly interesting.
In the section after, you will take a look at your conflict style in the workplace. This section will give you tips on how to develop a healthier conflict style, something we could all do with learning!
5. Working in a team
The DISC assessment focuses on workplace behavior. Therefore, it is only logical that the report helps us to understand our talents in a team. In this section, we get to understand what we bring to a team and what others bring to a team. We also get examples of what we need from a team environment in order to excel. For instance, I need an environment that is social and fun, and one that has a forum to express ideas.
6. Stress and wellbeing
Although I think this section could’ve been really valuable, I feel that Truity missed a few tricks. They give you nice ways to reduce stress and enhance wellbeing. But they don’t offer a huge amount of clarity. I found that the bullet points aren’t too clear as to what they mean and that I had to go over this section a few times.
7. Increasing effectiveness and working with others
Finally, the report comes to a close by gives you 11 suggestions to improve your effectiveness. The final section, ‘working with others’ is a bit like the ‘teamwork’ section, but it looks at each different type. For example, I look at how an Influence style person should communicate with a Drive style person. And, how an Influence style person would communicate with another Influence style person.
Conclusion and what next?
Overall, this report didn’t engage me as much as some of Truity’s other assessments. Perhaps it’s because its’ more workplace based, opposed to personal. However, in saying that, I am sure I will find it incredibly useful in understanding how I behave at work.
In my opinion, the free version doesn’t offer a great deal. I think that it is very much worth upgrading to the paid version – for a small amount of money, you get a huge amount of knowledge.
If this sounds good to you, then head over to Truity to take your own DISC assessment. As always, let me know how you found it in the comments below!
