CARD548 PREPARATION GUIDE: DISC Assignment

Personal Styles Analysis:
The AMA DISC SurveyTM

INTRODUCTION:

The DISC Survey is designed to measure four basic styles of behavior. Those are Directing, Influencing, Supportive, and Contemplative. Each style has strong points, and possible weaknesses, to an individual’s effectiveness. The survey materials will show both productive aspects of each of the four styles, as well as counterproductive aspects.

I. My personal styles (25 points)

On my DISC Survey I scored a 90 for supportive, an 86 for contemplative, a 64 for influencing, and a 57 for directing. I have always been very supportive in that I have always wanted to help in any form that I could. This score makes even more since seeing as that I have always been very accepting of people and their customs because I treat others as I would want to be treated. I have always been very accepting of tasks that were given to me especially by my parents when I was young. That’s where this comes from in my life, my parents raised me to do as they asked me to do not questioning why they had asked me to do it. When I was a teenager they asked me of course to do my homework before I went outside, to always treat others with respect, and to listen carefully to instructions before starting a task. On the other side of this spectrum we have influencing which has never been my strong point. I can grab people’s attention and get some people to follow my lead, but I have yet to have a whole group follow my lead. For example, I was never a popular kid in school in that I was not able to change how other’s dressed or acted. Even in the workplace, I did struggle to make changes happen in my previous position but I was able to make changes it just took longer that I would have liked. For example, I was a store manager for HEB for 3 years and one of my accountabilities was to control labor. I did this task at 2 different stores where it took me at least one quarter of a business year to get my department managers on board with my labor control processes. As far as this DISC analysis goes for my Directive characteristic, this for the most part rings true. I’m not a huge fan of things changing in my life just for the simple fact that like most people I am a creature of habit. I have a certain order in which I like my day to go, and if that order is changed it can upset me to a certain extent. But these changes do not ruin my life one because I am an adult, and I understand that I cannot always get my way. Yes my score is decidedly lower than the rest, but it’s still above 50 which to mean means I’m not totally against change.

II. Discuss how you developed your styles (25 points)

As I have stated previously I know that my parents had a huge impact upon my Supportive nature in that I was their support at home. But that’s what family is they are your support on the home front if you will. Because one person shouldn’t be responsible for every little facet. I do also feel that my parents played a role in my fear of change or impacting change in that they had a certain way they wanted things done and I was to do as I was told. To give more insight as to why I was raised this way, my mother was a military brat specifically Air Force. My grandfather was a Colonel in the Air Force over his 32 year career so discipline and order drilled into my mother’s personality as it was into mine. But, I think one thing that has carried me through in my personal, professional, and school life is my supportive nature. People know that they can count on me to help, or to complete tasks if they are asked of me. But in the past 4 years I have really had to work on my Directing and Influencing in order to try to better myself. My past work experience with HEB as a store manager was the main factor in helping me to grow these areas.

III. Assess the impact of your styles on your effectiveness (25 points)

My supportive style has helped me accumulate a close tight nit group of friends who I know I can depend on and thusly they can do the same of me. I have always been known as a team player in that people know that I’m not just about myself. I tend to care more about the wellbeing of the group rather than myself. One thing remains true in both personal and professional aspects of my life is that I absolutely do not like letting people down. As for my contemplative style, this has allowed me to be able to grow my group of connections in whether it’s professional or close friends with people but they do know I will get things done when asked. These two scores are right one point in that in my professional career these are the two areas I have always gotten high marks on from employers.

IV. Identify a target for change and a specific change strategy (25 points)

I would like to focus in on changing my Influencing style because I feel this will make me a more effective leader in any industry that I may end up in. In order to accomplish this it will take dedication, experience, and perseverance to grow this into a strength. If I do not apply dedication to ensure that I make this change then it will never get done. I have never liked to not finish a task that I have started it tends to bug me knowing I didn’t get it done. I do think that as I gain experience in my skill sets that I will eventually gain Influence with my co-workers. I know that I tend to be guided by experience more than a young face so time will be my enemy for a few years. Lastly, I will have obstacles that may stand in my way of succeeding but I have not let obstacles slow me down yet. After writing this change strategy I realized that I live my life this way so eventually I will get to my goal with little or no interference.