If you are trying to decide on which new computer to buy, there will be a series of criteria to factor in, but the most important criteria you need to consider is who the user will be as he is the root cause of how much value can be generated. The more complex the computer, the more sophisticated the user you will need to be. To derive maximum value, a busy user will need something simple and with fast processing.
We view the use of Psychometric tools in much the same way. There are so many tools and different types of DiSC®, social styles for example is currently a buzzword, but what is important to recognize is that the majority are still based on the DiSC® Model of Behavior which was first proposed by William Mouton Marston, a physiological psychologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard. His 1928 book, Emotions of Normal People, explains his theory on how normal human emotions lead to behavioral differences among groups of people and how a person's behavior might change over time. His work focused on directly observable and measurable psychological phenomena. He was interested in using practical explanations to help people understand and manage their experiences and relationships.
For us at KnowledgeWorkx, it is not so much the tool you choose that is important, but how you are going to make it valuable to the person doing the assessment. See our upcoming KnowledgeWorkx DiSC Certifications for more information on upcoming events.
Sadly many people directly link the volume of sales that a tool achieves to how great it is, but this can create problems. For any tool to be truly valuable, you require a good facilitator to assist participants in creating value out of their assessment.
The use of DiSC® from Inscape Publishing in Intercultural Environments
DiSC®’s foundational simplicity allows you to move much quicker in an intercultural group and is one reason that we use it as our tool of choice.
For an assessment to work, the participants must be in a safe environment and must feel comfortable with the assessment. The structure, process, capability and experience of the individual must lend itself to completing the assessment without making them feel uncomfortable of leading them to reject the assessment as intrusive or even overwhelming.
In western cultures, the debate around which tool to use tends to focus on “measure as much as possible in a holistic and accurate manner” because the more you can measure, the more value you will derive from the tool.
This however does not work in all cultures. Complex assessments can be a major hindrance in intercultural situations where you have participants that aren’t used to reflecting on self-awareness. In community accountability cultures, the translation of self-awareness into the local dialect generates negativity as it is seen as directing energy away from the community. Find out more by reading about unlocking your employee potential through self-awareness development.
For this reason, we at KnowledgeWorkx prefer to use not the most comprehensive of tools, but rather a group of tools in line with the Dr Gustav Gous diamond profile way of thinking.
We have chosen tools that measure significant things, but that are also limited to just enough questions for people to embrace it. This allows participants to journey well with the facilitator, to add maximum value and to quickly come to a point where they understand more about themselves and others.
Greater value, is then achieved by collating five practical outcomes that they should walk away with.
What they should do more of
What they should do less of
What they should stop doing
What they should start doing
And who they should involve
There are additional benefits to using smaller tools and smaller steps in community accountability cultures as it takes multiple steps for people to embrace the idea of being measured and for volunteering the most transparent information. Once this has been achieved, it is much easier to then engage with a report individually or in a group context allowing you to measure an individual as a leader, negotiator, team player, and person in conflict, how they handle time, positive and negative stress etc. Simply by breaking it into pieces allows the facilitator to journey well together with the participant at the appropriate pace.
It’s worth noting that whilst DiSC® is often viewed as an “old” tool, it has continually evolved and has been supplemented by continual research and improvements as a result of over 50 million assessments that have been completed. This also includes a whole new set of reporting mechanisms that have been internationally and inter-culturally validated.
KnowledgeWorkx has been heavily involved in developing the Arabic version – predominantly our team in the UAE – which is why we can safely say that the DiSC® produced by Inscape Publishing is probably one of the better tools in the market.
Inscape Publishing are also superior on a technical level for us as the tool is available in 30 languages and the EPIC system allows us to integrate other tools that we use a lot such as team dimensions, time mastery, listening styles, work expectations and how I handle stress (environmental as well as type of stress).
The simplistic but comprehensive suite of products has meant that we have enjoyed working with Inscape Publishing as a service provider, allowing us to extend our reach.
And the icing on the cake is that we are able to accredit our partners and clients to use DiSC®, which sits well with our desire to empower all of our clients.
To register for one of our DiSC Certification events, visit Upcoming Events.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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