DataDome Blog

Art Schoeck was recently asked the following question via our Ask the Expert form:

“On the page that describes the two DISC charts, why are both the most (Adaptive) and least (Natural) scores presented? With today’s culture it seems to me that Most and Least really do not apply, especially with many people working from home, and other cultural issues blurring the line between home and work. Wouldn’t it be less confusing if only one score was presented?”

Art’s answer:

Actually for the very reasons you state it is more vital than ever to examine what adjustments individuals are making to survive/excel in this environment.

Although the two graphs may at first seem like a lot of information to take in, once you get comfortable reading the graphs you realize how useful they are in understanding any changes in behavior that are being caused by the demands of the environment – critical observations that provide important insights into everything from job placement and team fit to strategies for communication and remediation of undesirable behaviors.

These are hectic times that have changed the boundaries of the workplace, but working from home is still work and as such can require activities and modes of communication that are not necessarily part of our natural style. Analyzing our adaptive behaviors is required to see if the person assessed is adjusting as efficiently and appropriately as necessary to be successful, especially if the person does not have a boss and is having to self-manage. These critical comparisons could be severely hindered without the handy reference of both Adaptive and Natural behavioral profiles.

What’s your question?

Data Dome founder, Art Schoeck, often receives questions through our Ask the Expert form. We try to answer questions here on this blog that are representative of common questions regarding DISC and other assessment tools.

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Originally broadcast in 2007, Art Schoeck, founder and CEO of Data Dome, Inc., was interviewed by Jeff Davis on Business Radio 1160′s “Atlanta’s Business,” a half-hour show that focuses on the movers and shakers of Atlanta’s business community.

Host Jeff Davis and Schoeck discussed the topic “The Three Worst Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them” during the show that aired in early April. Schoeck is an expert on employee assessments and behavioral style strategies for the workplace.

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Originally aired in 2007, this podcast features our founder, Art Schoeck, interviewed by Jeff Davis on “Atlanta’s Business.” for Business Radio 1160, WCFO, JW Broadcasting.

Art discusses behavioral style assessments and their usefulness in the workplace with host, Jeff Davis.

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Here at Data Dome we talk a lot about behavioral styles and how DISC can be used to measure both natural and adapted behaviors, but it is important to remember that behaviors alone are only part of the story. Examining values and motivators are essential for understanding an employee and for creating harmonious and productive work environments. One of the original thinkers in the area of values and motivators was the German philosopher and psychologist, Eduard Spranger.

In his book, Types of Men (1914), Spranger put forth his major contribution to personality theory; what he called value attitudes:

• The Theoretical whose dominant interest is the discovery of truth
• The Economic who is interested in what is useful
• The Aesthetic whose highest value is form and harmony
• The Social whose highest value is love of people
• The Political whose interest is primarily in power
• The Religious whose highest value is unity

Later, TTI founder, Bill Bonnstetter, changed the names of three of Spranger’s six attitudes:

• Economic became Utilitarian
• Political became Individualistic
• Religious became Traditional

These updated names are now a familiar part of the tools we use today.

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A training manager recently asked the following question via our Ask the Expert form:

“I have some questions about the Employee-Manager profile version. For some reason, I have been receiving more and more questions about the Circle Graph on the back…must be having more C’s in the classes lately! At any rate, I want to know what the numbers mean around and inside the circle, as well as to have a better explanation of what the circle graph even means. Right now, I tell the participants that the closer together their star and their dot are on the circle graph, the less they are having to adapt/change between their natural and their adapted style.”

Art’s answer:

The Success Insights Wheel can be an intimidating diagram the first time you see it. The Style Insights assessment generates 384 different graphs and the Wheel showcases 60 of them (48 basic graphs with 12 exceptions).  The quadrant in which the graph appears is determined by the assessment taker’s individual high factor. To understand the Wheel it is important to identify its eight different spokes, which are:

• Relater Core I,S
• Supporter Core S
• Coordinator Core S,C
• Analyzer Core C
• Implementor Core D,C
• Conductor Core D
• Persuader Core D,I
• Promoter Core I

Each person has a Natural Style, Adapted Style and a preferred Work Environment. The Success Insights Wheel uses a star to indicate the subject’s adapted style and a circle to mark the natural style, so yes, if the circle and star are close together then the Natural and Adapted styles are closely aligned.

In addition, when profiling a team, the DISC practitioner can see the team’s behavioral composition and potential conflicts at a glance with the Wheel.

The word Cross or Flex often appear at the bottom of the Wheel Page. The definitions are as follows:

Cross: Two or three factors above the line, with the core factor’s opposite also above the line. This means that the person potentially has some type of Me-Me conflict. Numbers 57, 58, 59 & 60 are examples of potential Me-Me conflicts.

Flex: Three factors above the line, with the core factor’s opposite below the line. This means that the person is adaptable.

What’s your question?

Data Dome founder, Art Schoeck, often receives questions through our Ask the Expert form. We try to answer questions here on this blog that are representative of common questions regarding DISC and other assessment tools.

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I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you about something new that we’re just getting started here at Data Dome.  In an effort to add more interactivity to this website and to answer the most pressing questions that you have about DISC we’ve put together an “Ask the Expert” form for this site.

Whether you want to know something general about DISC behavioral styles or something particular about a specific assessment tool we want to know what’s on your mind.  It is my hope that by getting your questions directly, we as a company will be able to provide the information you need to continue to grow in your knowledge of DISC and your ability to use it to help your organizations to thrive.

Although it may not be possible to answer every question individually, we will be using the “Ask the Expert” category of this blog to answer the questions most important to you.  Sometimes we’ll write a post, other times we may use audio, video or slide shows to help you understand the answers. As founder of Data Dome my commitment is to provide the best available information on behavioral styles and assessments.  I greatly appreciate your assistance in this effort and I look forward to reading the questions you submit.

~ Arthur Schoeck

President and Founder

Data Dome, Inc.

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Data Dome announces new dates for our a special two day Advanced Experiential DISC Certification workshop in Atlanta.

Once again, classes will be taught by Art Schoeck, Data Dome’s President and Chief Behavioral Style Strategist and recognized as TTI’s International Trainer of the Year. Register for this great opportunity to learn from the best – gain the skills and master the tools that can unlock individual performance and team productivity.

All participants will receive:

• Personal Behavioral Style Assessment
• Personal Job Analysis Assessment
• CPBS Exam

The 2-day class will be conducted on January 19th & 20th, then again on February 23rd & 24th, and March 24th & 25th at Data Dome Conference Center, 1040 Lindridge Dr. NE, Atlanta, GA 30324.  For more information please visit http://www.datadome.com/certification_workshop.php.

Effective leaders and trainers won’t want to miss this opportunity to rapidly gain the skills to maximize the potential of your people.

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As the use of DISC assessments continues to grow in popularity, a new generation of professionals are benefiting from the insights into behavioral styles that these tools provide without necessarily knowing the history behind their origin.  Dr. William Moulton Marston Ph.D., a Harvard-educated psychologist and writer born in 1893, was the publisher of a 1928 essay entitled “Emotions of Normal People.” It was in this document that he presented the DISC Theory.

Although others have played an important role in the development and refinement of the theory, and in the creation of practical tools to apply DISC in ways beneficial for personal and corporate development, it was Marston who first wrote that people behave along passive and active axes. By arranging these axes at a 90 degree angle, a four-sectioned diagram can be made in which each segment can measure a behavioral style. Originally the terms Dominance, Inducement, Submission and Compliance were used to identify the quadrants, but later Influence replaced Inducement and Steadiness replaced Submission.

DISC isn’t Marston’s only claim to fame:  he also developed the systolic blood-pressure test which became a component of the modern polygraph – colloquially referred to as “the lie detector”.  And that’s not all, Marston taught at American University and Tufts University,  and worked for time for Universal Studios, but he is perhaps best know for a comic book character he created under the pen name Charles Moulton.  Yes the grandfather of the modern DISC assessment is also the father of Wonder Woman!  It was Marston’s work as a psychologist and the influence of his wife Elizabeth that led him to present the Wonder Woman idea to comic book publisher, Max Gaines.

Marston passed away in 1947 after living a relatively short, but creative life. His theories and inventions have been influential in the fields of psychology, law enforcement, popular culture and of course, we here at Data Dome are grateful for his contributions that led to the development of today’s practical and insightful DISC assessments.

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