We are all unique individuals. Each one of us. We're born as blank slates. But over time we develop unique characteristics and traits. Nature breathes way to nurture as our personalities blossom. These personalities define our lives. They provide context and a framework to approach life. One way to gain more insight into these personalities is through DISC personality tests. They help bring clarity and wisdom to life. And they provide insight into our decision-making process.

DISC tests allow us to better understand who we are at our core. They enable us to make more informed decisions based on what drives us deep down inside. This helps improve many areas of life. It helps to boost productivity and communication in the workplace. It allows us to work more effectively with others. It allows us to form a deeper understanding of those we work with and interact with regularly. And DISC personality tests create the foundation for DISC profiles.

DISC profiles are based on four prevailing factors.

Life presents challenges every single day. We face challenges at work, in our relationships, and with our finances. Each day presents a different set of challenges. How you respond to those challenges says a lot about you as a person. The DISC test helps you better understand how to grapple with the many challenges we face. It also helps you understand how you respond to things like rules and regulations, the pace or speed of life, your ability to influence others, and so much more.

However, the DISC test is not a measure of intelligence. It doesn't determine how smart you are or provide some barometer for your mental health. Nope. Not at all. The DISC test simply measures the four prevailing factors of your personality to allow you to better understand how to tackle obstacles. Do you easily work with others or do prefer to get others to follow your direction? How you respond to these things says a lot about you as a human being.

DISC also doesn't measure your values. It doesn't determine what you do or do not value the most. It simply reveals your traits. Values are assessed and measured through different tests. But it's not through the DISC test. It also doesn't determine your level of skill in a particular area. It doesn't test whether you're a savvy web developer, engineer, scientist, or anything else for that matter. The DISC test is solely designed to help you better understand your traits.

Before there was a DISC test there was a DISC profile. However, that profile evolved over many years. The original concepts and principles behind DISC were first theorized by, William Moulton Marston. Marston, a physiological psychologist, originally proposed the idea of "psychological phenomenon" in 1928 in his book, Emotions of Normal People. He specifically looked at the outward projection of emotion through four separate factors.

Marston theorized that these four primary factors were related to a person's self-awareness or self-perception within the framework of their life. It's based on how we see ourselves. The emotions that result are directly related to that self-perception. The existing framework looks somewhat similar to the original four factors:

It wasn't until the 1940's when industrial psychologist, Walter V. Clarke took the underlying concepts of Marston's four factors and created a tool to measure them. He also took these four factors and plotted them on a 2-axis chart. Eventually, a member of his staff produced an assessment test designed to help in the hiring process of employees. That test took 81 different adjectives that a person would typically use to describe themselves and placed them into an assessment format.

He asked prospective employees to check off the adjectives that best described them. Clarke came to a similar conclusion based on the data of these tests. He found four separate factors that were used to best describe people and 15 basic patterns that could summarize their personality. Clarke eventually realized that these four factors were very similar to the original four factors that were introduced by Marston in his book, Emotions of Normal People.

Later on, John Cleaver joined Walter Clarke Associates. Cleaver took the 81-adjective test and reduced it to 24 adjectives in 1951. The test also forces you to make a choice. You must choose an answer to each question rather than simply check off all the adjectives that apply. He called the test, Self Discription. It was intentionally misspelled. In 1956 Cleaver left Clarke's company and formed his own company called, J.P. Cleaver Co. And Cleaver used that 24-adjective assessment test to hire employees based on the results.

Years later, in the 1970s, John Geier took Cleaver's Self Discription assessment and modified it to create a system called the Personal Profile System (PPS). At the time, Geier was working in the Health Sciences Department at the University of Minnesota. He used the same 24-adjective question assessment and formed his company around that. The company was originally named, Performax but later changed its name to Wiley.

Many variations of the DISC profiling system exist today. But they're all rooted in the same basic principles originally discovered by Marston and later advanced by Clarke and Geier. The premise has always been to better understand humans and the driving forces behind our behavior. This is important in work settings. Today, many companies require some variation of a DISC assessment test (and several others) to determine whether a prospective employee is the right fit.

Personality tests like this also give you a better overall understanding of how you fit into a world of varying personalities. It shows you the characteristics and traits that stand out and make you part of various basic patterns used to group different personalities together. It's an important understanding into who you are and how you can best deliver the most value in the business world and life in general.

Personality tests like this also give you a better overall understanding of how you fit into a world of varying personalities. It shows you the characteristics and traits that stand out and make you part of various basic patterns used to group different personalities together. It's an important understanding into who you are and how you can best deliver the most value in the business world and life in general.

Achievers are very self-reliant. Their charts feature a very high steadiness score and a high dominance. They're very goal-oriented. Sometimes even at the expense of the group. An achiever has the perception that if they want something done right they must do it themselves. And even when they do delegate a task, they often take back control of the task to ensure it's done the right way. They take a lot of accountability for their work and therefore but their flaw is the notion that they must do it all themselves.

Agents are very group-oriented. Their charts score low for dominance and high for steadiness. They're committed to the group over self and value relationships highly. They're harmonizers who bring different parties together for one coherent goal. However, agents tend to avoid conflict and aggression. They typically like to fly under the radar to avoid getting into major conflicts with others. They leverage their persuasion capabilities to get things done.

Appraisers are go-getters. They score high for influence and conscientiousness. They understand the steps needed to accomplish a task and can organize an effective approach to doing that. However, they lack patience and tend to become easily frustrated when things don't pan out. Appraisers rely heavily on persuasion to get others to help accomplish shared goals but fear failure and the disapproval of others.

Counselors see the good in people and value relationships and happiness. Their chart scores high for influence and steadiness. They rely heavily on optimism and always look for the silver lining in things no matter what the situation. They're extremely patient with others and very tolerant of various situations. But they avoid confrontation because they fear causing pain or upset by putting people under high-pressure situations.

Creatives have unique abilities. They score high for both conscientiousness and dominance. They have a strong desire and drive for perfection that's subdued by their penchant for sensitivity. They respond quickly in most situations but they also weigh all their options before coming to a final decision. However, creatives can be extremely critical or even condescending with others at times. And ordinary routines bore them.

Developers value new opportunities and new horizons. They score high for dominance and enjoy projecting an aura of power. They're often very direct. Sometimes forceful. They don't value group cooperation and prefer to pursue things individually. They want to achieve their personal goals at all costs and tend to lack overall empathy for others. They fear being bored or feeling lost but enjoy working in solitude to get things done.

Inspirational patterns have a desire to control others. They score very high for dominance and influence. That's why they want to project strength and power. Inspirational patterns know what they want and go after it with all their power. But they tend to be manipulative to get what they want. They can be charming at times but they lack authenticity. However, inspirational individuals can communicate effectively, making them liked by others.

Investigators enjoy the role of power and often seek authoritarian positions in society. They score high in the steadiness and dominance categories. They're extremely analytical and objective in their approach to goals. They're incredibly determined and persistent in their desire to achieve a result. And they thrive amid technical challenges. However, investigators have a loose hold on their emotions and tend to internalize things and hold grudges for extended periods. They always prefer logic over emotion.

Objective thinkers value correctness above most else. They score high for conscientiousness. They think logically and rely on empirical evidence. That's why they seek to be correct above most else. They're extremely meticulous in their approach to problem-solving. But they also heavily worry that they won't solve a problem, and fear being ridiculed by others. They always want to find the right answers, but they feel confused in situations that lack a clear direction or approach. Their desire to be correct also makes it very hard for them to admit failure.