DiSC Test: Compliance

Posted on June 1, 2015 by CareerWriter

C

In the DiSC Test, “C” stands for “Compliance”.

What does a high test score on the “Compliance” scale on DiSC Behavioral test mean to me? How will I work best in a team? What negative behaviors do I exhibit under stress? What are my weaknesses? The Personal Insights Profile and DiSC Booklet gives many helpful characteristics and descriptions for these four categories for each of the DiSC quadrants.

Primary Driving Force of a “C” is fear itself – fear of not being good enough, doing enough, knowing enough etc. All personality behaviors of DiSC type “ C” emanate from this force.

  • Adds Value To The Team:

    What does a DiSC “Compliant” type contribute to work team? A DiSC test type “C” contributes these qualities and behaviors to the team:

    • Sets and maintains high work standards; strong work ethic
    • Conscientiously and steadily works to accomplish tasks
    • Methodical by approach: Defines, clarifies, gets information and tests
    • Tendency toward objective evaluations; known as ‘the anchor of reality’
    • Thorough, step-by-step solution seeker

  • Ideal Work Environment:

    In what type of work environment will a DiSC “Compliant” type thrive, excel and succeed? In a work environment where there is:

    • Need for analytical and critical thinking skills
    • Ability to specialize and develop expertise; technical work
    • Cohesive relationship with small group of co-workers
    • Routine and familiar work tasks
    • Able to work in private office or cubicle

  • Tendencies Under Stress:

    When a person is under stress, the negative aspects of their personality reveal themselves. You can tell when a DiSC test “C” is under excessive pressure because they exhibit the following behaviors:

    • Pessimistic and negative
    • Particular to the point of even being picky
    • Hard to please
    • Overly critical and even judgmental

  • Possible Limitations:

    In additions to the numerous strengths of an “Compliant”, it is prudent to know what the weakness of a DiSC “C” is as well. Here are the most obvious weakness behaviors of an “Compliant”:

    • Defensive when criticized or if feels it is criticism
    • Overreliance and overuse of details; encumbered by details
    • Unnecessarily intense in certain situations
    • Appears remote, cool and aloof to people
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The DISC Career Development Test: Understanding Graphs 1 & 2

Posted on May 26, 2015 by CareerWriter
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The DISC is an extremely useful career test

TTI’s DISC is a career test that is a very common and very useful career development test that many companies and career coaches use to get a better idea about the personality of potential and current employees. Through a series of questions, this half-hour test is able to tell a great deal about the person you are.

One of the most useful features is the inclusion of the “Adaptive” vs. “Natural” Behavior Test Graphs. These show the differences between the work environments you would choose to work in, versus the one you may currently be in. Often, if you find yourself hating your job or not fitting in in your workplace, these graphs accurately point out exactly why that is.

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An example of the two graphs, and the differences in Natural vs. Adaptive styles

Graph 1 – Adapted Behavior

The first graph that you will see is the one that represents your adapted behavior test scores: the way you adjust to fit into your environment. The Personal Insights Profile career test booklet that helps interpret your DISC behavior test results says that this first graph illustrates “the behavior you exhibit in your ‘focus’ environment.” This means that it displays the behavior you project to others when you are focused on doing so. This may be in your workplace, or in an interview, or especially during your first few weeks at a new job. It may or may not be the same as your natural behavior.

Graph 2 – Natural Behavior

The second graph you will see is the one that represents your natural behavior test scores: the way you are at your basic style. This illustrates your behavior when you do not have the energy to mask or alter it, or when you are totally at ease and don’t feel the need to change the way you are perceived. The booklet says that this graph “will seldom change significantly because [it] represents the ‘real’ you.”

So, Why Do I Hate My Job?

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Do you hate your job?

These two graphs, and the differences between them, provide very telling insights as to why you might not like your job. If your “Adapted Behavior” graph is drastically different from your “Natural Behavior” one, it shows just how much your natural behavior is being masked. If the two graphs are very dissimilar, it is clear that you are acting like somebody you are not in order to fulfill the demands required by your job. You are like a square peg being forced into a circular hole – and the friction that results is represented by the differences between the bar graphs. You just don’t fit in to the tasks and responsibilities of your job.

For example, my natural style (Graph 2 on the DISC results) shows that I am a high “I” and “D”, and low “S” and “C”. If I don’t fit in, and don’t like my job, Graph 2 will show a completely different pattern and values than Graph 1. This shows the dissimilarity between where I should be working and where I currently am working, because who I am being forced to be is very different from who I actually am.

Chances are, if I were working a job I hated, my Adapted Style behavior would show that I have a very high “C” value. Compared to the quite low value in my Natural Style behavior, there is a great deal of disparity, exhibiting just how much I am having to mask who I naturally am in order to fit in at my current workplace.

To flesh it out a little more with myself as an example: my highest characteristic is “I”, meaning I am an “Influencer” (more on the specific types in a later blog post) and that I am sociable, convincing, optimistic, inattentive to details, and tend to work best with a high degree of people contact and a freedom from control and detail.

But if my Adapted Style graph showed that instead of “I”, my “C” characteristic was very highly valued, then it would show that I’m forced to suppress my sociability for a quiet and removed work environment, strained to be less optimistic and more objective and analytical, made to be very conscientious of detail when I am not naturally predisposed to do so, and required to work with a low degree of people contact but with a special emphasis placed on control and detail.

Clearly, these two types are very different. It is obvious that if I am working in a career best suited to a “C” personality, and I am so strongly an “I” person, I am not going to like my career very much.

The DISC Is a Very Useful Career Development Tool

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The DISC is a helpful tool for developing your career.

The DISC Career Test will tell you a lot about who you are and the ways you can be the most productive while still enjoying your job. It will show you if you are adapting too much to fit in with your job, and if so, what work situation would better suit the person you naturally are. It is tremendously important you take the DISC test, so that not only can you avoid working someplace you hate, but are able to find someplace that your unique personality will thrive. It is vital to note that the DISC career test is particularly suited as a preemptive tool, before a job is sought or accepted, because it will show with great clarity whether or not this job would force you to mask who you really are. However, it is just as helpful when taken with regard to a concurrent job, to highlight reasons you may be thriving in or hating your job. If the disparity of the graphs is too great, then it may show that hiring a career coach would be enormously helpful in determining a new direction for your career.

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Why Should I Hire a Career Consultant? (Part 1) What’s The Point?

Posted on May 21, 2015 by CareerWriter
What's the point? To hiring a career coach career tests, career consultant, career coach, career test, hire a career coach, hire a career consultant

Why should I hire a career consultant?

 

No matter what career situation you may find yourself in, you will find an enormous benefit from hiring a career consultant.

Are you dissatisfied with your current job?

What about being unemployed?

Are you about to enter the working world, and unsure of exactly what you want to do?

Or maybe you’re satisfied with your career, and just interested in what else is out there?

How about this: you love your job, and would never consider changing it, but want to make the most of it? To take it to new heights and move upward but don’t want to make a mistake?

No matter what career situation you may find yourself in, you will find an enormous benefit from hiring a career consultant.

What does a career consultant or career coach do?

(The terms “career coach” or “career consultant” have been used interchangeably at different points in time, but they all basically refer to the same thing: a person who guides another in planning, choosing and managing their career. While the specific title doesn’t matter so much, the expertise and execution of the specific consultant do.)

A career consultant is not just a person you hire to help you find a job. Instead, it is someone who helps you find and develop your ideal career. It is a very involved process. They take the time to learn about you comprehensively: what makes you tick, what you’re good at, what you’re bad at, what motivates you, how you like to work, how you relate to others, and on and on.

What methods do career consultants use to help me? Which is best?

This is done through a variety of methods. Some career coaches uses pure coaching or counseling techniques that enable you to clarify your direction through conversations… but this can take some time, and you run the risk of missing key ‘hidden’ aspects within you. Others use career tests. Most career consultants have access to a set number of career tests for which they have undergone the necessary training to interpret the complex results tailored uniquely to you.

The best career coach is one who uses both methods. From the tests, as well as pointed conversations with you, the career consultant will be able to tell a great deal about who you are as a person and about your current circumstance, needs and drives. They are trained to use this information to locate career opportunities and present them to you in accordance with the results they’ve gathered.

Should I use a career consultant to review my test results?

Absolutely!! The outcomes of the career tests they administer give lots of useful information, but to effectively extrapolate it takes a lot of training and knowledge. This is an important point.

There is a common misconception that anyone can just buy these tests and read the results like a map to their dream career. This is simply not the case. Definitely not! Most people who simply read their own results complain that the test didn’t help them at all, when, in fact, they never sought the services of the career consultant who offered the tests.

Bottom line: you simply can’t do it on your own.

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You can’t get the full potential out of these tests without a career consultant’s help

 

 

The results and data from the tests provide a great deal of help, but can only be utilized to their potential when interpreted by someone trained specifically to do so. They will draw out hidden aspects of who you are, provide a fuller picture of the often simple labels used in the test to describe you, and most importantly…

apply the results to your needs – advancement, career idea, career direction, employment targets, etc, so you can use the results to accomplish your goals and dreams.

Career tests are just tools. They are like a map that lays out the topography of who you are. It’s a very complex map, and so you hire a Sherpa, or a guide (your career consultant), to help you read it and show you where to go and why. Even though you’re looking at the same piece of paper, the guide has been there before and can read it much better than you.

 

And, besides, reputable tests include a career consultation at no additional charge.

So is that the point of hiring a career consultant – just to interpret some complex career personality or interest career test for me?

Yes and no. It’s definitely part of it, but not the end purpose of their job. A test alone can’t and doesn’t change your end destination. You want the right career for you. That is the end destination.

Should I hire a career coach help me find a career (or new one)?

The main reason you hire a career consultant is to help you find the best career for the person you are and the situation you are in.

That applies to many situations:

  • You’re in a career you love but have been there so long you yearn for something more. This is the “been-there-done-that” syndrome. A career coach will help you identify your strengths and passions to hone in on an exciting new niche.
  • You hate your job. A career consultant will, with top-of-the-line tests, quickly identify what is missing and what is wrong, and set you on a path to a career you’ll love.
  • You might just hate your boss or co-workers. A career expert will help you devise a strategy to manage your situation while you engage in a super-fast job search to land a position in an environment where you’ll thrive.
  • Maybe you just need to find a career. You’re starting out in or after college without a clear idea about your ideal career.
  • You’ve just gotten “jobs” and now you want a “career”. “Jobs” didn’t ever pan out into the career you were hoping for.

These are all reasons to use a career consultant.

 

Whatever your situation, you will benefit from the expertise of a knowledgeable, trained and experienced career consultant, because they will solidify and lay out your key objective. They will use the right mapping tools (career tests) to give “the lay of the land” that is – YOU. They will read the map for you so you can find the treasures of who you are for the career that will make you smile every day you wake up. And most importantly, they will navigate the map and terrain so you don’t just wander around needlessly for years.

So, to bring things back from the world of metaphors: you hire a career consultant to use and interpret a variety of processes in order to point you to the right career, and to equip you with tools to land it.

You will benefit.

They can point you somewhere you never would have guessed, or maybe somewhere you secretly suspected all along, or even in the exact direction you were going but to the niche you can’t see. No matter what you find out, you will benefit from knowing.

Career coaches want you to love your career and thrive in it. They want you to hear your alarm clock in the morning and smile, because you enjoy doing what you get paid to do.

Posted in Ability Tests, Aptitude Tests, Behavioral Tests, Career Anchors, Career Aptitude Preference System (CAPS), Career Consultation, Career Occupational Preference System (COPS), Career Orientation Placement & Evaluation Survey (COPES), Career Tests, Career Tips, DiSC Test, Employee Test, FIRO, Interest Tests, Interpersonal, IQ Intelligences Test, Leadership Test, Leadership Tips, Multiple Intelligences Test, Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Performance Tips, Personality Tests, Self Directed Search (SDS), Strong Interest Inventory (SII), Test Name, Test Type, The Highlands Ability Battery (THAB), Values Test | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Why Should I Hire a Career Consultant? (Part 1) What’s The Point?

Should I get Consultation for my Career Test Results with Career Coach

Posted on March 12, 2015 by OPTIM Dev

You should ALWAYS get a consultation for career test results with a certified test consultant.  In fact, ALL good career tests REQUIRE a consultations with a certified career coach and include it in the cost of the test.  Let’s look at the reasons for this answer in more detail, though. (See video below for individual perspectives)

More specifically, there are two parts to this answer to the question.  First, the person must be career test certified and, second, you should have a consultation for every career test you take.  Let’s look at them separately.  And, then we’ll present our recommendations.

Career Consultation from Career Coach about Career Test

Get a career consultation with a certified career coach about your career test results

Should the career coach (or psychologist) be certified or licensed to interpret the particular test? 

The bottom-line answer is YES.  In order for a career coach to obtain certification or licensure they must complete a specified amount of training, and may even have to renew their licensure through more training.  With training, they learn all of the nuances, exceptions and application scenarios for a particular test in addition to learning the best way to translate the information.

I’ve had plenty of people tell me that they are working with a psychotherapist or school counselor or psychologist and don’t need a separate test certified consultant to provide the test interpretation for them.  They are sadly mistaken.  Most school counselors, psychologist and psychotherapist are not trained to interpret career tests.  Always have a consultation with a test-certified consultant or career coach.

What if I have a consultation without a someone who is not certified in a particular career test? 

Simply put, you will not gain the full impact of or even accurate information from the results.  Nor will they have been trained to apply your results to the career decision process which consists of 6 – 12 steps depending on the career model.  And, even more importantly, they will not have the background or knowledge to apply it to various work and personal situations.  Finally, non-test certified career coaches, psychologist, counselors or therapist do not have a working knowledge of careers, occupations, or industries needed to translate the information into your past jobs or potential new career targets.

So what do certified test consultants do for you?

You get 3 key benefits from having a consultation with a certified consultant. Watch this video below to find out.  I’ve summarized the message in the video at the bottom of the article, along with links to respected career coach certified in multiple career tests.

FYI: Highlands refers to a particular career test. I believe it is the best one on the market today.

What are the Main Reasons for Having Consultation about Career Test with Test-Certified Career Coach?

1. Test-Certified Career Coach will accurately translate the written document into words that actually meaning something to you.  She will describe the labels and language in different ways so you can truly relate to the descriptions and fully understand them.  In other words, she interprets the descriptions to mean something to you.

2. Test-Certified Career Coach will draw on her vast knowledge of the nuances of the test as well as the world of work, career, industries and occupations to provide the full impact of any one feature on the test in “real life” terms. And, how you could expect it to play out in your life.  In other words, how they influence you in terms of career, work and life.

3. Certified Career Coaches (not just certified in a particular test) provide a high-touch component to a flat piece of paper or the white and black of words on a screen.  Talking things through with an expert who cares about you made “things start to click”.  Few people learn just by reading.  Almost all learn by relating.

Bottom-line, all GOOD career tests require a career consultation for these reasons and include it in the purchasing cost.  Check to see if that’s the case with the career test you are considering.  Don’t bother taking the test or purchasing one that doesn’t include a consultation with a career coach who is certified in that test.

How many consultation sessions should you schedule?

Typically only one consultation is required for a career test consultation.   You should ideally you should receive at least one consultation for each career test you take, and have an additional consultation to tie the career test results together.  Ideally, it is recommended to schedule one to interpret the results and a second to apply the results to your situation so effective planning can take place.

How should I choose the right test-certified career coach to provide the consultation?

In addition, it is advantage to receive a career test consultation from a career coaches who are certified in multiple career tests.  While they review one career test with you they are able to pull related information from it for your benefit.  Find a career coach who is licensed and trained in multiple career tests so you reap the benefit of not just her depth of knowledge in one career test, but her breadth of knowledge in multiple career tests.  Marjorie Wall Hofer is one such career test expert who grants free inquiry consultation should you wish to talk more about this with someone.

 

Posted in Ability Tests, Aptitude Tests, Behavioral Tests, Career Anchors, Career Aptitude Preference System (CAPS), Career Consultation, Career Occupational Preference System (COPS), Career Orientation Placement & Evaluation Survey (COPES), Career Tests, Career Tips, College/High School, DiSC Test, Employee Test, FIRO, Interest Tests, Interpersonal, IQ Intelligences Test, Leadership Test, Leadership Tips, Multiple Intelligences Test, Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Performance Tips, Personality Tests, Self Directed Search (SDS), Strong Interest Inventory (SII), Test Name, Test Type, The Highlands Ability Battery (THAB), Values Test | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Should I get Consultation for my Career Test Results with Career Coach

Multiple Intelligences: How can I understand my IQ, Career and Happiness?

Posted on February 17, 2015 by CareerWriter

Multiple Intelligences: How can I understand my IQ with The Highlands Ability Battery

IQ Test Limitation and Multiple Intelligence Testing

IQ tests may give people a number to trophy alongside their knowledge, but what useable information does a number have? That number typically only represents your processing speed and the depth of retained knowledge.  It doesn’t identify your real strengths.  The breadth of your strengths lies within what are called multiple intelligences and, good news, there are tools discover yours!   First let’s explore multiple intelligences further.

What are Multiple Intelligences?

Most people are unaware that as humans we can actually exhibit eight different forms of intelligence.  There might, in fact, be more. These eight vary between traditional definitions of intelligence like math and having a strong vocabulary to spatial reasoning and kinesthetic abilities. This theory, proposed by developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, is called the Multiple Intelligence Theory. The theory is an exciting way to think about your IQ; instead of placing parameters on your intelligence it opens to the door to possibilities of understanding your unique IQ in terms of multiple intelligences not just one or two.  But, can you test for your multiple intelligences?  Yes, you can.

How can I test for my Multiple Intelligences?

Discovering your multiple intelligences takes some digging; in order to expedite the process easily accessible testing tools like the Highland Ability Battery have been developed. The Highland Ability Battery goes a step beyond traditional IQ tests.  While it includes a standard measure of IQ which is based on language, it also tests for some of Gardner’s multiple intelligences:  spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, linguistic intelligence, kinesthetic (bodily) intelligence, musical intelligence, visual intelligence. While it tests for logical intelligence, it does not test for the mathematical logical intelligence per se. But, it tests for so much more.  Read on..

What will the Highlands Ability Battery do for me?

The Highland Ability Battery (THAB)will generate details to help you define your areas of success and excellence, as well as what makes you happy.  Yes, this is a big claim, and the good news is that it is true.  Let me explain.

The Highland Ability Battery (THAB) will test for your multiple intelligences as listed above plus additional intelligences.  It will assess time frame projection capabilities, deductive and inductive reasoning, selling capabilities, spatial reasoning, as well as your “audience affinity”.

Multiple Intelligences for Happiness and Career

Even more important than knowing these intelligences is knowing what that means for your career and your happiness.  The Highland Ability Battery  (THAB) is capable of assessing the 6 intelligences which identify those ingredients for living that address your happiness.  The Highland Ability Battery (THAB) calls them “driving abilities” because if they drive for expression in your life.  That means, that if they do not have an outlet, they will unconsciously cause discomfort, dissatisfaction or even depression.  Knowing which of the multiple intelligences are linked to happiness is one very good reason for taking the Highlands Ability Battery test.

Combinations of Multiple Intelligences and Happiness

By combining various intelligences, The Highland Ability Battery (THAB)  is capable of identifying your strengths  and your career patterns by producing different combinations of multiple intelligences.  THAB refers to strengths as Work Types.  It is no longer possible (as of 11 2014) to automatically receive your Work Types report.  You will need to obtain the assistance of one of their trained career counselors  to access this report.

Combinations of Multiple Intelligences and Career Success

Career Patterns describe your multiple intelligences in terms of how they benefit you in your workplace and your career.  By combining specific driving abilities (those multiple intelligences linked to happiness) with other intelligences, The Highland Ability Battery will identify the career areas you will likely experience success, build expertise and find work you will enjoy.  Within each career area, you will receive a list of career fields demanding the specific combination of abilities; and within each career field you will see a list of as many as 25 occupations from which to choose your future career.

The Highland Ability Battery tests for more than the IQ and multiple intelligences.  It tests for those abilities (or intelligences) that lead to your success and happiness.

Posted in Ability Tests, Aptitude Tests, Career Tests, College/High School, Employee Test, IQ Intelligences Test, Leadership Test, Multiple Intelligences Test, Test Name, Test Type, The Highlands Ability Battery (THAB) | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Multiple Intelligences: How can I understand my IQ, Career and Happiness?