Use the DISC Model if You are Discontent with Your Career

Let’s discuss today about how you can incorporate the DiSC model to determine what is significant to you in your job or your career. To begin with you need to focus on what you expect or what you need from your job. Take some time and observe your present position, and ask yourself where do you wish to be and what lies in between now and there. This exercise can be quite helpful when you are not worried due to external distractions. A word of advice here: You need to understand though that there are no right and wrong answers to this question. Sit down somewhere quietly and jot down the answers as they come to you while you brainstorm.

Ask Yourself: What’s Really Important to Me?

As you brainstorm, start making a list of whatever pops up in your mind. Avoid judging or editing your thoughts here and don’t worry about your spelling or grammar. We have tried to come up with a similar list for the sake of illustration only. This is just for your guidance. You should not limit yourself based on this list. You can replace any of the points that do not seem to fit in your case.

• Job security
• Career
• Freedom
• Financial security
• Family
• Not being limited by others
• Social relationships
• Status
• Comprehending what’s going on and why
• Health
• Having control over your future
• Having tangibles
• Cultivating intangibles
• Making a difference in your life
• Recognition
• Being a part of a whole
• Just being apart
• What is it that is likely to make me happy?
• What is preventing me from being happy right now?
• How do I know if I was happy?
• Which needs of mine aren’t being met now?

Now you shift your focus towards your career or job and ask yourself the following questions:

• What’s important to me in my job?
  • Status
  • Results
  • Being creative
  • Teamwork
  • Getting it right
  • Loyalty
  • Details
  • The bottom-line
  • Relationships

You must remember though that the above are just examples. Similarly you may ask yourself the following questions:

How do I figure out that I am in the right job?

• Is having a job more important to me or it my job just another means of meeting ends meets?
• What is it that motivates me?
• What according to me would be my ideal job?
• Which aspect of that job makes it ideal for me?
• Is it the job which is ideal or is it the various things that I do as part of that job such as: the position, the role, the title?
• Is my current job consistent with my career path? Does it really need to be consistent?
• How much of my identity is tied to my job? In case I lose my job or I do not have a job, will I lose my identity along with it?

Use the DiSC Profile to Reinforce What’s Really Significant for You

The next step for you is to review the results of your DiSC Profile. In case you haven’t taken the DiSC Profile evaluation for the last six months and there have been significant changes in your life during this time frame, you should ideally take the DiSC Profile evaluation again.

Based on your DiSC report you need to stimulate your thoughts of what’s significant to you in your job or career. Make a note of your preferences such as what inspires you and what stresses you out. Is what you are looking out for specific to a particular industry or job or can you find it in other industries and jobs as well? Again, is it a specific title or job that is significant for you or is it what you do as part of that job that is important to you?

Evaluate Your Previous Job

It is also a good idea to review your previously held jobs. On a page create two columns. On one side of the column, list what all you liked in your previous job and on the other side of the column, list what all you didn’t like in your previous job. Once your list is ready, review it. Try to look beyond the obvious and instead look for patterns or common threads.

As the next step, now prepare three columns. In the first column, jot down what do you wish for in a job, in the second column, list down what do you need from a job, and in the last column list down what you don’t want in a job. Again look out for common patterns.

Why is it important to add the DiSC assessment to this exercise? 

Here are two reasons for doing this:

1. It will reinforce what you are already aware about yourself.
2. It will highlight those blind spots about yourself that you were possibly either not aware of or took for granted, or thought it was not important.

For instance, an individual with an ‘S’ DiSC style may figure out after this exercise that being a part of a team is more important for him or her, but may be completely unaware of how important it is for her in her job, and how it may prove to be an asset in other jobs that will set her apart. She had assumed previously that every individual will be happy as part of a team.

Another example may be a ‘D’ style sales executive who is unaware of the fact how important it is to his sense of self to independently operate and get instant feedback on his achievements through daily commission reports. However, he is unable to figure out why he isn’t happy when he has been shifted to a straight salary sales position to be a part of a sales team.

Think about the insights provided by your DiSC personality assessment and then use the above exercise. Make a note of what you learned about what’s significant for you and use this information to expand your career and job options.