I work primarily with six different assessments: 

1. DISC

2. The Six Motivators

3. The Driving Forces

4. Acumen Capacity Index (ACI)

5. The Four Tendencies

6. CliftonStrengths

1. DISC

How do you show up?

DISC assesses your observable behaviors through four measures: Dominant (D), how you respond to problems and challenges, Influence (I), how you interact with people and contacts, Steadiness (S), how you respond to pace and consistency, and Compliance (C) how well you embrace procedures and constraints,

With this assessment, you learn language around these observable behaviors, which can improve communication, engagement, and self-development. 

What makes this assessment different from the others: The short answer is behaviors. This is the only assessment where you can observe real-life assessment results.

2. The Six Motivators  

What drives you?

The Six Motivators assesses what drives you to fulfill your passion or purpose by measuring the high points – or your affinities – in six areas:

1. Theoretical – a drive for learning

2. Utilitarian – a drive for practicality

3. Aesthetic – a drive for beauty

4. Social – a drive to help others

5. Individualistic – a drive for uniqueness/to lead 

6. Traditional – a drive for order/system of living

What makes this assessment different from the others: This is all about what motivates you--the areas where you find fulfillment. It’s the stuff that makes you wake up excited to get out of bed every day and happy to get to work. Staying true to your motivators makes you feel more like yourself and is crucial to finding a sense of alignment with who you are and the work you do.

3. The 12 Driving Forces

What do you value in day-to-day experiences?

This assessment measures what energizes and stresses you. The 12 Driving Forces uses the same science as The Six Motivators, but it analyzes highs and lows (affinities and aversions) on six spectrums:

1. Knowledge: How you learn - Intelligence/Instinctive

2. Resources: How you use resources - Resourceful/Selfless

3. Surrounding: How you view your surroundings - Harmonious/Objective

4. Others:  How you help others - Altruistic/Intentional

5. Power: How you exercise power - Commanding/Collaborative 

6. Methodologies: How you value tradition and new ideas - Structured/Receptive

What makes this assessment different from the others: This assessment focuses on what you prefer, what you don’t, and how to what degree. 

4. Acumen Capacity Index (ACI)

How do you interpret your experiences?

ACI measures acumen – how clearly we think and make decisions – by measuring six core dimensions across two perspectives. 

World View:

4. Understanding others

5. Practical thinking

6. Systems judgment

Self View: 

1. Sense of self

2. Role awareness

3. Self-direction

What makes this assessment different from the others: ACI assesses the clarity of your thought process and discernment. It reveals biases and awareness.

5. The Four Tendencies

How do you handle expectations?

The Four Tendencies assessment measures our responses to external and internal expectations. 

There are four outcomes: 

1. Upholder – meets outer expectations and inner expectations
2. Obliger – meets outer expectations, resists inner expectations

3. Questioner – resists outer expectations, meets inner expectations

4. Rebel – resists outer expectations, resists inner expectations

What makes this assessment different from the others: This assessment deals solely with expectations. 

6. CliftonStrengths

What are your strengths?

The CliftonStrengths assessment measures your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving through 34 ranked criteria across four domains:

Execution:

• Achiever

• Arranger

• Belief

• Consistency

• Deliberative

• Discipline

• Focus

• Responsibility

• Restorative

Influencing:

• Activator

• Command

• Communication

• Competition

• Maximizer

• Self-Assurance

• Significance

• Woo

Strategic Thinking:

• Analytical

• Context

• Futuristic

• Ideation

• Input

• Intellection

• Learner

• Strategic

Relationship Building:

• Adaptability

• Connectedness

• Developer

• Empathy

• Harmony

• Includer

• Individualization

• Positivity

• Relator

What makes this assessment different from the others: This measures what you’re naturally good at – your talents. Those talents become strengths when they are developed. 

Common Misconceptions

1. Confusing adapted behaviors with natural behaviors 

(Two aspects of DISC)

In DISC results, you get an analysis of your behaviors in your adapted and natural styles. In environments of high stress, we all tend to adapt our behaviors to deal with problems, people, the pace of events, and procedures.

You can sometimes tell if someone is in their adapted behavioral state if they seem out of sync. From my experience, people who have gone through trauma may have an easier time picking up on that incongruence than others. 

The need to adapt behaviors in certain situations is so common that there are memes all over the internet about it.

Distinguishing between adapted and natural behaviors is essential both for individuals and for the people who work with them. Long-term adaptation may lead to a reduction in employee engagement and well-being.

2. Confusing behaviors with driving forces

(Confusing DISC science with the science of the 12 Driving Forces) 

Many people are already familiar with DISC but often confuse behaviors with motivation or talents. DISC assesses how you show up, CliftonStrengths assesses your natural talents--how you think and process information and experiences. The Six Motivators and the 12 Driving Forces measure your motivation to do something or the “why” of what you do. The most important thing to note is that you can observe behaviors without an assessment but only have a hunch about strengths, motivators, and driving forces. 

When I was giving a presentation to a group of real estate professionals, a woman in the audience exclaimed, “Now I get it! This makes so much sense!” She explained that she had worked for more than one company that used DISC results to align employees with jobs that fit them. She expressed that over and over again, her higher measure of D (Dominance) was mistaken for Commanding on the 12 Driving Forces. Those with high scores in Commanding tend to be “front-of-the-room” leaders and thrive in positions where they can take command. This was the exact opposite for her. She was low in Commanding but higher in Collaborating. She had no desire to be in charge. Her higher D score reflected how she dealt with problems and challenges. She didn’t shy away from problems, she was fast-paced and got a lot done, but she did not like being in charge, giving presentations, or carrying the responsibility of the organization on her shoulders. Unfortunately, for years the DISC assessments she took were not paired with motivators or driving forces, and she suffered because of it. She told me her past results seemed to fit her in so many ways that she just assumed there was something wrong with her when she didn’t measure up to the expectations of her results.

Observing someone’s behaviors is not the same as understanding their strengths, motivators, drivers, tendencies, or biases. The DISC model measures four areas of behaviors: how someone responds to problems and challenges, people and contacts, pace and consistency, and procedures and constraints. DISC is the “how,” not the why. Motivators, driving forces, tendencies, strengths, and acumen measure aspects of “why” someone does something. Assigning motivations or strengths to someone based on behaviors is not only inaccurate but can be detrimental to their well-being, especially when they are using assessments to gain self-awareness and improve emotional intelligence. It is essential to maintain this distinction between behaviors (“the how”) and strengths, motivators, drivers, tendencies, and acumen (“the why”).

3. Overapplying DISC to everything

(Confusing DISC with all other sciences) 

When many people learn DISC and start to observe behaviors in the wild, they get excited about now having a tool to categorize their observations. However, this excitement sometimes results in people taking DISC too far and trying to use it to describe everything about a person rather than just their behaviors. 

One of the most common examples of over-applying DISC is the misconception that only extroverts can be leaders. While extroverts often show up in a way associated with strong leadership, being extroverted describes a person’s behaviors – not their strengths or motivation. It’s impossible to predict how well someone will lead by looking at only their behaviors.

Introverts can be strong leaders if they have the right strengths, driving forces, motivators, and acumen. Similarly, an extrovert can have difficulty leading. For example, if they have high levels of bias, as shown on the ACI, they may not have the necessary clarity to make effective decisions, or if they have a low level of Commanding on the 12 Driving Forces, they may not enjoy the responsibility of being known as the leader. 

Beware of the trap of boxing people into their behaviors. DISC is only a piece of the puzzle.

Summary

• DISC assesses observable behaviors 

• The Six Motivators assesses what drives you to fulfill your passion or purpose

• The 12 Driving Forces assess what energizes and stresses you 

• ACI assesses how clearly you think and how you make decisions

• The Four Tendencies assesses your responses to external and internal expectations

• CliftonStrengths assess your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving

• Beware of confusing adapted behavior style with natural behavior style 

• Beware of confusing behaviors with motivators/driving forces

• Beware of overapplying DISC and boxing people into their behaviors