June's DISC Insight from Mike Rao

June's DISC Insight:

Many of us know a basic history of the DISC Assessment, but did you know that theory behind the four quadrants of personality actually date all the way back to 444 B.C.?

It was Empodocles in 444 B.C. who first wrote a theory of the four quadrants of personality style. He recognized that people seemed to act in four distinctly different ways, but believed that it was external, environmental factors that affected this. These elements are Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

In 400 B.C. Hippocrates redefined these four quadrants as Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic, and Melancholy. He also recognized the four different types of behavior, but he believed the reason behind it was our internal fluids.

It wasn't until 1921 that Carl Gustav Jung re-examined these four quadrants and types of behavior, this time contributing the difference to the way we think and process information. His four styles were Thinking, Feeling, Sensation, and Intuition.

William M. Marston, in 1928, published the book "Emotions of Normal People", developing what we know and use as the DISC Personality System. He redefined these four quadrants of behavior as predictable traits that we act out in our everyday lives, which are both internal and innate, but also largely impacted by our external environment. This leads us to our current four quadrants of Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. In the 1940's it was Walter Clark who actually developed the first DISC Personality Profile

May's Survey Results:

What Parenting Style Are You (Or Would You Most Likely Be)?

18% - D (Do It or Die)
18% - I (Do It and I'll Buy You Ice Cream)
09% - S (Do It or You'll Break Your Mother's Heart)
54% - C (Do It or I'll Have to Sit You Down and Explain All the Possible Consequences of Not Doing It)

Our Favorite Responses:

What Advice Would You Give to a D-Style Parent (a.k.a. The Boss)?
"Recognize that your child's style is probably different than your own. Allow him/her to operate in that style. Give them freedom to fail." - CA
"Consider it a "task" to listen to your child and ask questions. Challenge yourself to read part of a parenting book or blog at least once a month. Give your child a get out of trouble card once a month. So if they do something that angers you, they can hand you the card and you have to lay off." - JD
"Children will always remember how you left them feeling. And sometimes that can be categorized easily in to simply 'good' and 'bad'." - TZ
"You don't have to win every argument." - DB
"Learn to ask good questions instead of always offering solutions." - WD
"Tone down, don't put high expectation or pressure on your child! :)" - AC
"Allow time for your C and S children to think through and complete tasks and help them create a step by step list of 'how to'." - AF

What Advice Would You Give to a I-Style Parent (a.k.a. The Communicator)?
"Ask your child questions and practice just listening. For every question you don't start talking give yourself a dollar to spend frivolously." - JD
"Be firm" - KK
"Stop talking and listen" - JF
"Be willing to risk the pain of temporary rejection in order to instill healthy boundaries in your children. Listen more and talk less." - WD
"Say what you mean and mean what you say....follow through with what you tell your children. Allow them to retell a story, share the spotlight." - AF

What Advice Would You Give to a S-Style Parent (a.k.a. The Nurturer)?
"Make a list if things your child does that you know they shouldn't get away with pick one and make them stick to it." - JD
"Discover your child's gifts. Discover in what ways they need to be challenged/what makes them grow?" - TZ
"Be willing to try new things and take a few risks in order to tie heart strings with your I and D children." - WD
"Awesome, continue to be supportive." - AC
"Read Boundaries With Kids, by Cloud and Townsend. Think of the future spouse when you are tempted to do everything for them." - WD
"Think ahead and know some kids will act without thinking... step out of your comfort zone to help grow your kids...be spur of the moment sometimes." - AF

What Advice Would You Give to a C-Style Parent (a.k.a. The Organizer)?
"Avoid being critical or correcting on things that really don't make that much of a difference. Too much criticism can stifle the child's self-esteem and potential." - CA
"Schedule times to stop. In all the chores and activities, all the schoolwork and outings, make a point of scheduling blocks of "stopping" to just spend with your child. Brush her hair. Look at his trading cards. Nothing complicated." - TZ
"Let go" - KK
"Try to find a positive to encourage your child's growth before addressing a negative trait that's hindering growth." - WD
"Let your child express his own way of organization, they might not be as detailed as you" - AC
"Let your children have a space they can organize or not organize... Be spur of the moment sometimes." - AF
"Get involved in a leadership role of a relationship organization with your child; i.e. Indian Princess or Scouts. Your standards are probably too high for them. Fake being an encourager until it become natural. Tell your child you love them unconditionally (and do it), what they are good at and that you are proud of them. All parents should do this, but especially a "C" as they can seem impossible to please and child grows up feeling they don't measure up." - WD


Mike Rao CBA
President
The Growth Coach of Northern Ohio
330-760-9179
www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrao
www.workwithmikerao.com
You Must Change – Otherwise Nothing will Change