Written by: Alyson Williams, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
There are many tools, mechanisms, and instruments that measure human behavior or ‘personality.’ Most personality tests are quite limited in the scope of flexibility they measure. Extended DISC (E-DISC), on the other hand, is a behavioral analysis tool that is used to identify an individual’s natural strengths (captain energies) in whichever of the four energy categories is relevant: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance, the initials of each energy is what gives the tool its name. E-DISC also indicates to individuals those behavioral characteristics that are not in their natural disposition (non-captain energies). Therefore, it requires greater effort to produce. Most people have two or three captain energies, less than one percent of the population has only one captain energy, and no one has all four captain energies.
Personality tests tend to only provide a binary analysis of attributes (i.e., are/aren’t within an individual’s makeup). They also tend to be static. E-DISC, on the other hand, is much more dynamic. It gives an individual the confidence to understand themselves more fully with the realization that while producing their captain (natural) energy behavior styles (their profile) is almost effortless, the ones which are not part of their profile, their non-captains, (which other tools often categorize as deficiencies or weaknesses,) can still be accessed.
The E-DISC premise is that our non-captain energy behaviors (our so-called weaknesses) are quite accessible, the difference being that those behaviors require greater effort and intellectual/physical/emotional energy to produce. This information gives an individual the golden key, as it were, to understand themselves and navigate all areas of their life using their captain energies to the fullest; and equally to accessing and managing their non-captains when required.
Applications of E-DISC
E-DISC has many applications. It can be used for personal and professional development. In workplaces, it can be utilized for a variety of purposes such as recruitment, motivation, performance reviews, leadership development, self-development, and change management, to name a few.
This framework also allows management to assess the suitability of its employees' roles and the need for redeployment or upskilling, making changes where appropriate. If operating in an environment of high stress, E-DISC can become a powerful and objective basis upon which to have a conversation with workers, address areas of concern, or re-assign tasks and duties, and possibly have them seek coaching, mentoring, or guidance.
On a personal level, E-DISC helps individuals assess various aspects of their current situation and take any necessary action to improve. By understanding their captains and non-captains, a person now understands what drives their behavior and can use this knowledge to determine their behavioral choices, thus, achieve greater levels of success across all aspects of their life. E-DISC can also be used for couples in relationship counseling.
In western democracies today, in contrast with previous decades, there is a greater move towards celebrating diversity and acknowledging the complete individual - not just their strengths but also their potential to reduce and/or overcome their weaknesses. E-DISC is a versatile mechanism that provides just such analysis, with applications for both a person’s professional and personal life.
History of E-DISC
E-DISC is based on Jungian research. DISC was first developed in the US in 1928 by Prof William Moulton Marston, who, incidentally, also developed the lie detector test and created Wonder Woman (the only ‘person’ deemed to have all four captain energies in her profile). DISC was further developed in the 1950s, and in 1994 E-DISC was created by Jukka Sappinen in Finland.
E-DISC is an internationally accredited and administered test on the Finx online platform and can only be accessed by accredited E-DISC practitioners on behalf of their clients. Its reliability is verified and validated every two years.
For more information on E-DISC and for a copy of a free version of the test, contact Alyson by email at: coach.pylc@gmail.com or via Facebook Messenger or LinkedIn. You may also reach her by phone on +61 432 580 886 or visit her website and linktr.ee.
Alyson Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
In her previous life, Alyson was a teacher. For 12 years, she taught first adults then high
school students. After that, she became a public servant, retiring in 2019 after 25 years with
the Australian Department of Defence.
Why start coaching …..? …..because all through her adult life, Alyson has been informally
coaching and mentoring family, friends and colleagues. Following the collapse of her
comfortable life in 2013, she overcame several major challenges to now live a life of purpose
and fulfillment in her new career as a coach.
Alyson is an NLP Master coach, Extended DISC practitioner, relationship coach, leadership
coach and trained hypnotherapist.
