Entreprenerial Dating
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn About Dating From A Personality Test
The DISC personality assessment is regularly used by companies around the country to determine how an employee thinks and reacts to certain situations and how they improve their working relationships with their boss, peers and clients. Ultimately, it assesses your levels of Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness and Steadiness (DISC) to create a personality profile to help you be more effective at your job.
But the test can also be used to determine compatibility outside of the office.
As a business coach, one of the first things my clients say once completing the assessment is, “My husband/wife should take this! I bet they are a high [insert personality trait here]!” Clients are always excited to see how compatible the test says they are and if they are right about which profile type their partner is.
Here are some basic DISC dating tips:
Birds of a feather flock together – at first.
Often times during the initial attraction phase, we gravitate to people who are a lot like us. For example, folks who have high scores in the Influence category are outgoing, lively and optimistic. This is the person who never wants to see someone disappointed and always wants to know how everyone’s weekend was before starting a Monday meeting. When two “’I’s” meet, they are drawn to each other’s positivity and enthusiasm. They’ll spend hours patting each other on the back and boosting each other up. But too much of anything is a bad thing.
Because high I’s are also known to be impulsive and disorganized, they often move from one idea to the next without planning ahead or considering the consequences, which could eventually be detrimental to the relationship.
Two high D’s will initially be attracted to each other’s ability to get stuff done, but over time, the power struggle could become an issue.
High C’s will often think very analytically and systematically, which makes them great problem solvers and “anchors of reality.” However, two high C’s may spend too much time thinking of how to defer from conflict or change, and may miss great opportunities or adventures as a result.
Bottom line, any of these traits in excess is unhealthy for a relationship.
Complementary is better.
Deeper into the relationship, it’s important to have complementary personality traits so that if one person wants to take an impulsive romantic road trip, the other can make sure the bills are paid first. That’s not to say that two people with the same DISC profile can’t make it together. It just means someone in the relationship has to modify their behavior to take care of things that aren’t natural for them. The most successful relationships come from understanding this and realizing that it takes work. It’s not easy to effectively communicate with people outside of your own personality type, but it’s not impossible.
The last thing someone should do is take the DISC and feel bad about themselves. It’s not a weapon; it’s a tool. Looking at DISC profiles can help you get past the “puppy love” phase to find out if there is a deeper connection. If you already have a dedicated partner, but know you’re having issues, DISC can tell you what roles you’re both best suited for and where you’ll compromise. Couples who have been together for 15 to 20 years have probably figured out most of their quirks and qualities on their own. DISC just shortens the learning curve.
Whether in business or in your personal life, using the DISC Profile can help you understand yourself and then others.