How DiSC Theory Saved My Weekend

Ever end the week / start the weekend with the following inbox items?

How did you feel? What went through your head?? Was it joy and confidence? Was it the opposite?? What did you think about all weekend??

When this happened to me, the feeling of dread flooded over me. I am thinking:

1. What was their ask??
2. Did I miss something from their ask??
3. What did I do wrong??

In my situation I found the email I sent that addressed their ask and compared my 1:1 notes with their ask.

I found that I answered questions 1 & 2 in the follow up I sent. The problem is how I presented the answers to their questions.

This is the format I presented:

Dear Boss,

Here’s the answers to your questions from our 1:1. (blah blah blah answer 1). (blah blah blah answer 2). (blah blah blah answer 3).

Have a great weekend. Your Direct Report

The one insight I had on my boss is I understood DiSC personality theory for myself and I used the theory to guess their personality trait.

The above email format is perfectly fine for a specific DiSC type, it’s horrible for another type.

My boss is the other type. They would prefer the above email in this format:

Boss,

Here’s the answers to your questions from our 1:1.

• answer 1.
• answer 2.
• answer 3.

Your Direct Report

Either format works, it’s just based on the reader’s preference.

With this understanding, from looking at my email, I knew exactly “What I did wrong” and wrote notes on how to present the answers to them on Monday.

I didn’t think about this email all weekend.

When the meeting on Monday happened, we spent less than five minutes on their ask and the rest of the time on things for the upcoming week.

Without understanding DiSC theory, I know I would have spent the whole weekend going through the whole situation, replaying every moment in my head, talking to anyone that can provide insight, and/or staying up all night thinking about what would happen Monday.

With DiSC theory understanding, I had a normal weekend and ready for the meeting Monday.

Of all personality trait frameworks, it’s situations like this that prefer DiSC theory over all the other ones (even Myers-Brigg Type Indicator). DiSC theory is so practical that I can use DiSC to make a good guess on another person’s type is without them taking the test and having them tell me their result.

Not everyone is their personality trait - in tight situations, like getting a Monday morning meeting late Friday afternoon, I find it invaluable for my sanity.

Which email format do you prefer? Why? What would you done in this situation? What has worked? What didn’t work so well? I’d love to hear - contact me.