Unlock the potential of your people and the power of your culture with the Everything DiSC® Application Suite.
When it comes to assessment-based learning platforms, we know that you have a lot of options. So why do we recommend that you get certified in Everything DiSC® for your organization? The fact is that we’ve looked at the other options available and found that the other assessments do not measure up to our standards like Everything DiSC®. That’s why we want to share a breakdown of what makes Everything DiSC® different from other assessments.
To get a full picture, we’ll look at CliftonStrengths, MBTI®, Predictive Index®, and Insights Discovery®.
Everything DiSC® vs. Clifton Strengths
One of the key differences between Clifton Strengths and Everything DiSC® is on what each assessment focuses. For Clifton Strengths, it’s really about the individual. This assessment gives a good idea of a single person’s strengths and how to emphasize them.
By comparison, Everything DiSC® is much more about relationships. While participants will learn more about their communication styles, those styles are discussed in relation to how they show up in interactions with other team members.
Another difference between the two is reliability. Assessments rely on accuracy to paint the right picture of a specific individual, but the results of the Clifton Strengths assessments can vary widely from test to test for the same person. The median internal reliability of Clifton Strengths is .66 compared to Everything DiSC® which has a median reliability of .86.
That means you can be assured that the results of the Everything DiSC® assessment are more accurate and, therefore, more valuable.
Lastly, Clifton Strengths does provide an online platform where participants can read about their strengths and share their results with others. However, it’s not nearly as robust as the Everything DiSC® Catalyst™ Platform.
We’ve talked about the Catalyst™ platform before on our blog. It helps give you a fuller understanding of your team, potential areas for conflict, and opportunities for growth. Each person can determine how to best interact with their colleagues based on the results. For businesses, this model doesn’t just build stronger individuals; it creates more robust teams.
Everything DiSC® vs. MBTI®
Similar to Clifton Strengths, MBTI® gives more individualized insights than information about how a team will interact with each other. It does provide a bit more general information about how a person will handle conflict, but it never puts that into the context of the actual coworkers.
The biggest pitfall of MBTI® is the complexity of the system. When the assessment is done, people are put into one of 16 different types, making it difficult for people to have conversations about their types with their colleagues. It can be hard to remember the intricacies of all 16 types.
With Everything DiSC®, there are only four basic styles to remember. Some people may have a combination of two styles, but the core four are easier to learn and share.
Another issue with MBTI® is that it relies heavily on false dichotomies. Either you’re introverted, or you’re extroverted. There’s not a ton of room for the gray areas. By comparison, Everything DiSC® gives more nuance to the categories. Each of the four categories is scaled to show the level to which individuals are identified with each.
One area where MBTI® and Everything DiSC® converge is with their online platforms. Both allow users to learn about themselves and see how their personality type will interact with coworkers or how the overall personality of the team can be viewed.
Everything DiSC® vs. Predictive Index®
As for the Predictive Index®, this assessment is really meant for hiring practices. It helps organizations understand the fit between a candidate and an open position. However, it doesn’t tell you much about people already hired and how they’ll collaborate with the rest of their team.
It is a reasonably easy system to use, though, so it can be helpful for hiring managers. The reliability is slightly better than Clifton Strengths at .71, but that’s still below the industry average for assessments.
The reality is that the Predictive Index® is designed for the hiring manager’s use. It’s not directed toward the person who takes the examination, and it’s not meant to help that person evolve in the way Everything DiSC® does.
If you’re in a big hiring push, adding the Predictive Index® to the process can be helpful, but it won’t improve your current team’s dynamics or even provide much useful information to the new hires themselves.
Everything DiSC® vs. Insights Discovery®
Insights Discovery® does have a similar purpose to Everything DiSC®. This assessment focuses on relationships. It starts with the individual and then looks at how that person interacts with the world around them.
It also has four easy-to-understand categories, just like Everything DiSC® and a reliability of .81. So far, this is the closest to what Everything DiSC® has to offer.
However, the difference here lies more in the methodology. Insights Discovery® relies on a measurement theory that has no credible empirical support. Furthermore, the assessment’s reliance on respondents saying something feels “most like me” can skew the results toward how the test taker views themselves as opposed to how they really are.
Lastly, Insights Discovery® also reports its findings in a way that isn’t meant for the assessment taker themselves. It’s directed towards a manager, HR, or some other stakeholder. It’s also much more information-based than development-focused, like Everything DiSC®.
Why Everything DiSC®?
Everything DiSC® connects people on a human level to deliver “A-ha!” moments that transform workplaces from talented individuals into collaborative, thriving cultures. Everything DiSC® offers end-to-end learning experiences that have immediate and lasting impacts on the performance of people and the cultures of organizations.
- Built on a Foundation of Research and Rigor: Everything DiSC® provides a trust-worthy assessment with strong psychometric properties and prioritizes quality by using computer adaptive testing, global norming, and real-world testing.
- Transformational Learning Experiences: Only Everything DiSC® goes beyond the classroom with MyEverythingDiSC. This personalized mobile-friendly tool helps participants use DiSC every day to connect better with their colleagues in real-time.
- Simple but not Simplistic: Everything DiSC® translates assessment results into a personalized, actionable narrative that makes behavior change tangible for the participant.
- Customizable and Flexible: Each organization has unique needs. Everything DiSC® provides versatile tailoring features that allow you to easily design a customized program that’s right for your organization and time constraints.
Getting Started with Everything DiSC®
If you’ve looked through these various assessment options and have decided that Everything DiSC® is what will work best for your organization at this time, we’re happy to help get you certified. You can learn more about the various programs available here.
If you need a guide along the way, we’d be happy to help. Reach out to us to get started.
Warmly,
Lori and James
Lori Heffelfinger and James Jackman
