Comparing Deloitte’s Business Chemistry and the DISC Personality Type model

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Deloitte’s Business Chemistry and the DISC model are both frameworks designed to help understand and categorize human behaviour, especially in a professional context. While both tools have unique approaches, one can draw tentative parallels between their types.

This article was inspired by my time on the National Cyber Security Centre‘s NCSC for Startups accelerator programme on behalf of Cyber Tzar.

Here’s an attempt to compare and map the two approaches.

1. Drivers:

  • DISC Counterpart: Dominance (D)
  • Characteristics such as decisiveness, directness, and a results-driven nature are common in both. They take charge, embrace challenges, and push for results.

2. Guardians:

  • DISC Counterpart: Conscientiousness (C)
  • Both types value accuracy, reliability, and structure. Guardians, like those with high C in DISC, are methodical, detail-oriented, and often risk-averse. They appreciate processes and like to ensure that everything is done correctly.

3. Integrators:

  • DISC Counterpart: Steadiness (S) and partly Influence (I)
  • Integrators focus on collaboration, consensus, and harmony, which aligns with the steadiness and relationship-focused traits of the S type in DISC. However, Integrators’ emphasis on connecting with others and building relationships also resonates with some aspects of the Influence (I) category in DISC.

4. Pioneers:

  • DISC Counterpart: Influence (I)
  • Pioneers are outgoing, spontaneous, and comfortable with ambiguity. They closely resemble the I type in DISC, which represents individuals who are enthusiastic, talkative, and persuasive. Both types thrive on interactions, brainstorming, and new ideas.

While these parallels offer a basic mapping, it’s important to remember that these are distinct systems with their own nuances:

  • Purpose & Design: Business Chemistry is designed specifically for the business world and how individuals act within professional environments. In contrast, DISC is a broader behavioral assessment tool used in various contexts, including but not limited to business.
  • Granularity: DISC focuses on understanding behavior along four primary dimensions, while Business Chemistry offers a nuanced approach with hybrid types in addition to the primary four.
  • Flexibility: Business Chemistry acknowledges the blending of types, where an individual can display a dominant and secondary style. DISC, while also noting blends, primarily classifies behaviors into the four primary categories.

In summary, while tentative mappings can be made between Deloitte’s Business Chemistry and the DISC model, they are inherently different tools. It’s useful to view them as offering complementary perspectives rather than directly interchangeable insights.