DISC personality model and the platinum rule

Education - D.I.S.C.

THE PLATINUM RULE ASSESSMENT

According to the Platinum Rule assessment, my predominant behavioral style is that of a Director. The supposed traits that correspond to the Director include a tendency: (1) to work independently without the need for external motivation for goals; (2) to make quick decision making even without substantial certainty in their outcome; (3) to dislike working with those slower to take action while preferring to work with others who are confident and intelligent; (4) to prefer work that provides the opportunity for competitive comparison; (5) to dislike small talk as an interruption; (6) to be viewed as a leader and maintain the ability to take command; (7) to win; (8) to appreciate new "toys"; and (9) to dislike delays of any kind.

In some respects, the assessment is accurate, but in about as many other respects, it is inaccurate as it pertains to me. I do tend to work best alone and to make decisions confidently, but my confidence in decision making is more a function of knowing that the decision is right; that means I make decisions more reluctantly than "confidently" in situations where there is less certainty about their outcome.

On one hand, I do tend to appreciate intelligent coworkers, but on the other hand, I would gladly work with someone less intelligent and slow to move who stays out of my way than with someone who is much more intelligent but even slightly more confident than warranted objectively. Confidence as a personality trait is more of an annoyance than an attribute I appreciate in others; confidence that relates appropriately to specific expertise is much more important to me than confidence as an "attitude" or trait.

On the matter of motivation by competition, the assessment could not be more wrong, as I have considerable disdain for competitiveness as a motivator. I believe that appropriate motivation comes either from the end result of a worthwhile project or simply practical concerns such as earning an honest living. In my opinion, motivation by competition is more a function of insecurity and the need to inflate one's ego artificially.

Likewise, the motivation to "win" or to compare favorably to others is a shallow goal that, if anything, tarnishes otherwise legitimate goals because their underlying motive is selfish and egocentric.

For the same reason, I do not appreciate new "toys" very much at all: in my experience, much of the pleasure that people who do appreciate new toys derive from them is being one of the first to have them. In fact, I still use a VHS tape recorder instead of a DVR that everybody has been recommending for years, precisely because I tend to remain satisfied with electronic systems that work even when newer technologies come out. As a creature of habit, I adopt newer systems only when necessary, and even then, somewhat reluctantly.

While it is true that I tend to be a natural leader, it is not necessarily as true that others immediately recognize that; in fact, I know that sometimes my style can suggest, erroneously, that my confidence and willingness to lead are, ironically, more attributable to the traits of competitiveness and ego gratification that I detest.

To the extent I dislike small talk, it has nothing to do with its being an interruption, necessarily. I dislike small talk mainly because it is a ritualized way of establishing rapport artificially than anything else. Conversely, I do not mind genuine conversation at all, even if it is not necessarily about anything particularly important or work related unless I am under specific deadline pressure. In general, I am very comfortable "interrupting" work to talk about other things.

Contrary to the general description of Directors, I am not particularly fast paced with respect to specific tasks, although my body language and "rhythm" often do lead to that erroneous assumption. Nor do I consider myself to be "firm" in my relationships with others, although that also may be a conclusion reached by others by virtue of my focus on objective facts and logical reasoning. While I do tend to exhibit good operational skills, I would consider administrative skills to be a weakness rather than a strength as characterized by the assessment, because I have difficulty devoting energy to administrative issues.

I do appreciate the freedom and autonomy to manage myself, but I do not particularly appreciate being responsible for managing others; I would greatly prefer a work environment in which everyone functioned collaboratively in attitude and in a general sense but independently with respect to actual work responsibilities. I accept challenges as necessary, but tend to feel most comfortable engaged in tasks that rely more on learned expertise and experience.