Hiring and promoting employees for managerial or leadership positions are among the biggest challenges organisations in Malaysia face.
While an individual’s technical skills are relatively easy to assess, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills are much harder to predict – and often have far greater impact.
Fortunately, difficult doesn’t mean impossible!
At D Jungle People, our solutions often include DISC personality assessments to gain insight into an individual’s behavioural tendencies, strengths, and potential gaps.
Used with other tools, they help organisations make informed hiring, promotion, and training decisions, and in this guide we’ll explain:
- what a DiSC personality assessment is
- what it can and cannot tell you, and
- how organisations can use it to make better hiring and promotion decisions
Of course, you’re welcome to skip the reading and reach out to us for a tailored talent assessment programme.
Otherwise, let’s begin.
A brief history of DISC
The DISC model is based on research first introduced by psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1928 in his book Emotions of Normal People in which he described four primary behavioural tendencies that affect how people interact with their environment and others.
Building on his theory, various organisations have developed their own DISC-based assessments over time. As a result, there are multiple versions of DISC tools today, each with slightly different formats and terminology.
Despite the variations, all consist of four quadrants to help individuals and organisations better understand behavioural preferences in workplace settings.
Note: If you’re interested in why it sometimes appears with a lowercase ‘i’ it’s supposedly particular organisation’s typo-cum-marketing ploy from the 1970s 🙂
DISC personality assessment overview
The DiSC personality assessment is a behavioural profiling tool that helps organisations understand how individuals tend to think, communicate, and behave in different working situations.
It is based on four primary behavioural styles:
- D – Dominance: results-driven, direct, and decisive
- i – Influence: outgoing, persuasive, and people-oriented
- S – Steadiness: calm, supportive, and consistent
- C – Conscientiousness: analytical, structured, and detail-focused
The goal of DiSC is to provide a shared language for understanding behaviour in the workplace.
What high scores in each DiSC style suggest
A higher score in any DiSC style indicates a stronger natural preference for those behavioural tendencies, especially under pressure or in fast-paced work situations.
It doesn’t mean someone is that trait all the time, and most individuals are not purely one style, and typically show a blend of two or more styles, with one or two being more dominant.
Dominance
Individuals with a higher D style tend to be highly results-oriented and comfortable taking charge.
They are often decisive, action-focused, and willing to take risks to achieve outcomes. In the workplace, they may prioritise efficiency and results over consensus, and can sometimes come across as direct or demanding.
Influence
A higher I style typically reflects someone who is energetic, expressive, and people-focused.
They tend to communicate openly, build relationships quickly, and thrive in collaborative or social environments. They may, however, struggle with detailed follow-through or structured processes if not supported.
Steadiness
Individuals with a higher S style are usually calm, patient, and dependable.
They prefer stability and consistent routines, and are often strong team players who provide support and continuity. In some situations, they may be more resistant to sudden change or faster decision-making environments.
Conscientiousness
A higher C style suggests someone who is analytical, detail-oriented, and quality-focused.
They tend to value accuracy, structure, and clear processes, and are often strong in roles that require precision or compliance. However, they may sometimes overanalyse or take longer to make decisions when faced with uncertainty.
How to use DISC assessments
DISC is most effective when integrated into a broader talent assessment and development process.
Used this way, it can make valuable contributions to solving a variety of common problems across a business.
| Application | What DISC helps organisations understand |
| Hiring | Whether a candidate’s behavioural style fits the role beyond technical skills |
| Promotion & succession planning | Readiness for leadership roles and potential development gaps |
| Team effectiveness | How different styles interact, where friction may occur, and how to improve collaboration |
| Leadership development | Leaders’ behavioural tendencies, blind spots, and impact on team performance |
| Conflict management | Why interpersonal friction happens and how to resolve it based on behavioural differences |
| Communication | How to adapt messaging styles for clearer and more effective communication |
| Employee engagement | What motivates different behavioural styles and how to improve retention |
| Sales & client interaction | How to tailor approach based on client behavioural preferences to improve outcomes |
| Change management | How different styles respond to change, uncertainty, and organisational shifts |
| Training & development | How individuals prefer to learn and how to tailor training delivery accordingly |
Of course, while DISC has broad application, it must be applied responsibly and organisations should avoid:
- using DiSC as the sole basis for hiring or promotion decisions
- treating behavioural styles as fixed labels
- assuming there is a single ‘best’ style for leadership
- over-interpreting results without proper facilitation or discussion
The true value lies in how it is interpreted, discussed, and applied in real workplace situations.
That’s it from us, and we wish you all the best with your employee soft skill training 🙂
Let D Jungle People deliver your talent assessment programme
D Jungle People is a small team of experts dedicated to tailoring every corporate training and development solution to client needs. Get in touch to explore leadership development sessions that deliver impact – and yes, our programmes are HRDC Claimable!
