Here’s a fun workplace personality test experiment: The next time you hear someone say, “Well, I’m a High D, so…” or “That makes sense, he’s a C,” try responding with:
“Oh, cool. But what are your actual strengths?”
Watch the confusion set in.
DiSC assessments—those neat little four-letter personality categories that conveniently sort your employees into predictable behavioral types—have become a staple of leadership training, team-building workshops, and HR strategy. And sure, they can be a useful conversation starter. But somewhere along the way, corporate America decided that DiSC (or Insights Discovery, MBTI, StrengthsFinder, and every other color-coded personality framework) was not just a tool, but a management philosophy.
And that’s a problem.
The Dangerous Convenience of Personality Tests
People love DiSC, Insights Discovery, and similar tests because they’re easy. A simple framework, neat little categories (maybe even a fun color wheel), and—boom!—managers feel like they suddenly understand their team members on a deeper level.
But here’s the thing: Your employees are not fixed personality types. They are complex, evolving individuals who adapt, learn, and change based on context, experience, and environment. If you rely on personality assessments as a management tool rather than just an insight tool, you are:
🚩 Oversimplifying human behavior.
DiSC, Insights Discovery, and MBTI tell you how someone tends to behave, not what they’re capable of. If you assume that your “High S” employee can’t handle fast-paced decision-making or that your “Cool Blue” teammate isn’t creative, you’re pigeonholing your people into limitations that don’t actually exist.
🚩 Creating biases in hiring, promotions, and leadership development.
If you start assigning tasks, roles, and career paths based on a personality test instead of actual performance, you’re running a lazy and biased workplace. I’ve seen companies unconsciously (or consciously) push “Influential” types into sales, “Introverts” away from leadership, and “Yellow” personalities into marketing. Are we career counselors, or are we playing Pokémon with our workforce?
🚩 Giving leaders a false sense of understanding.
Just because you know someone’s DiSC profile, MBTI type, or Insights color doesn’t mean you know how to lead them. Employee engagement is built through trust, psychological safety, and actual conversations—not through a laminated personality chart in your desk drawer.
🚩 Ignoring context, adaptability, and growth.
People are not static. A “Steady” employee under a toxic manager might seem passive and risk-averse, but under a strong, supportive leader, they could become a powerhouse of strategic thinking and execution. A “Red” in Insights Discovery might show up as highly directive in one team and highly collaborative in another. Personality tests don’t account for change, and any manager using them as a guiding principle is failing their employees.
So… Do We Throw Out DiSC, Insights, and MBTI?
Not necessarily. Personality assessments can be a tool, but they should never be the tool. They’re a conversation starter, not a personality blueprint.
Here’s how to use them without screwing up your leadership approach:
✅ Use them for team insights, not decision-making.
Great, you know your team’s communication preferences. Now put that information in the context of their skills, goals, and real-world performance.
✅ Recognize that behavior ≠ capability.
Someone who prefers structure can still be innovative. Someone who thrives in collaboration can still work independently. People’s preferences do not define their potential.
✅ Talk to your employees. Like, actual conversations.
Ask them about their challenges, ambitions, and strengths instead of assuming their DiSC profile, Insights color, or MBTI letters tell the whole story. If your leadership strategy begins and ends with a personality test, you are managing by proxy, not by connection.
The Bottom Line
DiSC, Insights Discovery, and MBTI are fine—as long as you remember that they are not a substitute for leadership. Stop treating them like a management strategy. Start treating your employees like the dynamic, evolving professionals they actually are.
Or, you know, just keep using them to justify bad management. Your call.