DiSC Assessment Impact on Communication and Understanding of Self and Team

In athletics, as in other group activities, teamwork and leadership are highly important concepts. The purpose of this project is to use the DiSC personality assessment to help promote self-reflection and improved teamwork among the members of a collegiate volleyball team. A group of participants was selected to explore if team attitudes and behaviors can be impacted by taking and implementing the DiSC assessment. Originating with William Moulton Marston, the DiSC was then turned into an assessment by Walter Vernon Clarke. The volleyball team was given a pre and post survey to assess if there were changes in their understanding of themselves as well as their teammates based on their reflections on their various DiSC scores. The team was given four interventions following taking the pre survey and prior to taking the post survey. In the interventions the players were split up by their style group (as identified via their DiSC scores) originally in four groups to learn more about themselves then for the remainder in pairs with someone of a differing style so they could have the opportunity to learn the minds and leadership tactics of those with a style other than their own through differing activities. The activities allowed the players to discover each other’s motivators, strengths and weaknesses for themselves and when working with others, as well as what they are going to do differently when communicating with people in each style so that the communication is as effective as possible. Pre and post survey results revealed the importance the participants saw in participating as well as the knowledge and understanding the got about themselves and the other three styles throughout the process.