Comparing Enneagram Myers-Briggs And DISC Personality Test

30th September 2021

Personality assessment tools are huge blessings upon the earth. These tests allow us to integrate our inner-self and have an expanded understanding of our unique self. Not only it allows us to increase self-awareness, but it also provides an empathetic outlook to view one another and accommodate each other in harmony.

When used by organizations, it helps employers in multiple ways – starting from hiring employees to designing a Learning and Development program. There are many personality theories in the market, however, Enneagram, Myers-Briggs & DISC Personality assessment are three well-known personality tests.

Let us first define these three personality assessments –

Enneagram Personality Assessment

Enneagram personality test is a helpful tool to understand oneself and people in relation to their lives. It uncovers a range of healthy and unhealthy behaviors that each person might demonstrate unconsciously and provides a holistic overview. Enneagram personality assessment comprises nine different categories of personalities.

This assessment can help improve people's skills by providing an understanding of how each person thinks and feels about certain situations. The theory revolves around the primary core values we’ve learned through “nurture”, which explains why we act – the way we do. Therefore, this personality assessment helps in bringing empathy, grace, and compassion to understand others despite their differences.

Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Personality Assessment

An instrument of personality assessment with enormous popularity, the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) provides an insight into people’s personality with a deeper understanding of strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, possible career choices, and compatibility with other people.

The assessment is composed of total of sixteen categorizations of personality, each contains a different lettering combination – ISTJ - the inspector, ISTP - the crafter, ISFJ - the protector, et cetera, which indicates their preferences.

The goal of Myers-Briggs (MBTI) personality assessment is to allow individuals to further explore and understand their own personalities, for instance, we can choose a profession that is best suitable for our personality type to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. It describes a person’s nature that works as a compass to guides one’s interactions and perception of the world.

Disc Personality Assessment

DISC model of Personality Assessment is another popular tool for understanding people that can help discover the key to motivation, conflict resolution, better relationships, and self-growth.

DISC is an acronym for four personality styles namely:

• Dominance (D)
• Influence (I)
• Steadiness (S)
• Conscientiousness (C)

DISC personality assessment aims to indicate the fundamental differences between individuals, demonstrating every individual is a combination of each style. Each of these personality styles represents the ways an individual is most likely to react in certain situations, guides us towards self-awareness – strengths, limitations. It suggests that the way we respond to our surroundings is a combination of nature and nurture.

A Brief Comparison Between Enneagram, Myers-Briggs (MBTI) & DISC Personality Assessments

Each of these three personality assessments varies in multiple aspects, though there are many similarities between them, as they are majorly used by various organizations to have an insight on their employees (personality tests are often a part of job interviews, also help facilitate inclusive Learning and Development program) and also by individuals for self-awareness and to help them choose a career path.

Furthermore, an overview of their differences can ideally help to determine how and where and which personality assessment can be used with respect to situations.
 

• In comparison to the other two assessments, MBTI is not a "test." It has no right or wrong answers and there is no “one type is not better than any other type”. The sole purpose is to form a deeper understanding information one’s unique personality.
• The biggest difference between MBTI and Enneagram is that enneagram focuses more on nurture, whereas, the Myers-Briggs test emphasizes nature.
• Enneagram personality assessment tends to be a lot more complicated than the Myers-Briggs (MBTI)
• And DISC defines one’s personality while considering both nature and nurture.
• However, DISC has a narrower scope than MBTI, since it focuses more on the behavior of an individual.
• Nonetheless, DISC is easier to use and learn.

In a nutshell, each of these personality assessments is fit with respect to the kind of insight they can deliver, before deciding upon which one to choose, understanding the variation is integral. It helps to maximize the impact of Learning and Development program within an organization and it also allows individual to understand one’s nature, their strengths and weakness profoundly.

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Written By : Park Jin Ae