"We do a lot of intentional things to become vulnerable, and to become real with one another. What I tell my players is, 'we need to find out who the real you is.' On a day-to-day basis, most of us don't show the real us. It's, 'Hi, how ya doin? Good? Okay, great.' But what is going on behind that? What's going on in their lives? " ~ Dr. Amber Warners, Calvin women's volleyball head coach
The DISC Personality Test is trendy in college athletics right now.
Your personality can fall into one of four categories: D is for dominance, I is for influence, S is for steadiness, and C is for Conscientiousness. Of course, since you're human, you can also be a blend of personalities.
The idea is that by understanding your teammates' personality types, you'll "improve communication, build stronger teams, encourage professional development, reduce conflict, and increase engagement."
The key, though, is understanding. Minus the desire to understand, a personality assessment is just a drop in the bucket -- a drop that will quickly evaporate.
"I always seem like I'm in a hurry and disengaged, but its because I'm very focused and driven." (Dominance)
"I tend to be very optimistic about our chances, even if it's not always realistic." (Influence)
"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm always behind. I've just developed a pace that I'm comfortable with, but let me know if I need to meet a deadline." (Steadiness)
"I'm sorry that I'm hard to read -- I'm just a very quiet person." (Conscientiousness)
Statements like these can be the beginning of understanding, or they can be drops that evaporate. It depends on who's leading.