The 8 Dimensions of Leadership: DiSC Strategies for Becoming a Better Leader

by Mark Scullard

How can people best develop their leadership skills to match their personality, to amplify their strengths, and to compensate for their weaknesses? This is the first book to answer this question with the latest version of the DiSC model of human behavior, which is one of the most widely used, most scientifically based, and most effective approaches to assessing and improving leadership styles and skills.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Self Help, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Book Club, Psychology

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2011

Reviews

[Phuongvu · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISC giúp thấu hiểu bản thân, thấu hiểu con người, thấu hiểu người khác, từ đó hiểu rõ bản thân hơn, phân loại được tính cách con người, nâng cao khả năng lãnh đạo, bán hàng thành công, dạy bán hàng thành công cho người khác. Cuốn sách Giải Mã Hành Vi DISC: Bạn Thuộc Kiểu Lãnh Đạo Nào Trong 8 Nhóm Hành Vi chính là chìa khóa để bạn hiểu rõ hơn về con người mình.

Thế nào là DISC?
Dominance (D) – “Thống trị”: những người thuộc nhóm này thường quyết đoán, mạnh mẽ, tự tin, nhanh nhẹn, năng nổ, tập trung, cạnh tranh, hướng đến kết quả.

Influence (I) – “Ảnh hưởng”: nhóm I bao gồm những cá nhân hòa đồng, thích xã giao, cởi mở, nhiệt tình, có khả năng thuyết phục.

Steadiness (S) – “Kiên định”: người thuộc kiểu S có tính cách ổn định, điềm tĩnh, hòa nhã, biết lắng nghe, tận tâm và thận trọng.

Compliance (C) – “Tuân thủ”: ở nhóm C là những người có trách nhiệm, rõ ràng, logic, có kỷ luật, chính xác và nghiêm túc.

Không có nhóm tính cách nào tốt hay không tốt, khi hiểu được bản thân hoặc người khác thuộc vào nhóm nào sẽ có sự sắp xếp công việc phù hợp hay trong quá trình đàm phán mình sự dụng câu từ đúng để đạt được thỏa thuận cho cả hai bên.

Cuốn sách CHỈ RÕ 8 phong cách lãnh đạo điển hình như: Lãnh đạo tiên phong, hăng hái, tán đồng, hòa nhập, khiêm nhường, thận trọng, kiên quyết, chỉ huy… Nắm được yếu và nhược điểm của mình để điều chỉnh, rèn luyện giúp việc lãnh đạo hiệu quả nhất. Quyển sách được viết rất rõ ràng, mạch lạc.

Làm lãnh đạo là đưa ra những quyết định khó khăn – thường là buộc phải cầm lên đặt xuống giữa hai nhu cầu cạnh tranh với nhau, mà nhu cầu nào cũng cần thiết cả – nhưng điều khiến cho việc lãnh đạo trở thành một sự nỗ lực đầy khó khăn là bởi việc này có liên quan đến con người. Vậy nên thấu hiểu con người là kỹ năng sống còn của một nhà lãnh đạo. Từng trang sách Giải Mã Hành Vi DISC: Bạn Thuộc Kiểu Lãnh Đạo Nào Trong 8 Nhóm Hành Vi sẽ giúp bất kỳ ai thấu hiểu người khác chứ không chỉ dành riêng cho nhà lãnh đạo.

Biết ơn thầy Lê Minh Tuấn Mikedu về cuốn sách rất hay Giải mã hành vi DISC. Cuốn sách giúp em mở rộng góc nhìn cho 8 cách lãnh đạo. Cuốn sách này sẽ vô cùng cầm cho em tham gia học lớp DISC dành cho lãnh đạo sắp tới.

HN, ngày 22/04/2022

[Gabriel Odhiambo Achayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful insight

I enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it to any leader who is keen on appreciating their leadership style and of those they work with

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have Napoleon complex. Not because I'm short (though I am), but because I can be a real jerk. Command and conquer. I love control, I'm impulsive, and I'm impatient. I'm an intense logician with zero warmth, and I'll trample right over you to get my prize. It's not that I want to hurt you. I honestly didn't see you there! I genuinely feel for colleagues, but I'm working on it. God help me.


Notes:

Recommended by Sandra Westbrooks

Kindle

Peter F. Drucker described these demands succinctly: “[Leaders] require the capacity to analyze, to think, to weigh alternatives, and to harmonize dissent. But they also require the capacity for quick and decisive action, for boldness and for intuitive courage. They require being at home with abstract ideas, concepts, calculations and figures. They also require perception of people, a human awareness, empathy, and all together a lively interest in people and respect for them.”

Chapter 1
The 8 Dimensions of Leadership

The key leadership dimensions we will be sharing with you in the rest of the book are: Pioneering, Energizing, Affirming, Inclusive, Humble, Deliberate, Resolute, and Commanding.

Mastering the 8 Dimensions of Leadership Model will help you reduce how often you jump to conclusions, make poor judgment calls, and project your own motivations onto others.

Chapter 2
Discover Your Primary Leadership Dimension

These initials stand for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.



The first axis shows whether a person perceives the environment as favorable or unfavorable. The second axis shows a person’s perception of his or her own power within the environment. Specifically, this axis measures whether a person views him- or herself as more or less powerful than the environment.

Personal power is important to them, and they long to play a vital role in the organizations in which they’re involved. They often have a high need for recognition, and they may grow frustrated in environments where they don’t feel their talents are being put to good use. Leaders with these styles tend to be confident, and they’re rarely timid about sharing their opinions.




8DimensionsOfLeadership.com



A leader's job is change

Overplanning can be as dangerous as underplanning

The potential consequences of your action may be less troublesome than the potential consequences of your inaction.

My team is looking for a more emotional connection from me

People come to work for more than just a paycheck

Accept people's limitations

[Tõnu Vahtra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has quite linear structure:
*Overview of DiSC model
*The 8 Dimensions of Leadership derived from field analysis of the DiSC model
First half of the model is characterizing the 8 dimensions and highlighting their deficiencies and second half describes the strengths of each dimension and how to cultivate respective values. When you have already taken the DiSC assessment the book can be used as a guide to detect and acknowledge your hidden deficiencies or adjust the focus of your development as a leader.

The 8 Dimensions:
*Pioneering -Finding opportunities, stretching the boundaries, promoting bold action
*Energizing - Showing enthusiasm, building professional networks, rallying people to achieve goals
*Affirming - Being approachable, acknowledging contributions, creating a positive environment
*Inclusive - Staying open to input, showing diplomacy, facilitating dialogue
*Humble - Maintaining composure, showing modesty, being fair-minded
*Deliberate - Communicating with clarity, promoting disciplined analysis, providing a sense of stability.
*Resolute - Setting high expectations, speaking up about problems, improving methods
*Commanding - Showing confidence, taking charge, focusing on results.

A truly effective leader is able to freely shift between those approaches according to choose the most optimal response under every circumstance and greatest opportunities improvements are usually at the opposites of the spectrum.

[Britton Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Disclosure: I'm not in a leadership role. I'm a Customer Success Manager and the role does not have any sort of direct reports. Also, I took my DiSC assessment in advance (Affirming Dimension) and followed the instructions in the book to only read the relevant sections for my leadership dimensions and those dimensions opposite of mine.

That being said, this book provided a wealth of practical lessons that I could easily apply to my current role. Each lesson was broken down into three easy steps. The biggest lesson that I took away from this book wasn't actually explicitly written. The biggest lesson that I took away was that you can be in a leadership position without holding a leadership position. I've heard it a million times, but reading this book and thinking about my current role really made the concept stick. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to become a more well rounded leader.

[Chad Horenfeldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perfect accompaniment to an organization or team that uses DiSC. As I read through it, I pictured specific people that fit the different dimensions and realized many of the areas where I've gone wrong and need to improve. There are also areas that made me realize that I can be a better father and husband. These natural tendencies that I knew I did but didn't really understand. I have very specific and actionable items that I will focus on and approaches that can help me with others as part of my coaching efforts.

You can even do an assessment where it can guide you on which chapters to read based on the dimension of leadership that is most important right now.

My rating is a 4/5 but only if you have done the DiSC assessment yourself recently and if you can relate it to people on your team.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading this. It was good and I'm recommending to anyone who wants to grow as a leader. Be sure to get your DiSC assessment first. It's all about blind spots and improving who we are as leaders. I picked up some great tips and tactics to ensure I was seeing into my blind spots. Some are hard to take, as it should be. It's a challenge to think about and do things that may be completely on the other side of the DiSC circle to ourselves. But it's worth exploring the ideas and the book is written well. Read, not full of fluff and gets to the point for all us D's who read this.

Great addition to the leader's toolbox.

[Jon Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Life Time's "Career Acceleration Program" in August 2021. I took the quick online test to discover my leadership style trends toward "I - Promoter" and "Pioneering" according to a slightly different set of measurements. My favorite part of the book was Part 3, where I tested what areas I need to work on the most, then read about those styles of leaders (Inclusive and Resolute, in my case) and what action steps I could take to improve in those areas.

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when you thought you understood DiSC, here's yet another perspective to get even more mileage out of it.
The authors have really hit the nail on the head with this one.
I do agree with multiple other reviewers - the paperback binding is poor quality, this is going to fall apart once its been read a few more times.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I've taken countless of these leadership/personality assessments over the years, the DiSC method was a good addition to my career development toolkit. My DiSC type wasn't at all surprising, and I learned some good methods on how to both use my strengths and develop the areas that need a bit more help.

[Eliane Pessoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that has contributed a lot to my mentorships.
I only had one question about the Eight Dimensions of Leadership Needs Assessment pages 111 to 113. Unable to answer. Can you help me? Thanks.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really made me think about myself as a leader

[202 unknown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hong hiểu gì tiếp

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mandatory read for my Leadership class through work... it helps you understand your DISC style & how to flex your style to be a more well rounded leader.

[Macy Crummett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required read for grad school, but truly enjoyed how digestible it was. I found the concepts to be very relevant and relatable. I’m excited to put forth these changes as a manager.

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a leadership course at work. The 8 Dimensions of Leadership provides an in-depth look at leadership styles described through the DiSC model. The DiSC model helps you to understand your behavior and style preferences through four quadrants: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Individuals that tend to be fast paced and outspoken may find themselves in with quadrants “D” or “i” whereas those in quadrants C and S may be more cautious and reflective. The two quadrants on the left, “D” and “C”, are more questioning and skeptical in nature; whereas the quadrants on the right, “i” and “S”, include more warm and accepting behaviors.

Depending upon your tendencies and preferences within each quadrant determines which of the eight leadership styles you favor:
•Pioneering leaders are bold and passionate with the ability to inspire others but may appear impulsive and overconfident.
•Energizing leaders are upbeat, eager and willing to take a chance; however they may appear scattered and erratic with little need for consistency.
•Affirming leaders are kind, supportive and work to create a respectful environment. These leaders can be indirect and avoid conflict.
•Inclusive leaders are sincere, accommodating and collaborate with others to make decisions where everyone wins but can be viewed as passive and overly trusting.
•Humble leaders are modest, fair minded and provide reliable outcomes but may appear rigid and overly cautious.
• Deliberate leaders are conscientious and disciplined leaders who provide high quality outcomes but are risk aversive and perfectionists.
• Resolute leaders are questioning and independent, not afraid to challenge the status quo. They may appear cynical and insensitive to others.
• Commanding leaders are powerful, decisive leaders who enlist others quickly but may appear forceful and egotistical.

The book itself is broken into three sections: Overall understanding of the eight dimensions of leadership, an in-depth understanding of your primary leadership preference and lessons that everyone can learn from each of the eight dimensions of leadership. I found that you could read this book all the way through, taking note of the strengths and weakness of each dimension or focus on your leadership type only (there is a short survey available online that helps you identify your leadership style). While it was beneficial to focus more attention to my primary leadership type, I found it helpful to read about the other leadership styles as well. Although I am not a people manager, I interact with and lead different teams of people who had different styles and preferences than my own. Learning about the different dimensions of leadership helped provide insight into the strengths and opportunities of working with other personalities.

I thought the authors did a great job of delivering material in a simple and straightforward manner. Readers are encouraged to not become a “one-dimensional” leader and to learn from and adopt aspects of each leadership style.

Overall I would rate this book as a 10 out of 10 and would recommend it to others (and not just those aspiring to leadership roles).

[Gede Suprayoga · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an essential book to understand how one's leadership can be made more effective. The central idea is that everyone has their own leadership style, which is affected by multiple traits. These traits can be classified into four main categories: dominance, influence, steadiness, and contentiousness. The classification is based on how people perceive things and react to internal (fast-paced, outspoken, cautious, reflective) and external situations (accepting, warm, questioning, and sceptical). It is known as the DiSC model, developed by Dr William Moulton Marston (1893-1947).

Based on the model, leadership style can be divided into eight dimensions: Pioneering, Energizing, Affirming, Inclusive, Humble, Deliberate, Resolute, and Commanding. Readers of this book can find out which dimensions tend to be dominant. Different methods can be used to position individuals into the dimension categories, such as online surveys, professional analyses, and self-assessments.

The book is flexible enough to assist with the assessment. The chapters elaborate on each leadership dimension in which information is practical for readers to evaluate for themselves. Moreover, readers can adopt the opposite traits from other dimensions to be more effective leaders. It's not necessary to acquire all dimensions. Research has shown that a high-performance organisation consists of different dimensions of leaders who can work well through collaboration. This book helps leaders to contemplate their styles and to work with which types they operate on mostly, or otherwise which styles they need to improve.

[Vinoth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for free from netgalley.com

The 8 dimensions of leadership explores leadership through a DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness perspective which is the third generation of human behavior. Based on this model the authors provide an eight dimension approach to leadership.

This book is divided into three parts. The part of the book explains about the eight attributes of leadership in simple and understandable terms the eight attributes of leadership. The pros and cons of each attribute is also described in a tabular format making it easy for the user to refer. There is also a self assessment test provided which helps us identify our primal strength/ our default setting.

The second half of the book delves in detail about our primary strength / our default setting and the various characteristics of each attribute are discussed in depth.

The third part of this book provides three tips in clear which can be used to improve upon other attributes. A real life case study is also provided for better interpretation.

With a changing business climate, leaders are expected to display multiple characteristics under different circumstances. This book will definitely help Entrepreneurs, Managers, Supervisors, business leaders and everyone else aspiring to become a leader. A great read for everyone to get firing in all areas of leadership. A great book to read and occupy everyone’s desk in 2011.

[Lily E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sadly wasn't able to ready every page of this one, but like the publisher adverts, it's a book you get to when you need to brush up one of your skills or when you're searching for a new approach into a issue at work perhaps.

Clear and concise it first explains the basis of the DiSC psychological model, and then procedes to get you through a brief explanation of the 8 leadership dimensions, guiding you (with the help of web material and questionary, if needed) to find your dominant attitude.
From there, it procedes in two branches, the first one adverting for your pitfalls, so you can avoid them, and the second one showing how to improve, based on the quealities of the other leadership models.

Useful to those who are strugling with liderance problems at work, interesting for everyone in leadership roles, and entertaing to psychology lovers.

[Tim Plett · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have other books on leadership and personality that I rate more highly, I found this one helpful. In particular I found it helpful in the analysis provided on the one area I need to work on, which is energy.
The ability to focus narrowly on areas of needed improvement is most helpful.
The authors also lay the book out in such a way that you can read only the most needed chapters.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a really useful book. Anyone familiar with DiSC knows that it's a tool helpful in identifying your go-to behaviors and strengths at work, and this does a fine job of that. But where it stands out is in highlighting one's individual weakness and providing strategies for shining a light on those blind spots and/or sharpening some dull behavioral saws. Managers, pick this up!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to DiSC for me - and looking at leadership styles. SWOT on my own style, and how I can learn from other styles. Also interesting to think of how my style conflicts with more cautious/reflective and Questioning/Skeptical styles.

[Faisal Alburek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books expands the concept of DISC styles as well as helps you to identify your style, tells you what are your strong points and what your weaknesses and how to overcome them.

It is a book that I get back to from time to time to see how well I am progressing.

[Brett Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take the assessment before reading the book!

[Jeanette Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have taken the DiSC previous to reading this book. It is good and I learned new things about myself.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to any DISC facilitator or leader who is well versed in DiSC.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read about how you lead, how you can grow, and how you can work with other leaders that are different than you. Definitely a resource that I will refer back to!

[Antti Koskinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiinnostavin osa kirjaa on alku, jossa hahmotellaan 8 osainen disc-metodiin perustuva johtamistyylien luokittelu. Tämän jälkeen jokainen luokka kuvataan pintapuolisesti ja lopuksi käydään jokaisesta tyylistä muutama hyvä opittava asia läpi.

Kirjassa puhutaan paljon siitä kuin me tietoisesti voimme opetella erilaisia johtamistyylejä mutta en kyllä erityisemmin välittänyt ajatuksesta, että nappia painamalla vaihdamme tyyliä tilanteesta toiseen. Lisäksi huomio ei ollut ollenkaan viestin vastaanottajissa, mitä pidän outona sillä johtamistyyli pitää kuitenkin valita yleisölle sopivaksi.