DiSC or MBTI - That Is The Question
If you’ve worked in organisations for any length of time, chances are you’ve come across a personality tool at some point. Maybe it was part of a leadership programme, a team away day, or even something your manager encouraged you to try. Two of the most widely known are DiSC and Myers-Briggs (MBTI).
I often get asked: “Which one is better?” The answer isn’t so much about better or worse - it’s about which tool is more useful for the outcomes you’re trying to achieve.
Myers-Briggs (MBTI): A Quick Overview
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has been around since the 1940s and is based on Carl Jung’s theories of psychological types. It sorts people into 16 personality types, using four dimensions:
Extraversion (E) vs Introversion (I)
Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N)
Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F)
Judging (J) vs Perceiving (P)
So you might come out as an ENTJ or an ISFP, for example.
The strength of MBTI is that it gives people a language to talk about personality differences. It can be eye-opening, especially if you’ve never thought much about what drives your preferences or how they differ from others.
But here’s the challenge: MBTI is often seen as complex and static and hard to understand. You might understand your own type and use it for personal improvement but understanding and remembering the type of others can be tricky without a lot of effort - which makes it harder to apply in the fast-moving reality of workplace teams.
DiSC: A Different Approach
DiSC, on the other hand, is a behavioural model rather than a personality type indicator. Instead of categorising you into one of 16 types, it describes behaviour across four styles:
Dominance – direct, results-focused
influence – social, persuasive
Steadiness – patient, supportive
Conscientiousness – analytical, detail-oriented
Most people are a blend of two or more, and your profile is presented on a continuum, not as a fixed type.
The real advantage of DiSC is its simplicity and applicability. Within minutes, people can see how their style shows up in everyday interactions - in meetings, decision-making, conflict, or communication. It’s less about who you “are” at your core and more about how you behave at work. That makes it far more practical for improving team dynamics, leadership, and communication. Additionally the simple structure of DiSC makes it far easier to understand and remember the styles of your peers and how you can adapt in order to improve your working relationships. In my humble opinion DiSC is far more accessible in todays fast moving world.
So, Which One Should You Use?
MBTI is great if you want to explore personality preferences in depth - it can give valuable insights into what motivates you and how you see the world.
DiSC, however, is the tool I reach for when working with teams and organisations. It’s immediately usable, easy to remember, and helps people adjust behaviour in real time - which is where real performance shifts happen.
In fact, according to Everything DiSC, 95% of organisations using DiSC report satisfaction with its usefulness, and participants rate its accuracy at around 90%. That’s a strong indicator of its impact in workplace settings.
Final Thoughts
Both MBTI and DiSC have value and it really depends on what you’re looking for. If what you need is a shared language for your team, something practical that helps people resolve conflict, improve communication, and boost performance then I believe DiSC to be the better option.
At TrueInsightCoach my focus is always on helping leaders and teams unlock higher performance. For me, that means working with tools that not only raise awareness but also translate directly into everyday behaviours. And in that respect, DiSC consistently delivers.