Compare MBTI and DISC: Which is more useful in Sport?

Thinking and Feeling:

This dimension analyses how people attempt to make a decision. Using the thinking approach logic and objectivity is valued. So facts and numbers are assessed. Using the feeling approach personal values and subjectivity are emphasized. Does your mind initially go to the logic, numbers and behind the decision, or does it initially go to the people and special circumstances involved and the impact this has on your feelings.

Judgment and Perception:

This is the dimension Myers and Briggs added to Jung’s other three dimensions, and involves the structure of the outside world and how you deal with it. “Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas and how this information is ordered to make sense of what is happening. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived.” In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? Judging people close the data gate and go with a response. Perceivers keep the flow open and change their perceptions as new information is delivered.

While both facets are present in every personality, Jung believed one is emphasized more than the other. In fact, an individual may use one facet consciously and with deliberate intention, while the other influences behavior only unconsciously.

Once the questionnaire is completed, your personality type will be given. This is in the form of a code with four letters, each indicating which pair in the dimension you leant towards. For example you could be an ISTJ, or an ESFP. The 16 possible types are shown below:

MBTI claims that certain types are more effective in roles such as leadership or certain types being more sporting than others. This is starkly different to what DISC is based on. DISC is grounded in the principle, that there is a time and place for each profile when it comes to being a leader. No one behavioral style is going to work all the time.

The same goes for being a successful athlete. We have some of the greatest athletes in the world on our database of clients and we can assure you, there is no pattern suggesting a D, I, S or C is more or less successful.

Compare MBTI and DISC: Advantages of MBTI

The main advantage of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is its potential for use as a self-awareness tool to comprehend what your actual personality is. This initially includes understanding your own personality type, and then comparing how you see the world, to how others in your environment see the world.

If understanding someone’s “personality” is your objective, then the MBTI is likely your best assessment and tool to you.

I am accredited in the use of MBTI and know what my four letters are in addition to my primary, secondary, tertiary and inferior functions are. I have sat my exams, passed and understand the inner workings of MBTI. It is a complicated model which many struggle to know unless significant time is spent learning. There is also no graphical interface to represent the various personalities making understanding others more challenging, although others see this as an advantage. (These are reasons we use DISC and find our coaches and athletes able to comprehend the model very quickly. For coaches and athletes, their primary role is not to become experts in profiling.)

Compare MBTI and DISC: Disadvantages of MBTI

As mentioned earlier, the MBTI is a 16 factor model and it is more complicated to grasp quickly and harder to remember. (Ask someone who has done the MBTI what they are and listen for their answer – often you get a quizzical look and then a rendition of a few different letters of the alphabet, some of which are in MBTI and sometimes not). You do need to spend significant time in learning MBTI and how to interpret and apply to your context.

While with DISC you can delve deeply into the theory and its application, yet at its core is a four quadrant model that most people can quickly grasp the basics in only a few minutes. This is very important in sport, both coaches, athletes and others.

MBTI is focused on ‘personality’ which is different to a focus on ‘behavior’. What is often most useful in improving performance, is to look at and work with someone’s behavior i.e. what they do (as opposed to personality and who they are). Obviously personality plays a major role in how someone behaves, but someone can change their behavior and benefit from better outcomes.

DISC is a behavioral measurement. DISC does not suggest you have to change your personality, just your behavior. We find this to be the critical factor in why DISC can deliver more useful outcomes for us as sports coaches. We never ask an athlete to change who they are, but coaches are constantly suggesting to an athlete how they can change their technique or behavioral approach to create better results. Ultimately, behavior is flexible, personality is not. Your DISC profile is never a prison which has to dictate everything you do. DISC aims to give you a choice of ways to behave each of which results in various outcomes depending on the situation.

Mentioned earlier is the fact that there is also no graphical interface within MBTI to represent the various personalities making understanding others more challenging although some people see this as an advantage. 

DISC is measured on a scale, so you can understand your score on each measure of Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientious.

Most importantly, you have to ask yourself whether you believe a select few can be leaders or leaders can be developed. MBTI claims that certain personality types are more effective in roles such as leadership or certain personality types being more sporting than others.

This is starkly different to what DISC is based on. DISC is grounded in the principle, that there is a time and place for each profile when it comes to being a leader. No one behavioral style is going to work all the time. The same goes for being a successful athlete. We have some of the greatest athletes in the world on our database of clients and we can assure you, there is no pattern suggesting a D, I, S or C is more or less successful.

A disadvantage to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is that little information is provided for the respondent to aid them in interpretation. This creates significant difficulties with questions which are vague or with respondent’s who are answering in a second language.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is not designed for use in a hiring process. Although profiling potential applicants’ personalities is becoming a more conventional practice is business, using the wrong kind of profile can make the results unreliable. The MBTI was designed for training and development process, not for weeding through applicants.