DISC or Big Five in your coaching: differences and how to choose

DISC or Big Five in your coaching: differences and how to choose

DISC and the Big Five don't measure the same thing. DISC describes behaviour: how someone talks, decides and reacts at work. The Big Five describes personality traits: patterns in thinking and feeling that remain fairly stable over the years. For a coach, the question is therefore not which model is better. The question is what your coachee needs right now. If you're working on communication and collaboration, DISC helps quickly. If you're working on deeper questions about who someone is and what suits them, the Big Five offers more to hold on to. Below you'll read, for each model, what it measures and where its strengths lie. You'll also see how MBTI fits in, which alternatives exist and how to use a test carefully.

In short

• DISC is about visible behaviour in a particular situation, across four styles. It's quick to explain and immediately usable in conversations about communication.
• The Big Five is about five stable personality traits and is the most widely researched model in psychology.
• MBTI sorts people into sixteen types and is mainly used in coaching for self-reflection.
• Choose based on your goal: behaviour and collaboration (DISC), deeper self-knowledge and career choices (Big Five), language for one's own preferences (MBTI).
• Don't use any test as a label or as a selection instrument. A result is the start of a conversation, not a final verdict.

Table of contents

• What DISC measures and what the Big Five measures
• DISC, Big Five and MBTI side by side
• How strong is the evidence for each model?
• DISC or MBTI in a coaching programme
• Which model fits which coaching goal?
• Alternatives alongside DISC
• How to use an assessment carefully
• Our view on DISC and the Big Five
• Assessments and programme in one overview
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources

What DISC measures and what the Big Five measures

The two models are often mentioned in the same breath. Yet they look at a person from a different angle.

DISC: four behavioural styles

DISC describes how someone behaves in a particular environment, usually at work. The model works with four styles:

• Dominance: results-focused, decisive, makes decisions quickly.
• Influence: enthusiastic, sociable, persuades and motivates others.
• Steadiness: patient, reliable, seeks calm and harmony.
• Conscientiousness: analytical, precise, likes structure and rules.

Everyone has all four styles within them, just in a different mix. That makes DISC pleasant to work with. Your coachee doesn't hear "this is who you are", but "this is your preference in these kinds of situations". A DISC profile can also shift when someone changes roles. A team leader sometimes behaves differently in a new position than in their old job. For a coach that's actually useful: behaviour can be trained.

Big Five: five personality traits

The Big Five, also called OCEAN, describes personality along five dimensions:

• Openness: curiosity, creativity, appetite for new experiences.
• Conscientiousness: planning, persevering, keeping commitments.
• Extraversion: drawing energy from contact with others.
• Agreeableness: friendliness, cooperating, considering others.
• Neuroticism: sensitivity to stress and negative emotions. Its opposite is called emotional stability.

Someone doesn't get a type, but a score on each scale. So you're not "introverted" or "extraverted", but you sit somewhere on the line between the two. The scores remain fairly stable over a longer period. That's why the Big Five says more about who someone is across different roles, and less about what they'll do in a meeting tomorrow.

How the two models relate

DISC and the Big Five are not separate worlds. In a validation study of DISC against the Big Five, each DISC style turned out to be roughly a blend of two Big Five factors. Openness appears least in DISC. For you as a coach this means: if you want to talk with a coachee about curiosity, creativity or an appetite for change, DISC offers little language for that. That's where the Big Five is stronger. If you want to talk about how someone comes across in a team, DISC is more concrete.

DISC, Big Five and MBTI side by side

Many coaches hesitate not only between DISC and the Big Five, but also between DISC and MBTI. This table sets the three models side by side on the points that matter in a coaching programme.

The questionnaire lengths come from a comparison of DISC and MBTI by the International Coaching Federation. A short questionnaire is an advantage in practice: your coachee completes it before the session and you can get started with it right away.

How strong is the evidence for each model?

The Big Five is the most widely researched personality model. Researchers around the world use it, and it has the strongest foundation when it comes to predicting things like work performance. If you want to talk with a coachee about fixed patterns that have been at play for years, the Big Five puts you on solid ground.

DISC was created as a practical working model for behaviour and communication. It was not designed to predict performance. An organisational psychologist from Utrecht University points out, in a piece by Studium Generale on personality tests, that there is no scientific evidence that DISC predicts work performance. But that's not what you use it for in coaching. There, DISC serves as a shared language: a coachee recognises their own behaviour, recognises that of colleagues, and can deliberately practise with it.

Of the three, MBTI is the most contested in academia. The best-known point is its low test-retest reliability: those who take the test twice regularly get a different type. As an aid for self-reflection, MBTI is still widely used. As a fixed label, it works less well.

The lesson for coaches: use each model for what it was designed for. DISC for behaviour and collaboration. The Big Five for deeper traits. MBTI for a conversation about preferences.

DISC or MBTI in a coaching programme

The question "DISC or MBTI?" comes up again and again among coaches. The difference lies in the lens. DISC looks at behaviour that others can see. MBTI looks at preferences you experience from within.

In practice, many coaches make the choice based on the phase of the programme:

• Behavioural change and communication: DISC. A manager who delivers feedback too bluntly quickly sees, with DISC, what's happening and what they can do differently.
• Reflection and identity: MBTI. A coachee who wonders why certain work drains so much energy gets, with MBTI, words for their preferences.
• Teams: DISC. The four styles can be explained in an hour and give a team a common language. Because it's about behaviour rather than character, it feels less personal. That makes the conversation safer.

DISC is also shorter and quicker to complete. For a first session or a team day, that is often the deciding factor.

Which model fits which coaching goal?

Don't choose based on a test's fame, but based on your coachee's question. These four questions help you:

1. Is the question about behaviour or about identity? Behaviour (how do I come across, how do I collaborate) points to DISC. Identity (who am I, what suits me) points to the Big Five.
2. How much time do you have? In a short programme of a few sessions, DISC delivers results faster. In a longer programme, the Big Five can add more depth.
3. Are you working with an individual or a team? For teams, a simple, shared language works better. That argues for DISC.
4. What happens with the result? Just for development? Then any model is usable, as long as you use it as a conversation. Does a client want to use the result to assess or select people? Then a personality test does not belong in your coaching programme.

Per type of coach, this often looks like this:

• Executive and leadership coaches use DISC for the way a leader communicates and the Big Five for questions about style and long-term patterns. If you want to discuss leadership more broadly, an overview with leadership styles side by side helps you to talk, alongside the profile, about which style works in which situation.
• Career coaches benefit greatly from the Big Five, because stable traits say something about work that fits well. DISC helps to see how someone presents themselves in a job interview or a new role.
• Business coaches often choose DISC for collaboration with partners, clients and staff.
• Life coaches use DISC as a light start and like to combine it with a broader instrument such as the Wheel of Life, a circle in which the coachee scores their satisfaction across different areas of life.

Alternatives alongside DISC

DISC is not the only instrument coaches use. A few well-known alternatives and additions:

• Enneagram: focuses on core motivations. Why does someone do what they do? Coaches often use it in personal development programmes.
• CliftonStrengths: revolves around talents. It helps a coachee see where they are naturally strong.
• Hogan: widely used in leadership development, among other things to discuss behaviour under pressure.
• Birkman: describes behaviour in normal circumstances and behaviour under stress, plus underlying needs and motivation.
• Wheel of Life: not a personality test, but a simple way to see with a coachee where they are satisfied and where they are not.

Many coaches don't use one model, but a combination. DISC for behaviour in the first sessions, a broader instrument later in the programme. The important thing is that all results stay with the right coachee and the right programme. Otherwise, three months later you'll be searching your inbox for that one profile.

How to use an assessment carefully

An assessment is an assessment: a questionnaire or test you use to map something out together with your coachee. It only delivers value if you embed it well in your programme. These steps help you do that.

1. Explain the purpose. Tell your coachee why you're using the test and what you will and won't do with it. For example: "We're using this to discuss your communication, not to assess you."
2. Have the test completed before the session. Then the session itself is free for the conversation.
3. Discuss the result as a hypothesis. Ask: "Do you recognise this? Where do you, and where don't you?" The coachee is the expert on their own life.
4. Don't stick on a label. In the Netherlands there is criticism of HR departments that deploy personality tests without a critical eye. In Intermediair, an expert warns that people end up with labels that don't fit. So say "in these kinds of situations you often choose to..." rather than "you're a D".
5. Turn it into actions. An insight without a follow-up fades. Agree on one or two concrete actions and check in the next session how it went.
6. Track progress. Ask how things are going between sessions. That way you see whether the insight actually changes behaviour.
7. Handle the results carefully. A personality profile is confidential information. The GDPR, the European privacy law, requires that you store personal data securely and only use it for the purpose you agreed. If you're unsure about what you may store and for how long, seek advice from a privacy lawyer or your professional association.
8. Don't use a development test for selection. Does an employer ask for a coachee's result? Discuss that with your coachee first and make written agreements about what you share.

Our view on DISC and the Big Five

We often see the same thing among coaches. Choosing a model gets a lot of attention, but what happens after the test gets little. The profile sits in a PDF in your email, the insights in a separate notebook and the agreements in a chat message. After a few weeks the thread is lost.

That's why we built Exantur around the whole coaching programme. Assessments like DISC and the Wheel of Life sit with the right coachee and the right programme. In your session notes you record what you observe as an observation, insight, breakthrough or action point. That way you can later look back at when a coachee first truly recognised their communication style.

For us, DISC is a strong starting point because it quickly provides a shared language. The real value arises between the sessions. That's why we link insights to goals, check-ins and accountability: your coachee keeps track themselves of what they do with an insight, and you see where progress is happening and where extra attention is needed.

And because a personality profile is confidential, we store data in the EU, in Frankfurt, with two-step verification and a data processing agreement. Software doesn't make your practice GDPR-proof by itself, but it does help you work carefully.

Martijn

Assessments and programme in one overview

Want to use DISC or the Wheel of Life without separate files and emails? In Exantur, the assessment tools for coaching sit alongside your session notes, goals and check-ins. In their own portal, your coachee sees their goals, progress and shared documents and assignments, and keeps track there of which actions they carry out. With the accountability features you see what happens between sessions. Accountability here means: your coachee takes responsibility for their own commitments, and you can follow along.

Do you work with a team of coaches or for organisations? Then you also get teams and roles, 360° feedback and reports for the client. Read more on the Exantur for organisations page. The Mini plan costs €19 per month or €190 per year, and the Starter plan €49 per month or €490 per year. You can see all plans on the Exantur pricing page, and you can start with a free trial period.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Big Five more accurate than DISC?

The Big Five is the most widely researched personality model and measures stable traits. DISC measures something different: behaviour in a particular situation. For a conversation about communication and collaboration, DISC is often more concrete. So choose based on your goal, not on a general ranking.

Can I use DISC and the Big Five in the same coaching programme?

Yes. Many coaches start with DISC to quickly talk about behaviour and later use a broader model for deeper questions. Make sure your coachee understands why you are introducing a second instrument. Record both results within the same programme so you keep seeing connections.

Is DISC suitable for staff selection?

No. DISC is a development instrument and was not designed to predict performance. Use it in coaching to discuss behaviour and collaboration. For selection, other methods designed for that purpose are needed.

How long does it take to complete a DISC test?

A DISC questionnaire is short, often 24 to 30 questions. Most coachees complete it in about fifteen minutes. Have it done before the session so you can use the session for the conversation about the results.

Sources

Concurrent validation study DISC vs. Big Five (123test) DISC vs. MBTI assessments in coaching (International Coaching Federation) The (un)blessing of personality tests (Studium Generale Utrecht University) Popular HR methods lack a scientific basis (Intermediair) 10 Leadership Styles Compared (MSI)