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What is the DiSC i type?

9 min read

People whose DiSC® profile shows an i style like to shape their environment by influencing or persuading others. They are enthusiastic, energetic, and upbeat. People with i styles are often charming or magnetic. They are motivated by relationships, social recognition, and collaboration. i-style folks tend to have warm personalities and be quick to trust others.

i style graphic with priorities: enthusiasm, action, collaboration

The DiSC® i personality type at a glance

  • Traits: Enthusiastic, collaborative, upbeat, persuasive, charming, expressive, fast-paced, lively, social, talkative, verbal processor
  • Driven by: Popularity, approval, excitement, human connection
  • Anxieties: Rejection, not being heard
  • Influences others by: Charm, energy, optimism
  • In tense situations: Takes criticism personally, gossips, struggles with objectivity

How well or how strongly this matches your own i style will depend on how close your dot is to the edge of the DiSC circumplex. The less strongly inclined you are to this style—or the closer your dot is to the center—the more likely it is that some of these traits will be expressed less frequently.

What does it mean to have a “high i” style in DiSC?

Circle showing the 8 scales: four continua which intersect at the middle

The Everything DiSC® assessment measures respondents on eight scales: Dominance (D), Di/iD, influence (i), iS/Si, Steadiness (S), SC/CS, Conscientiousness (C), and CD/DC. As you might expect, people with the i style score highest on the i scale.

Some respondents fall in the i quadrant but show tendencies that also align with S or D styles, assigning them iS or iD styles. Others fall solidly in the middle of the i quadrant. You may hear people refer to these folks as “solid i” or “high i” styles.

Everyone is a blend of all twelve DiSC styles, but most people align best with one or two. All DiSC styles are equally valuable.

What is the opposite DiSC style of i?

One benefit of the DiSC circumplex model is that you can visualize how your style relates to the other styles. If you look across the circle at the style opposite yours, you can get a new perspective on the wide variety of natural mindsets people have.

The i style is opposite the C style. It’s likely that i-style people score lower on C-scale measurements like accuracy and objectivity. However, each DiSC respondent is unique and some people score high in scales outside their predominant style. This often shows up as extra priorities in their DiSC profile.

Circle showing the 12 style wedges. The i wedge is highlighted.
  • C-style people are reserved and private, while i-style folks are expressive and social.
  • The C-type personality is motivated by accuracy and logic, while i types are motivated by relationships and emotion.
  • C styles prefer stable environments, while i styles seek novelty.
  • C styles are deliberative and like to thoroughly research their decisions. People with i styles tend to have a bias toward action and rely on their instincts.
Image showing the active-to-reflective dimension and the skeptical-to-accepting dimension

What motivates the i style?

People with DiSC i styles are motivated by enthusiasm, action, and collaboration.

Enthusiasm

  • tend to maintain an upbeat attitude
  • become excited about new possibilities
  • are very expressive when communicating their ideas
  • feel the need to externalize their thoughts and emotions and have them acknowledged by others

Action

  • focus on making quick progress
  • are fast-paced and eager to get going
  • don’t spend a lot of time thinking through the consequences
  • prefer adventurous ideas to safe ones

Collaboration

  • enjoy meeting new people
  • have a knack for getting everyone involved and building team spirit
  • usually don’t like working alone

What are the i style’s driving assumptions?

We all have unconscious beliefs that direct our behavior. These are not necessarily thoughts we want to say aloud. We may not even agree with them on a conscious level. But these driving assumptions still shape our personalities and influence our decisions.

For the i style, thoughts like these may drive their behavior and choices:

  • I need to be wanted and accepted.
  • I should never be the source of someone else’s unhappiness.
  • I’m responsible for fixing people’s hurt feelings.
  • When I see others in need, I must help them.
  • I am valuable if people pay attention to me.
  • If I upset someone, they’re going to reject me.

These beliefs can be both destructive and productive. They might make it difficult for an i-style person to critique or even recognize a bad idea. But these beliefs also make i-style folks genuine and open people who can move acquaintances quickly to friends.

How does the i style handle stress?

What is stressful for one personality type may not cause stress in another. For example, being asked to express emotion and be the center of attention may be very stressful for many people, but i styles often genuinely enjoy it. It’s more stressful for them to feel ignored or asked to hide their emotions.

People with i styles tend to be deep-feeling and passionate, with higher highs and lower lows than other styles. This will likely show up during times of stress. The i style’s tendency toward strong emotion and their need to express themselves means there is a high potential for drama.

What might stress out an i-type person:

  • being left out or ignored
  • being isolated from other people
  • needing to give or receive critical feedback
  • feeling stuck doing work that is repetitive or analytical or lacks the novelty they seek

Under stress, i styles tend to:

  • get flustered and disorganized
  • exaggerate, attempting to make things sound as intense as they feel
  • become overly expressive and/or talkative
  • look for attention

How can I work well with i-style people?

People with DiSC i personality types bring a lot to their teams. They have a fundamental openness, and bring energy and positivity to their workplaces.

Tips for working with i personality types:

  • Work collaboratively with them. Share ideas and successes.
  • Be personal. Express your interest in them, and make time to chat, even if it’s not directly work-related.
  • Avoid overloading them with unnecessary details.
  • Allow them opportunities to express themselves.
  • Be clear about deadlines and when you need them to make decisions.
  • Find ways to recognize them so they feel well-liked and appreciated.
  • Recognize the value of their energy and enthusiasm.
  • i-style people tend to take even minor criticism quite personally. You can still hold them accountable or critique their work. Just assure them that your relationship is still strong and you appreciate them.

The i style and teamwork

Overall, i-style teammates are enthusiastic and action-oriented. They look for the positive and are quick to celebrate other people’s and the team’s accomplishments. Their fast pace helps more analytical teams remember not to get bogged down and stagnate.

Strengths of i-style teammates:

  • bring a positive energy
  • keep an eye out for new possibilities
  • find genuine pleasure in connecting with others, which encourages people to open up in turn
  • involve everyone in making decisions
  • boost team morale

Challenges of i-style teammates:

  • are hesitant to contradict others or challenge bad ideas
  • can be impulsive
  • may not recognize when people need their space
  • lack natural skepticism
  • are usually more excited to start a new project than maintain the current one

Read more: Team building

What if there are many i people on a team?

The mix of individual styles within a group creates a larger DiSC group culture. When a group displays an i culture (with many people of iS, i, and iD styles), it tends to be energetic, optimistic, and social. We call this the “get recognition” team.

Advantages of the i group culture:

  • excels at promoting ideas
  • provides a fun and optimistic atmosphere
  • fosters creativity through high energy

Drawbacks of the i group culture:

  • changes direction frequently
  • avoids tending to repetitive or routine tasks
  • spends too much time socializing

Read more: DiSC i group culture

Which careers are good for DiSC i personalities?

People of any personality type can succeed in any field. We don’t recommend basing career decisions (or hiring decisions) on personality type alone.

But if you’re considering a career change, you may want to review your DiSC profile report to get clarity around your motivations and priorities. Make notes about what speaks to you most when reading your report, and think about how that could help frame your search for a fulfilling career.

For example, people with i styles tend to value environments that provide energy, novelty, and opportunities to collaborate. They usually don’t relish working in isolation or on repetitive tasks. Rather, they want to meet new people, build connections, and share their ideas. i-type people could explore jobs in education, the arts, coaching, communications and marketing, sales, community organizing, recreation and tourism, physical therapy, art therapy, health and wellness, and many other industries that allow them to influence people and express themselves.

Everything DiSC Workplace priorities map.
Review your priorities when considering a career change. Image: Everything DiSC Workplace® priorities map.

Do i personality types make good leaders, managers, and salespeople?

Are i types good leaders?

People of all DiSC styles make good leaders. Your DiSC style informs which aspects of leadership come easy to you, and which take more energy. Effective leaders flex into various personality styles throughout any given day.

i-style people are energizing leaders: enthusiastic, inspirational, and good at building networks. They are usually upbeat, eager, and willing to take chances.

Depending where their dot falls in the DiSC circumplex, i-style people may also display qualities of affirming leaders and pioneering leaders.

On 360-degree-type leadership assessments, i-style leaders tend to rate highly in areas like rallying people to achieve goals and building enthusiasm. They may have to work harder to focus on follow-through and analysis.

Read more: i-type leaders

Energizing leaders: showing enthusiasm, building professional networks, rallying people to achieve

What are i-style people like as managers?

Managers with the DiSC i style:

  • provide encouragement
  • value people’s emotional needs
  • give people recognition and celebrate group victories
  • like excitement and fast movement
  • look for innovative, groundbreaking solutions
  • are expressive communicators who like getting people excited about their goals and ideas
  • encourage collaboration and idea-sharing
  • expect those they manage to be group-minded rather than focused on individual egos

i-type managers probably enjoy:

  • developing warm relationships with team members
  • encouraging and inspiring people to do their best
  • creating opportunities for collaboration and innovation
  • keeping things moving

i-style managers likely don’t enjoy:

  • giving people unpleasant feedback
  • being forceful or insistent
  • making hard decisions independently
  • working steadily toward long-term goals
Priorities map from Everything DiSC Management
Priorities map from Everything DiSC® Management

Read more: Management

Do i-style people make good salespeople?

You’ll find successful salespeople with all different DiSC styles. Each style has its natural strengths and challenges when it comes to sales.

i-style salespeople often have a contagious excitement. They also show a genuine interest in their customers and want to get to know them. They like to keep things positive and keep things moving.

Other characteristics of i salespeople:

  • friendly and upbeat
  • show passion and energy
  • get customers excited about possibilities
  • sociable and personable
  • trusting and willing to give people the benefit of the doubt

The overriding priority for salespeople with i personality types is enthusiasm.

Everything DiSC Sales priorities
Everything DiSC® Sales priorities

How does the i personality type deal with conflict?

People with i personalities tend to avoid conflict when possible because they fear it threatens the relationships that are so important to them. They will often try to smooth things over when they sense conflict brewing.

Conflict is a part of every workplace, and many studies show that some amount of conflict is actually healthy, when this conflict is productive, not destructive.

Priorities map from Everything DiSC Productive Conflict
Priorities map from Everything DiSC® Productive Conflict

Tendencies of i styles that are productive during conflict:

  • communicate empathy
  • encourage open dialogue
  • provide reassurance
  • verbalize emotions

The same personality traits driving the above tendencies can also drive destructive tendencies during conflict, like:

  • becoming overly emotional
  • talking over others
  • being impulsive
  • glossing over tension
  • making personal attacks

If you are in conflict with someone with an i style, try these tips:

  • Acknowledge their feelings.
  • Let them know that your relationship is still solid despite your differences.
  • Avoid personal attacks that could escalate the conflict.
  • Take a break if things get too heated.
  • Don’t disregard their perspective even if their delivery is highly emotional.
Conflict behaviors in the Five Behaviors model
The Five Behaviors® model discusses healthy and unhealthy behavior during conflict. For i styles, you can see that a healthy behavior is expressing feelings and an unhealthy behavior is gossiping.

Is the DiSC i style emotionally intelligent?

Emotional intelligence (EQ) has different meanings in different situations. It’s not a single quality you either have or don’t have. People with i styles have natural strengths and challenges when it comes to emotional intelligence, as we all do.

Of the eight EQ mindsets described in Everything DiSC Agile EQ, i styles align most closely with the outgoing mindset. This means i-style people are likely to:

  • establish and maintain relationships
  • express emotions and unfiltered thoughts to others
  • put time and energy into making connections
  • build trust and encourage open communication
  • be comfortable at networking events
  • initiate outings and social events
Priorities map for Everything DiSC Agile EQ
Priorities map for Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™

What are some growth opportunities for DiSC i styles?

Unlike many other personality assessments, Everything DiSC is developmental rather than just informational. People who take the assessment gain both an understanding of their personalities and an individualized path for personal development.

In general, i-style people may benefit from working on:

  • being more objective
  • following through on tasks
  • receiving criticism
  • holding others accountable
  • creating systems and procedures where helpful
  • noticing when others are overwhelmed by their energy
  • leaving space for others to speak

What is my DiSC style?

Do you have the DiSC i personality type? If so, how does your unique personality differ from the typical i type? Taking a DiSC assessment is the first step toward meeting many personal development goals. Not only will you understand your own behaviors more, but you’ll learn how to form better relationships at home and work. We recommend starting your DiSC journey with Everything DiSC Workplace.

Author

Avery Harris-Gray

SC style, NY based. Writing about Everything DiSC and The Five Behaviors since 2020. Leadership style: humble. EQ mindset: composed. I always have snacks to share.

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