skip to Main Content

What is the DiSC C type?

8 min read

People whose DiSC® profile shows a C style tend to be reserved, methodical, and precise. They enjoy challenges and gaining expertise. C-type people employ objectivity, analysis, and determination to stick with a problem until they solve it. They are strong critical thinkers who are naturally skeptical and self-controlled.

C style graphic with priorities: accuracy, stability, challenge

The DiSC® C personality type at a glance

  • Traits: Detached, accurate, restrained, reserved, conscientious, disciplined, analytical, logical, rational, skeptical, fact-finder, diligent, private
  • Driven by: Accuracy, objective processes
  • Anxieties: Being wrong, strong displays of emotion
  • Influences others by: Logic, exacting standards
  • In tense situations: Focuses on logic and objectivity; overpowers with logic and facts

How well these descriptors match your own C style will depend on how close your dot is to the edge of the DiSC circle. If you have a C style, the closer your dot is to the edge, the more likely you are to exhibit these traits.

What does it mean to have a “high C” 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 C style score highest on the C scale.

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

One way to understand how widely personality types differ is to look at which styles are across from each other on the DiSC circumplex. For the C style, the opposite personality type is the i style. People with C styles likely score lower on i-scale measurements like being sociable and lively. That doesn’t mean C-style folks never exhibit these behaviors; it just takes more energy for them than the behaviors that come more naturally.

Circle showing the 12 style wedges. The i wedge is highlighted.
  • i-style people tend to be extroverted and expressive, while C-style folks are often introverted and reserved.
  • The i-type personality prioritizes enthusiasm; the C style prioritizes accuracy.
  • i styles often like to network and collaborate; C styles are more likely to present a private demeanor and prefer independent work.
Image showing the active-to-reflective dimension and the skeptical-to-accepting dimension

What motivates the C style?

People with DiSC C styles are motivated by accuracy, stability, and challenge.

Accuracy

  • want to ensure superior results
  • tend to analyze options thoroughly
  • avoid letting their emotions get in the way of making rational decisions

Stability

  • value follow-through and restraint
  • are uncomfortable with quick or risky decisions
  • exercise caution to ensure dependable results

Challenge

  • on a quest to find the more streamlined or productive method of completing their tasks
  • skeptical, won’t accept ideas without asking a lot of questions
  • tendency to point out flaws that others may have missed

What are the C style’s driving assumptions?

We all have core beliefs that are largely hidden to our rational minds, yet drive our decisions and behavior. We call these driving assumptions.

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

  • I must always maintain credibility.
  • It’s awful to be blamed for something.
  • I must maintain my dignity at all times.
  • My flaws must not be exposed.
  • I must control how I display my emotions, or I will be vulnerable.

Every person is different, so even within C styles, some of these statements will resonate more than others.

Driving assumptions can lead to both destructive and productive behaviors. For example, the values above can lead C-style people to not ask for help when they need it. But they also motivate C-style folks to persist through challenges to solve tough problems.

How does the C style handle stress?

Different things create stress for people of different personality types. For example, i styles feel a lot of stress when they think they’re left out of group activities. C styles probably aren’t as bothered.

What does stress out a C-type personality:

  • uncertainty and taking risks
  • making mistakes in front of others
  • emotional and/or erratic people
  • feeling vulnerable
  • being around lots of people, having little private time
  • any possibility they will be seen as incompetent
  • not having expertise in a task they need to perform

Under stress, C styles tend to:

  • be defensive
  • overuse restraint, lean even harder into self-control
  • become avoidant or resistant
  • retreat into themselves
  • look for ways to gain or maintain control
  • have a real aversion to showing vulnerability

How can I work well with C-style people?

People with DiSC C personality types bring a lot to their workplaces. They’re not going to leave a task half-finished. They push those around them to have high standards and embrace a challenge.

Tips for working with C personality types:

  • Don’t assume that because they are logical, their feelings aren’t important.
  • Give them personal space.
  • Clarify which decisions are subject to change and which are final.
  • Especially if you have a similar style, avoid getting caught up in overanalysis.
  • Focus on facts and minimize “pep talk.”
  • Avoid pressuring them for immediate decisions.
  • Support your opinions with logic.
  • Recognize the value of their logical approach.

The C style and teamwork

C-style teammates are generally reliable and detail-oriented. They want superior results and aren’t afraid of challenge. They may openly question ideas and point out flaws that others may have missed.

Strengths of C-style teammates:

  • love a challenge
  • will go the extra mile to master a skill; you’ll rarely hear them say “that’s good enough”
  • won’t accept ideas at face value if there’s no evidence to support them
  • desire quality and precision
  • take the time to evaluate big decisions
  • are great at turning obstacles into opportunities
  • won’t let problems slide

Challenges of C-style teammates:

  • asking for help
  • keeping an open mind when teammates do things in a way they wouldn’t
  • collaborating with people they see as less competent
  • moving quickly, showing enthusiasm
  • dealing with strong displays of emotion

Read more: Team building

What if there are many C-style people on a team?

The mix of individual styles within a group creates a larger DiSC group culture. When a group displays a C culture (with many people of C, CD, and CS styles) it tends to be detail-oriented, analytical, and diplomatic. We call this the “get it right” team.

Advantages of the C group culture:

  • holds itself to high standards
  • provides well-defined goals
  • ensures accuracy

Drawbacks of the C group culture:

  • overanalyzes
  • misses opportunities due to excess caution
  • may not foster a strong sense of community

Read more: DiSC C group culture

Which careers are good for DiSC C personalities?

Your DiSC style doesn’t predict how successful you’ll be in any given job. We don’t recommend basing career decisions (or hiring decisions) on personality type alone.

Although your DiSC profile can’t tell you what career to pursue, it can help you clarify what you might enjoy about different professional environments. Reviewing your DiSC profile can remind you where you get your energy and what your core motivators and stressors are.

For example, people with C styles often enjoy environments that provide autonomy, stability, and clear expectations. They like following efficient systems and look forward to applying themselves to complex challenges. C-type people could explore jobs in engineering, data science, research, technology, editing, manufacturing, economics, quality control, and many other fields that welcome their precision and objectivity.

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

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

Are C types good leaders?

People of all DiSC styles make good leaders. No single DiSC style is best for leaders to have. Rather, effective leaders learn their natural strengths and challenges and how to adapt their styles to different situations.

C-style people are deliberate leaders: systematic, cautious, and analytical. They communicate with clarity and provide a sense of stability.

Read more: C-type leaders

Deliberate leaders: communicating with clarity, promoting discipline, providing a sense of stability

What are C-style people like as managers?

Managers with the DiSC C style:

  • make their decisions based on logic
  • focus on quality
  • provide clarity around why they’re asking employees to complete certain tasks
  • communicate clearly and directly
  • respond best to people who can demonstrate their competency

C-type managers probably enjoy:

  • working toward a challenging goal
  • helping their employees find better, more efficient ways of working
  • pushing their team to have high standards and meet them
  • being looked to for their expertise and advice

C-style managers likely don’t enjoy:

  • making decisions without time for analysis
  • feeling like they have to dispense a lot of praise for people do to their jobs
  • dealing with overly emotional people
  • following inefficient systems
Priorities map from Everything DiSC Management
Priorities map from Everything DiSC® Management

Read more: Management

Do C-style people make good salespeople?

Each DiSC style has its natural strengths and challenges when it comes to sales. Someone’s DiSC style does not predict how successful they will be as a salesperson.

Salespeople with C styles are focused on quality. They are well-organized and pay attention to details. When selling, they like to let the quality of the product speak for itself.

Other characteristics of C salespeople:

  • are proactive about identifying obstacles
  • enjoy finding the most effective solution for each customer
  • make customers feel they’ve made a smart decision

The overriding priority for salespeople with C personality types is quality.

Everything DiSC Sales priorities
Everything DiSC® Sales priorities

How does the C personality type deal with conflict?

People with C styles often make it a priority to stay objective in conflict situations. They try to keep emotions out of the picture and stick to the facts.

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 C styles that are productive during conflict:

  • find the root cause of problems
  • sort out all the issues
  • give people space
  • focus on the facts

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

  • defensiveness
  • using passive-aggressive tactics
  • becoming overly critical
  • isolating themselves

If you are in conflict with someone with a C style, try these tips:

  • Give them space to consider their position.
  • Keep volatility to a minimum.
  • Focus on facts.
  • Look for the root cause of problems.
  • Don’t take their bluntness personally.
  • Don’t withhold your ideas and opinions just to appease them.
Conflict behaviors in the Five Behaviors model
The Five Behaviors® model discusses healthy and unhealthy behavior during conflict. For C styles, you can see that a healthy behavior is focusing on logic and objectivity and an unhealthy behavior is overpowering others with logic and facts.

Is the DiSC C style emotionally intelligent?

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is not a single trait, but a collection of skills everyone can work to develop. Each DiSC style has natural strengths and challenges when it comes to emotional intelligence.

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

  • let facts guide their thinking
  • excel at distilling problems to their essence
  • possess the ability to step back and analyze a situation, determining what they can control and what they can’t
Priorities map for Everything DiSC Agile EQ
Priorities map for Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™

What are some growth opportunities for DiSC C styles?

Unlike many other personality assessments, Everything DiSC is developmental rather than just descriptive. If you take an Everything DiSC assessment, you’ll get both an understanding of your personality and an individualized path for personal development.

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

  • taking risks, being spontaneous
  • generating excitement, showing enthusiasm
  • letting go of perfectionism
  • being cooperative
  • looking beyond data, understanding when someone’s emotional needs should take priority over logic
  • showing warmth
  • displaying vulnerability

What is my DiSC style?

Do you have the DiSC C personality type? If so, how does your unique personality differ from the typical C 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.

Dig deeper into this topic

Back To Top