There are a number of tools that you can use to understand how and why people operate the way they do.

These are various types of behavior and attitude assessments.  If you take one of these assessments, you can understand yourself better.  And when results are shared across teams, it can help people understand one another better and work together more effectively — help leaders lead with more impact and know how best to approach people and diffuse difficult situations.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (also know as the MBTI) has been around for a long time.  It focuses on illuminating the way you think and deal with information internally and how you think about the world around you.

Another effective tool is the Core Values Index, or CVI.  It’s an assessment tool that measures your combination of intrinsic core values in order to get at who you are and how you handle issues such as conflict.

You can also use Strengths Finder 2.0. Developed by Tim Rath of the Gallup organization, it helps people begin to determine what natural talents thay have; whether they’re being applied properly; and, if not, how to begin to leverage them.

DISC, another popular tool, is often referred to as the universal language of human behavior.  We use DISC a lot in my organization so I’m going to dive into a bit more detail on this particular tool.

People often decscribe DISC as what it’s not.  It’s not a measurement of emotional intelligence or personal intelligence or education or training.  It’s also not a measurement of your experience or your skills or your world view.

But what it does measure is how you do what you do.  It’s a measure of your own observable behaviors.  These are presented in neutral language, meaning there’s really no good or bad behavioral styles in the DISC method; it just is what it is, and it’s the reason I like this method so much.  It allows you to deal with other people more effectively and deal with their potentially challenging behaviors – without getting personal.