Find a Mentor Using the DISC Method

This is a guest post from MLR @ MyLifeROI. He writes a personal finance blog that focuses on education, careers, money management, and technology and caters to 18-35 year olds. He also posts an original web comic every Friday that relates to the topics he discusses. If you like this post, subscribe to his feed.

Mentors teach you about both the company and the industry, give you advice about job functions, and help you network with important people. All of these benefits go towards furthering your development and advancing your career.

A mentor gives you an inside look into the company without the fear of looking stupid or doing something stupid. The questions you ask don’t even have to be directly associated with the job. They have usually been working for a while so they could be the perfect people to bounce random questions off of, such as questions about the companies’ benefits (e.g. dental insurance). Ideally, all of your questions and interactions should be kept between you and your mentor.

What is the DISC Method and Why Use it?

I learned about the DISC method in one of my business psychology classes 5 years ago. DISC was developed by John Geier and stands for [source: wiki]:

• Dominance – relating to control, power and assertiveness
• Influence – relating to social situations and communication
• Steadiness (submission in Marston’s time)- relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness
• Conscientiousness (or caution, compliance in Marston’s time) – relating to structure and organization

If your company does not offer a formal mentorship program, then you need to find your own. By performing a DISC assessment you can find a mentor that complements you in order to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

If your company has a formal mentorship program, you are “stuck” with whomever they choose. But the DISC assessment still has a useful purpose. By understanding each other’s communication styles, strengths and limitations, your relationship can be tailored to ensure the interactions are positive and beneficial.

How to Use DISC

In order to do a DISC assessment on your mentor (or potential mentor) you need to know what each of those traits means.

• For someone who scores high in intensity for Dominance, they usually attack problems head on. They are demanding, strong willed, determined, and aggressive. People who score low are usually chronic researchers who need to cover all of their bases before committing to a decision.  They are cooperative, calculating, cautious, and modest.
• For people high in intensity for Influence, they often influence others by using emotional appeals and talking through the process. They are convincing, enthusiastic, trusting, and optimistic. For someone who scores low, they typically fall back on data and facts in order to convince people. They are usually reflective, logical, matter of fact, and once again, calculating.
• For people high in intensity for Steadiness, they prefer the security of a steady environment. They do not like dynamic environments. They are usually relaxed, patient, predictable, deliberate, and consistent. For people low in intensity, they thrive in dynamic environments. They embrace change and are often restless, impatient, eager, and impulsive.
• For people high in intensity for Conscientious, they adhere to structure. They are the ones who are following the rule book to the “t.” They prefer doing work well from the start as they are cautious, neat, systematic, diplomatic, and tactful. For people low in intensity, challenge rules and are very independent in nature. They are self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, and sometimes careless.

Applying DISC

When you get into your job and need to look for a mentor, think back to this DISC assessment. The relation between you and your mentor can make or break your first few months. Whether you become a rising star or an average employee can have a lot to do with what you take out of a relationship with a mentor. After a few months the relationship usually develops into a mutually beneficial one instead of a one-sided one, too.

Knowing that your mentor is very low in intensity for “dominance” can tell you a lot about how the transfer of information will occur. You may find yourself prying their knowledge out a little more since they are so modest and cautious. Someone who is high in intensity for “steadiness” may not be the best fit for you if you are the complete opposite. While they are doing everything to the “t” you will be bored and wishing you could be in a more dynamic environment.

Tell Me Your Mentor Experience

Tell me about any mentor experiences you have had. Did you do a similar assessment on your mentor? Did it help you find a good fit?

If you did no such assessment, did you have any issues with your mentor?

I did a quick assessment when I was looking for a mentor and I feel it helped me out a ton. It doesn’t have to be an extensive assessment. After realizing my mentor and I are aligned very similarly I realized he would transfer knowledge to me very effectively.

Question & Answer With Blogger Behind My Life ROI:

Me: What attracted you to Studenomics?

MLR: I started reading Studenomics after finding it through the comments section of another blog (I forget which at this point). After going back to it once every few days for a few weeks I finally subscribed to the feed. I found the focus on students a very interesting topic as it is, in my opinion, an overlooked subset of personal finance. Blogs catering to middle-aged successful people are a dime a dozen, but personal finance blogs for the 16-25 crowd are a lot less common.

I feel the Studenomist is very candid with his readers. He even runs a post detailing how he screwed up every month. It is very easy for a PF blogger to try and take the stance that they ALWAYS practice what they preach, and in that sense I find it very refreshing that Studenomist admits his faults for everyone to read.

Me: What motivated you to start a personal finance blog?

MLR: I love reading personal finance blogs and I found myself getting bored of the articles about extreme frugality and things of that nature. Don’t get me wrong, I think the articles are interesting. But they didn’t offer me anything to connect with. At this point in my life I am still trying to stretch out the time between necessary laundry days. If I can I’ll even bring a load or two to my parents when I visit every few months. So the idea of making my own laundry detergent just wasn’t for me.

So, I started a PF blog with that idea in mind. Real advice that everyone should be able to relate to. I am technology saavy so I also like reviewing and writing about technology that either saves me money or makes tracking my finances easier (e.g. making my Xbox 360 wireless for $20). With all of that in mind I realized I was writing a blog with an intended audience in the age range of about 18-35.

Me: Can you summarize the theme of your blog in one sentence?

MLR: Sensible personal finance from a twenty-something for everyone… everyday.