We all have things that irritate us. I’m not talking about criminal activities. Not things like, “I hate it when someone robs me,” or “My pet peeve is when my car gets keyed and all the windows smashed out.”
What I mean by pet peeves are the little things that irritate us as we go through life. This person is too slow, that person is too messy, and that person is too picky. These sorts of things.
Minor irritations. What you may not know is that your pet peeves tell you a lot about your mental hard wiring.
Of course, the simplest way to find out your DISC scores is to write the (under 10 minutes) assessment. You can do it here for free:
https://www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com/disc-personalities-assessment/
But looking at what bugs you is also useful and really easy too.
Here is what bothers each of the DISC personality types and what to do about it:
- What bothers a Dominant: Wasted time
- What bothers an Inspiring: Too much formal structure
- What bothers a Supportive: Conflict
- What bothers a Conscientious: Jobs done poorly
- Don’t irritate people who are different from you!
Let’s explore this further:
What bothers a Dominant: Wasted time
If you are a person who scores high in the Dominant or “D” category, your biggest pet peeve by far is wasted time. This includes:
- Waiting in lines (you always seem to choose the slowest one!)
- Sitting through meetings that you don’t need to attend
- Attending meetings that have no point or agenda
- Getting stuck in traffic
- Waiting for people who are late
When a Dominant feels their time is wasted, they begin to feel almost… panicky. They feel like they have to get out of the situation immediately.
Whoever is wasting their time is losing credibility quickly. In the Dominant’s eyes, the person who is unprepared or late is a non-credible person.
What bothers an Inspiring: Too much formal structure
Inspiring people are people who score high in the Inspiring or “I” personality type. The biggest pet peeve of the Inspiring person is being forced to follow a strict structure. These people love freedom.
Being spontaneous is one of their favorite things. So, when they get into a situation that forces them to follow a strict process, they get unhappy fast. This includes:
- Filling out government forms
- Submitting receipts
- Obeying traffic laws
- Following operating guidelines or S.O.P.’s
- Doing things the same way every single time
In the eyes of the Inspiring person, others who insist on the rules are plodders who lack imagination. When these rules are insisted on, the “I” is not happy.
What bothers a Supportive: Conflict
If you score high in the Supportive or “S” category of the DISC assessment, conflict with others is going to bother you a lot.
These conflicts may include:
- Dealing with rude customers
- Working for a demanding or unfair boss
- Getting into a dispute with a neighbor
- Dealing with the road rage of another person
- Being locked into an unhappy personal relationship that seems impossible to escape
The Supportive person does what they have to do to make sure relationships are happy and smooth. People who insist on conflict are seen by them as not credible.
Supportives will lay awake at night thinking about these situations and what they should have said or done differently. They may still be thinking about an irate customer weeks after the event happened.
Supportives have no respect for people who don’t work to have warm, conflict-free relationships.
What bothers a Conscientious: Jobs done poorly
If you score high in the Conscientious or “C” category on the DISC assessment, you will be extremely irritated by jobs that are done badly, or jobs that are started and not completed.
This includes:
- Receipts that aren’t submitted on time
- Kids that don’t load the dishwasher properly
- People who drive dirty cars
- Neighbors who start building a fence and then leave it half done
- Drivers who ignore traffic laws
The Conscientious person is highly irritated by these behaviors, because they would never do it that way! When they do a job, they see to it that it’s done carefully, properly, and well.
“C’s” pride themselves on their competence, and look down on people who they view as not competent.
Don’t irritate people who are different from you!
The important thing to remember is that, if you want to earn the respect of other people, make sure you don’t do the things that irritate them. Not too tough to understand.
When you’re working with a “D,” don’t waste their time. Come prepared. Be on time.
When you’re working with an “I,” allow them some flexibility. Understand that their motivations are usually good, but they have a different approach to work than you do.
When you’re working with an “S,” approach conflict carefully. Tell them first that you value the relationship and only want it to improve. Don’t violate their trust.
When you’re working with a “C,” make sure you complete the job and do it well. Vacuum the house thoroughly. Submit your receipts on time. Respect their rules.
If you do these things, other DISC personality types will respect you!
In summary:
You can spot your DISC personality type largely based on what irritates you, or makes you mad. Here’s what the pet peeves of the DISC personality types are:
- What bothers a Dominant: Wasted time
- What bothers an Inspiring: Too much formal structure
- What bothers a Supportive: Conflict
- What bothers a Conscientious: Jobs done poorly
Additional resources
Thanks for reading this article on ‘How to spot your personality type based on your pet peeves.’ Below are additional resources from Professional Leadership Institute, the global provider of online human resources and leadership tools:
- Without these 5 principles, the DISC personality tool is useless https://www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com/resources/without-these-5-principles-the-disc-personality-tool-is-useless/
- What is the ideal job fit for my DISC personality type? https://www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com/resources/what-is-the-ideal-job-fit-for-my-disc-personality-type/
- How to spot someone’s DISC personality type in under 60 seconds https://www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com/resources/how-to-spot-someones-disc-personality-type-in-under-60-seconds/
Trevor Throness is a speaker, consultant, and author of “The Power of People Skills.” He is also co-founder and senior instructor at www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com https://www.professionalleadershipinstitute.com/
Find more about “The Power of People Skills” here: https://www.amazon.com/Power-People-Skills-Dramatically-Performance/dp/1632651068
