Most people assume that once they’ve taken a personality assessment, the results are good for life. But that’s not the way it works.
After working with hundreds of thousands of people who have taken DISC assessments, I’ve heard two comments over and over again.
“This is almost identical to the graph I got years ago.”
“My style changed since the last time I took this.”
At first glance, those statements seem to contradict each other. In reality, they reveal something important about how these assessments work.
Every Assessment Is a Snapshot
A personality assessment captures how your natural tendencies are expressed during a particular season of your life.
Think about everything that can happen over five or ten years. Maybe you got married, had children, or moved across the country. Perhaps you became a manager, changed careers, or joined an organization with a dramatically different culture.
Those experiences can change what life requires of you. Someone with the Eagle style who has spent years leading a growing company may learn greater patience because leading through people demands it. A Parrot who becomes a technical expert may develop stronger attention to detail. A Dove thrust into a leadership position may become far more comfortable making difficult decisions. An Owl working in a fast-moving startup may learn to act before every answer is available.
One of the biggest misconceptions about personality assessments is that changing results mean the assessment was wrong or invalid.
Some adaptations become permanent as you develop new capabilities. Others are temporary because they were necessary for a particular role or season of life.
That’s why two assessments taken years apart can both be accurate. They’re measuring the same person under different circumstances.
When you compare assessments over time, patterns emerge. Where has life stretched you?
Which adaptations have become part of who you are? Which behaviors were tied to a particular role or environment? What strengths have become more intentional? Where have you expanded your behavioral range?
In turn, the profile that gave you two different results gave you a snapshot in time and didn’t just show you who you are. It gave you a window into who you were and who you are becoming.
Maybe personality assessments should come with expiration dates. Not because your personality expires, but because your story keeps unfolding.
About Merrick Rosenberg
Merrick Rosenberg is the creator of the Eagle, Parrot, Dove, and Owl personality framework and author of Personality Intelligence: Master the Art of Being You. As an award-winning speaker and founder of Take Flight Learning, Merrick has helped hundreds of thousands of people unlock the power of personality styles to transform their communication, leadership, and relationships. He’s on a mission to make self-awareness accessible, fun, and unforgettable.