I and I · two DISC types together

Two Inspirers

This guide shows how two people with the I personality type work together.

The short version

In this guide, Riley stands for the other Inspirer in your life, whether that is a partner, a colleague or a friend. You and Riley get ideas moving when you give each other room to speak. You trade stories and build on each other's lines. When the two of you are in the room, a tired group starts talking about its ideas again. Follow-through can slide while you enjoy the next possibility. Pick one plan and name who owns each action before you leave the conversation.

What each of you brings

As an Inspirer, you want to connect people and help a new idea catch on while it feels fresh. You want an audience for that idea. You also want your good work noticed. You say yes to new people and new plans, which gives you and Riley plenty to discuss.

Riley brings the same appetite for connection and fresh ideas. Both of you can get a tired group talking about an idea again. Both of you also tend to start projects and leave many of them unfinished. Each of you can enjoy the start so much that the follow-up slides. The work starts once one of you owns that follow-up.

Where you click

In a Tuesday planning meeting, you swap stories and build on Riley's lines. Riley adds to yours. You walk out excited about five plans. Each idea has had an audience, and each of you has had a chance to help it catch on.

Keep a few minutes at the end of the meeting to choose one plan. Write down three actions and put your name or Riley's name beside each. Give the idea a next step while it still feels fresh.

Outside work, you both say yes to new people and new plans. You might talk about inviting friends over and keep adding names to the list. Before the conversation ends, decide who will send the invitation. Then the invitation goes out after the two of you stop talking.

Where you clash and what it sounds like

Two Inspirers can compete for the room's attention. You start a story while Riley is still speaking. Riley talks over your next line. Each of you wants an audience, and each of you can fear becoming invisible when nobody asks for your view. Take turns speaking and ask Riley to finish the thought.

In the first exchange, you and Riley are sharing an idea with a group.

You: Let me tell everyone how we came up with this.
Riley: I want to finish the idea I was explaining.
You: I have a story that goes with it.
Riley: Can I finish this part before you start the story?

The dull follow-up is another place you clash. After Tuesday's meeting, neither of you has written down who does what. By Friday afternoon, nobody has sent the notes. Both of you have enjoyed the ideas and avoided the next task.

In the second exchange, you check on those notes with Riley.

You: Did you send the notes from Tuesday?
Riley: I thought you were sending those.
You: We talked about five plans. I never wrote down who owned the notes.
Riley: We can pick one plan now. I will write the three action items, and you can send the notes today.

How to talk to another Inspirer

Give Riley room to share a view. Notice good work out loud, and make the next action clear before you move to another idea.

One week of small moves

Use this week to give one shared idea a clear follow-up.

  1. At your next planning meeting, pick one of the ideas you and Riley want to try. Write down three actions and name who owns each one.
  2. Before a group conversation, agree to let each person finish a thought. Ask Riley for a view during the conversation.
  3. Notice one piece of Riley's good work out loud. Name what Riley did, such as getting a tired group talking again.
  4. On Friday afternoon, check the three actions together. Each of you reports on the action beside your name and writes down the next step.

A team of the two of you

A team with two Inspirers has two people ready to connect people and get an idea heard. Give each of you a turn to explain the idea. When Riley is speaking, leave room for Riley to finish. Agree before the meeting who will write the actions and who will send the notes.

Keep the written actions where you and Riley can see each owner's name. At the next conversation, start with those actions. Each of you can say what has been finished and what still needs follow-up. Set aside time to talk about the work during a week of solo tasks. An Inspirer can fear a week with nobody to talk to.

When it is a couple, when it is a manager and a report, when it is friends

When you and Riley are a couple, new people and new plans can fill your conversations. Choose one plan together and name who will arrange it. If you decide to invite friends over, one of you sends the invitation. Give Riley time to talk about the plan, and share what you want to add when Riley finishes.

When you manage Riley, ask for Riley's view and notice good work. Riley can fear becoming invisible when nobody asks for that view. End a planning conversation with named actions. When Riley manages you, ask Riley to agree with you on which follow-up tasks are yours. Arrange a time to talk during a week of solo work.

When you and Riley are friends, you can keep building on each other's ideas for the next gathering. Pick one and decide who will contact the people you want to invite. In a group, give Riley room to speak. Ask for Riley's view when the conversation has moved past Riley.

Find out for sure

Take the free test to explore your DISC type. Invite Riley to take it too, and share why: "Here is how I'm wired. I'm sharing it so we can learn how to understand each other better." Use your two results to start a conversation about how you and Riley work together.

Give Riley Compare Together as a gift of self-understanding for the two of you. It puts your two results side by side and shows where you and Riley align and where you differ. It is free when you both have free accounts. Use it to choose one small move to try together this week.

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