What is Everything DiSC® Certification like?

Everything DiSC® Certification is a two-week immersive course that teaches the principles of DiSC as well as facilitation and coaching techniques. The course is designed for anyone who wants to facilitate Everything DiSC learning experiences. Upon successful completion, participants earn the credential of Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner.

So what is it like becoming an Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner? We chatted with two Discprofile.com staff members—Natalie and Eliza—about their recent experience in the course.

What was your level of DiSC experience before taking the certification course? And does it work for people of all experience levels?

Both Natalie and Eliza were relatively new to working with DiSC. Although it is not required, they had both previously gone through the self-paced Everything DiSC Essentials course. Eliza says, “Essentials was the perfect product to hold me over until I had the time and bandwidth to take the certification class.”

Eliza and Natalie were familiar with the DiSC model, but neither had facilitated DiSC before. Natalie says, “I came in with the basic knowledge of what all the products were, but no knowledge about facilitating DiSC and how to lead a group through discussions regarding DiSC. I left with a ton of confidence around that.”

In both of their cohorts, Natalie and Eliza met classmates with a wide range of experience levels, from new facilitators to long-time DiSC leaders looking for a refresher.

The course is designed to accommodate that, they said, because of the mix of individual learning and group sessions. “You get all of your basics in a self-paced module,” says Eliza, “so you can go back and look at it as much as you want. Then in the instructor-led sessions, you get to dive in, ask questions, and apply everything.”

What is the schedule like?

During the two-week Everything DiSC certification course, participants engage in a mix of self-directed learning modules and live, virtual sessions led by instructors. Participants commit to a total of about 20 hours over two weeks (10 hours per week).

A sample schedule looks like this:

Natalie says she was worried the two weeks would feel overwhelming, but once she got started, “it was very enjoyable.”

Eliza says, “The course is a big deal – it's a valuable credential eligible for SHRM credits – but they do a great job of creating a low-pressure environment. It's laid back, and the instructors are very good at meeting you where you are. Timing-wise, as long as you block off those live sessions and some time between them to finish the self-paced work, you're gonna be fine. They give you estimates of how long each module will take, so it's something you can plan for.”

What was the self-directed work like?

The individual learning takes place in Wiley’s online training center, where participants can access all the course content and connect with their fellow Practitioners and Wiley’s education specialists.

Natalie says that during the individual online activities, “You learned about the DiSC styles and the different reports, the cornerstone principles, and how you might approach different situations with participants.”

Eliza adds, “Also, it was very visually interesting. It was formatted in a way that made my brain feel engaged throughout: a little bit of reading, then a matching activity, or you watch a video – the format is super varied.”

Participants retain access to this course space even after completing certification, so they can always revisit the material, whether it's to look for a specific way something was worded, or to step through the whole class again as a refresher.

What were the live sessions like?

Eliza: “You entered the Zoom call and they immediately created a super-friendly environment. There was always an intro question so you could start chatting with people in the room. I was impressed with the community-centered environment they created even in this virtual space. There was time for instruction, time to ask questions, and time to meet people and apply that information. I never went into one of the sessions feeling nervous or that I wasn't prepared. It was very friendly and low-stress.”

Natalie: “The sessions were very lively, very interactive. They made sure everyone was engaged. The discussions help drive home the information. Often I was like, 'Oh, I didn't see it that way before.' It gives you a new perspective.”

Did you get to know your classmates?

Natalie: “The social component was really good, because they try to break you out with different people so you can get different style interactions. For example, I'm an iS, but I got to experience how a D-style person runs a group. It was good to get that experience because you could see it from both a facilitator's point of view and a participant's.”

Natalie also talked about how peer interactions helped her learn and retain information: “It was nice to learn from my more experienced classmates in addition to the instructors. It was helpful to hear what had worked for them.”

Eliza agrees: “Some of your classmates will have insights on ways to remember the material and good devices for making the material stick with your learners.”

Natalie and Eliza both connected with fellow participants on LinkedIn so they can stay in touch.

Eliza sees it as “a great opportunity for making connections, either in the DiSC world or in your industry. There are people from all over the place in the course. I worked with one person who uses DiSC in her church and one person who uses DiSC with a Big 4 consulting firm. Its presence is all over the globe, all over different industries. It's really cool.”

What did you do for your final presentation?

Each participant in the Everything DiSC Certification course prepares a final presentation and shares this with a small group. This is an opportunity to put all the learnings into action by mocking up a DiSC program for a real or hypothetical organization.

Natalie focused on team building: “I showed the organization how DiSC could help them and taught them about their styles and how to work better with their teammates. How to build team cohesiveness and make sure they're being productive.”

For her final presentation, Eliza put together a DiSC program for the yoga studio where she works part-time. “I really liked that the final project was an opportunity to practice what you'd learned,” she says, “but also to shine a spotlight on your natural skills. Like, I'm a marketer, so I really enjoyed the part about how I would follow up with people, what I would send them to keep them engaged.”

What is one unexpected takeaway from the certification course?

Natalie found the teachings on people-reading particularly interesting and useful to daily life. “I really enjoyed learning how to read what style a person might lean toward so you can interact with them better.”

Eliza learned she has strengths she wasn't aware of. “It was a cool experience to get feedback from members of the class who have done this for a long time, and hear what they read in you that you didn't necessarily know about yourself. I was told by people that I'm a really engaging speaker and I have the potential to be a good coach, and that's something I can put in my back pocket – I have those foundational skills now and I understand it's a strength I have that I didn't know I had.”

Learn more about Everything DiSC® Certification