Our Favorite Reads Based on Our DiSC Personality Types

Be collaborative. It’s one of our core values. But in order to collaborate effectively, we need to really know ourselves and our team. The DiSC Personality Profile gives us insight into our workplace styles and preferences. At redpepper, we each take the assessment and share this knowledge with the entire company, helping us communicate, problem solve, and innovate better as a team.

Each letter in the DiSC stands for a main personality profile: dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. Learn more about the DiSC and take a free version of the test here.

We thought it’d be neat to compile a list of books that connect us to our individual DiSC styles and have helped us grow. Have a look around—we hope you find something that speaks to you.

D

People with D styles tend to be direct, strong-willed, and result-oriented achievers who embrace new challenges. The recommendations below are from redpepper’s Ds.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

As a high D, I value productivity, results and efficiency. I love this book because it illustrates how habit forming can be the basis for success. Sometimes as a high D, I tend to value action above all else, but this book opened my eyes to the fact that a system and consistency can be just as important - if not more.

Samara Anderson, VP of Sales & Marketing

The Lady Hardcastle Series by T.E. Kinsey

I don't have a single book, but a whole series. The Lady Hardcastle Mystery Series, which just had a new entry called Rotten to the Core come out this year, is a fun, exciting series of Holmesian stories. The protagonist, Lady Hardcastle, is a retired secret agent for the British crown who routinely finds herself embroiled in some sort of derring-do and uses her powers of reasoning and skills as a secret agent to solve any number of mysteries. As a DC, I'm primed to enjoy catching errors or flaws in design, analyzing problems, and improving on others' ideas, all of which are core tenets of how Lady H goes about solving the mysteries she encounters.

Sterling Crawford, Project Manager

See more recs from redpepper's Ds here.

i

People with i styles tend to be optimistic, enthusiastic visionaries. They want to bring people together through their goals and strategies. The recommendations below are from redpepper’s i’s.

The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein

The Art Of Racing In The Rain is my favorite book. I'm an iS, and this book is narrated by a golden retriever who is very enthusiastic and very attached to people. Basically, it's a story of sacrifice and understanding. Going with my style, I'm okay with sacrificing my energy and time, if it's in order to uplift and support someone I care about. A MUST READ.

Molly Brown, Jr. Resource Planner

Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins

As an iD I’m enthusiastic, always looking for the next thing, definitely ok with uncertainty (to an extent), but I also struggle hard with feeling like I have a purpose, feeling content, and often feeling stuck.
This book reallyyyy drives home how to find happiness and contentment in life by simply letting go of what doesn’t produce positive thinking or feelings and thrive in what you have. It teaches how to reach an enlightened mindstate where you can’t be anything but free, content, and happy because you continually surrender the bad/negative away and let go of it.

Carrie Pickering, Digital Project Manager/ Producer

See more recs from redpepper's i's here.

S

People with S styles tend to be reliable, patient, and empathetic team members who value a sense of harmony. The recommendations below are from redpepper’s Ss.

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

I would recommend the book I just read, called The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. My DiSC profile is S. This book helps me with learning my team. What speaks to them and how to help them. Each person is different, so I find ways to get the best out of my teammates if I can speak their language.

Joshua Brand, Jr. Graphic Designer

Blood, Sweat & Pixels by Jason Schreier

This book is about some of the most troubled development cycles in video game history. I’m an SC who loves providing support to make sure my team makes it to the finish line. I found it fascinating to read how the teams behind some of the most highly acclaimed video games ever had to band together to overcome issues both within and outside of their control to create something great.

Mario McDonald, Staff Accountant

See more recs from redpepper's S's here.

C

People with C styles tend to be conscientious critical thinkers with high attention to detail. They are analytical and precise in their approach to getting to the root of an issue. The recommendations below are from redpepper's Cs.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Introverts and Cs share a lot of similarities: we prefer listening over speaking, we don’t practice self-promotion, and we prefer working alone versus in teams. In office environments, these qualities can, unfortunately, be misconstrued as weaknesses. Quiet people tend to be overlooked and undervalued because they’re not the first to speak, nor are they bold. But behind the quiet is usually a busy network of thought, making connections and observations that our louder counterparts might overlook.

This book celebrates the power of quiet people. As Cain says, ‘It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.’
I was lucky to read Quiet early on in my career. It saved me from a lot of self-comparison, it has helped me find my own style as a leader, and it’s helped me find confidence in the value I bring to teams.

Erin Sephel, Sr. Copywriter

Solitude: A Return to the Self by Anthony Storr

As someone with a C work style, I often find that I can focus best and think more clearly alone. The book dives into the importance of moments of solitude for creative thinking and just general well-being for people of all types. It’s helpful for me, as we are often driven for more and more collaboration with others, when often a bit of privacy and focus can be just the solution someone needs to do good work.

Jon Sharpton, Media Director

See more recs from redpepper's C's here.