Do I Need to Be Certified in Everything DiSC? Facilitator Training vs Wiley’s Official Everything DiSC Certification
If you want to use Everything DiSC with individuals, teams or organisations, you may be wondering whether you need to become an Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner first.
The short answer is no.
You do not have to hold the official Everything DiSC certification to use Everything DiSC profiles or Catalyst. However, if you are going to use the tools professionally, it makes sense to have good quality training so that you understand the model, can interpret the profiles confidently and, importantly, know how to turn the information into useful conversations and learning.
That leaves another question:
Should you choose Everything DiSC Facilitator Training or Wiley’s official Everything DiSC Certification?
They are different routes, designed to meet somewhat different needs.
What is Wiley’s official Everything DiSC Certification?
Wiley’s Everything DiSC Certification leads to the formal credential of Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner.
It is a two-week blended learning programme combining self-paced learning with live virtual classroom sessions, application projects and a final certification exam.
It is particularly suited to in-house practitioners who want to develop a deep understanding of Everything DiSC and who value having a recognised professional credential.
Certification also provides opportunities to earn professional development credits through organisations including SHRM, HRCI, ATD and ICF.
For some people and organisations, that formal credential is important.
For others, the priority is slightly different.
They want to be able to use Everything DiSC confidently and practically….and start doing so quickly.
What is Academy of High Achievers’s ‘Everything DiSC Facilitator Training’?
Our Everything DiSC Facilitator Training at Academy of High Achievers has been designed around practical application.
The aim isn’t simply to help you understand DiSC.
It is to help you become confident enough to actually use it.
That means being able to sit down with an individual and use their profile in a meaningful coaching conversation.
It means being able to stand in front of a group and explain the DiSC model clearly and engagingly using a clear training plan.
It means knowing how to help people recognise different behavioural styles, adapt their approach and apply what they are learning to real working relationships.
And it means knowing how to design and facilitate Everything DiSC sessions that do more than give people an interesting profile to read.
The main difference: credential or practical capability?
Perhaps the simplest way of looking at the two routes is to ask yourself:
What do I most need at the end of the training?
If you specifically need the formal Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner credential, Wiley certification is the appropriate route.
If your priority is developing the knowledge, practical skills, resources and confidence to facilitate Everything DiSC, our Academy of High Achievers’ programme may be a better fit.
Our training typcially consists of 13.5 hours of live, interactive training across three half-days – although occasionally it has a slightly different structure to this.
And because we believe you learn facilitation by doing it, not simply by hearing about it, there is plenty of opportunity to practice.
During the programme you will practice:
- explaining the DiSC model
- identifying and discussing behavioural styles
- helping people learn how to flex their behaviour
- coaching another participant using an Everything DiSC profile
- using Catalyst effectively
- designing DiSC-based learning
- facilitating DiSC activities and exercises
- delivering parts of a DiSC team session.
Training based on real-world DiSC experience
Academy of High Achievers has been an authorised Everything DiSC Partner since 2008 and a Diamond Award winner since 2015.
Over that time, we have delivered hundreds of Everything DiSC programmes in the UK and internationally.
So the training isn’t based simply on knowing the Everything DiSC curriculum.
It comes from years of actually using Everything DiSC with individuals, teams, leaders and organisations.
We know the questions participants ask.
We know the bits facilitators sometimes struggle to explain.
We know what can happen when someone challenges their profile.
And we know how to move a group beyond “Oh yes, I’m a D” or “That explains why you’re like that!” towards conversations that genuinely improve how people work together.
That practical experience sits at the heart of the programme.
You can start using Everything DiSC straight away
We also wanted our Facilitator Training to give people more than knowledge.
We wanted participants to leave with the infrastructure and resources to begin using Everything DiSC immediately.
Your training therefore includes:
- your own Everything DiSC Workplace on Catalyst profile
- access to the Catalyst learning platform
- an EPIC administrator account
- three additional Everything DiSC Workplace profiles to use with clients or colleagues
- a customisable half-day team-development session plan
- course materials and training recordings
- access to our members’ resource centre.
Your EPIC account enables you to purchase profiles as you need them, rather than committing to an annual volume, and your EPIC credits do not expire.
And the support doesn’t stop when the training finishes
This is one of the areas we feel particularly strongly about.
Finishing a facilitator programme is one thing.
Using what you’ve learned for the first time with a real client or team is another.
Questions tend to arise when you actually start doing it.
So our training includes ongoing support.
That includes access to our members’ resources, regular support and development webinars, Everything DiSC updates and help with practical questions about profiles, Catalyst, EPIC and facilitation.
We even include a post-training debrief with our lead trainer after your first DiSC-based coaching session.
For us, the training isn’t the end of the relationship.
It is the beginning of you putting Everything DiSC into practice.
What about the investment?
There is also a considerable difference in investment between the two routes.
Our Everything DiSC Facilitator Training is currently £795 + VAT per person.
That includes your training, your own Workplace profile, three additional Workplace profiles, your EPIC account, Catalyst access, training resources and ongoing support.
Official Everything DiSC Certification is a more substantial programme and represents a considerably higher investment, particularly where additional practitioner or facilitation resources are required.
Again, that doesn’t make one route better than the other.
It comes back to what you need.
So which route is right for you?
Start by asking yourself a few questions.
Do I specifically need an official Everything DiSC Certified Practitioner credential?
If the answer is yes, choose Wiley’s official certification.
Is my main aim to become confident and capable at using Everything DiSC with individuals and teams?
Then practical facilitator training may give you exactly what you need.
Do I want lots of hands-on facilitation and coaching practice?
That is deliberately built into our Academy of High Achievers programme.
Do I want resources, an administrator account, starter profiles and ongoing support so I can begin using Everything DiSC immediately?
Those are all included in our training.
Ultimately, the important thing isn’t simply being able to say that you know about DiSC.
It’s being able to use it well.
Because an Everything DiSC profile on its own doesn’t change how people work together.
What makes the difference is what happens next: the conversation, the insight, the application and the skill of the person facilitating it.
That’s what our Everything DiSC Facilitator Training is designed to help you do.