gettyWith artificial intelligence taking over more routine tasks, employers are placing greater value on skills that can’t be replicated by technology, including communication, emotional intelligence and relationship-building.That’s why, as Forbes’ careers staff writer, I took it upon myself to take the popular behavior and communications assessment, DISC, to better understand my own strengths, blind spots and communication patterns. The assessment, which measures your behavioral style across four dimensions—dominance (D), influence (I), steadiness (S), and conscientiousness (C)—offered a revealing look at how I naturally approach conflict, decision-making and collaboration. But after taking the assessment and finding out that my overthinking tendencies landed me in the conscientiousness category, a larger question came to mind: Is a decades-old behavioral assessment such as DISC still relevant for helping professionals grow today?To find out, I spoke to leadership coaches and DISC facilitators about how they use the assessment with executives, managers and teams in the age of AI. Below are my top takeaways from that conversation. A DISC Assessment Is More Than A Personality Test: According to author and executive leadership coach David Langiulli, DISC differs from other popular assessments like Myers-Briggs because it focuses more on your behavioral patterns rather than just your personality. He explains that your “personality is relatively fixed,” but your behavior can be adjusted depending on the situation you’re in and the people you’re with. A DISC assessment, he said, is like “a mirror reflecting back at you your behavioral and communications tendencies,” and it shows you how your strengths and/or weaknesses could impact your interactions at work. It Teaches You How To Navigate Conflict And How Others Respond To Conflict: Executive coach and DISC facilitator Julie Chance said, “A lot of times two team members will be in conflict. People with the D-style move pretty quickly. People with the C-style like to think things through and they like to have more information to make decisions on. Oftentimes they’re at an impasse because the person with the C-style thinks the person with the D-style is being reckless. And the person with the D-style thinks the person with the C-style is just making things difficult or stalling.” With the help of a DISC assessment, Chance says you can better understand how you and your colleagues process information, which can lead to better communication—a skill that AI can’t duplicate.It Should Not Be Used In The Hiring Process: While a DISC assessment can be helpful in deciding if a specific role will be good for you or if you will have to adjust your behavior based on the job description, Chance warns that it should not be used as a hiring tool. “The reason is it looks at preferences and tendencies, and just because somebody has a certain preference doesn’t mean they can’t successfully operate in a different type of arena or in a different way,” she said.Read here to learn more about how Langiulli and Chance say you can use a DISC assessment to improve your career. This is a published version of Forbes’ Careers newsletter. Click here to subscribe and get it in your inbox every Tuesday. WORK SMARTER Practical insights and advice from Forbes staff and contributors to help you succeed in your job, accelerate your career and lead smarter.Do you have a toxic boss? A recent Harris Poll shows that more than half of adults work for one. Learn how to survive while keeping your career intact with advice from executive coach Caroline Castrillon.Before you press “send” on that next work email, read about some email habits that can damage your reputation and how to present yourself as professional, from career consultant Cynthia Young.Do cover letters still matter? See why they are still important for jobs and how to make yours stand out, with key strategies from recruiters compiled by career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine.Before you reject a promotion in favor of less job stress, check out these four things to consider if you are thinking about a less demanding role at work, from psychologist Bryan Robinson.Abraham Gonzalez/Getty ImagesDeep Dive: As Nurses Lose Student Loans, Your Healthcare Could SufferAs the U.S. population ages, the country faces a growing shortage of doctors and nurses, which has been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s attempts to limit the influx of educated immigrants, reports Forbes’ education staff writer Lisa Chambers. Now, the Department of Education’s decision that students in graduate nursing programs are no longer eligible to borrow as much as other aspiring healthcare professionals threatens to make that shortage even worse. Under a new law that kicks in July 1, graduate nursing students will be limited to borrowing $20,500 a year and $100,000 over the life of their graduate studies. That’s far less than grad students studying to be optometrists, podiatrists, chiropractors, pharmacists, clinical psychologists, medical doctors, veterinarians, lawyers and clergy, who will be able to borrow $50,000 a year ($200,000 total) for their “professional” degrees. Not only could this policy impact current nurses seeking advanced degrees or career switchers looking to enter healthcare at a time when AI is disrupting white-collar industries, but it could also limit healthcare access in the communities that need it most. Chambers points out that over the last 25 years, the explosion of graduate-trained nurse practitioners (NPs) has eased a shortage of primary-care doctors in rural and underserved communities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook, the nation had 382,700 NPs, nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists working in 2024, earning a median of $132,050 per year. Demand for NPs is projected to grow 40% by 2034, the highest growth rate for almost any job. Already, several nursing organizations and states have filed lawsuits to fight the new rule, arguing that it exceeds the DOE’s statutory authority. Earlier this month, the House Appropriations Committee adopted a bipartisan budget amendment that would bar the DOE from administering federal student aid “in a manner that does not designate advanced nursing programs as professional degree programs.” But whether and when that could become a law remains an open question.TOUCH BASENews from the world of work. New data from Gallup shows that the share of U.S. workers reporting that their employer is reducing its workforce held steady in the first quarter of 2026 at about 21%, after nearly tripling from Q2 of 2022 to Q3 of 2025. Among employees who have been impacted by a layoff, data found that individuals who worked in the technology sector and those who previously worked remotely made up a disproportionate share of laid-off employees. With thousands of soccer fans flooding host cities across the country for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, several major employers are relaxing their in-office mandates and allowing employees to work from home to get ahead of anticipated traffic disruptions. Among those employers, according to Fortune, are Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, which have been big opponents of the remote work era.