Assessments:  So Many Choices

by Cindy Stradling

When I meet with clients and they are interested in conducting an assessment for their organizations I am very careful to find out why they want to conduct and assessment and what information they intend to obtain.  There are so many choices, I could write blogs for the next six months and still not have explored all of them.  For the month of April I am going to share with you my experience of  four of the assessments that I have personally taken. 

Week Four- True Colors

When I first started my training career I looked for an assessment that was fun, engaging and provided the opportunity for people to learn more about themselves and others.  True Colors was certainly a lot of fun and engaging.  More importantly it provided me the opportunity to understand my preferences in communicating with others, taking action and how I perceived the world.  I was thrilled to become certified as a True Colors facilitator and I still recommend it to groups who want a fun and interactive workshop for teams.  In fact it is called “edu-tainment” by many people.

The True Colors metaphor was developed by Don Lowry in 1978 and was influenced by earlier work done by David Keirsey.  Keirsey had built his work on the Myers Briggs model and the Myers Brigs was influenced by Carl Jung.

What True Colors is:

• A metaphor for understanding temperament
• Intended to help us celebrate, appreciate and value the unique blend of the four temperament types in each of us
• An interactive and enjoyable vehicle of learning about others and ourselves

What True Colors is not:

• A panacea
• An attempt to explain fully the complexity of human behaviour
• To be used to “label” or “stereotype” people, but to help us understand them better

It is important to remember these points when taking a True Colors assessment:

• Each of us is a blend of all four temperaments
• Each of us has a “core” temperament type through which we achieve our self-esteem
• No one individual blend or temperament is better than another, only different
• Differences in others are their “gifts” to us that make them unique.
• Each temperament type has unique strengths to offer.

The assessment is done manually in the workshop and you get your results right away.  The results will indicate your Core Needs, Values and Attributes one of four colors Green, Blue, Orange or Gold categories.

Core Needs & Values of Green – Information, Knowledge, Intellectual Competence

A few Attributes

• “Should be able to”
• “Why”
• Intellectual
• Theoretical
• Idea People
• Philosophical
• Very Complex
• Perfectionists, visionaries, futurists
• Can never know enough
• Cool, calm & collected

Core Needs & Values of Blue  – Communication, Relationships

A few Attributes

• Mediators
• Optimistic
• Caretakers
• Passionate
• Peacemakers
• True Romantics
• Cause Oriented
• Need to Feel “Special”
• Always has a kind word

Core Needs & Values of Orange  – Adventure, Spontaneity, Freedom

A few Attributes

• Playful
• Energetic, need for high mobility
• Charming
• Risk-taker
• “Just Do It”
• Test Limits- pushes the boundaries
• Visual & kinesthetic
• Master negotiator
• Creative, Inventive
• “Let’s make a deal”
• A natural entertainer – quick witted

Core Needs & Values of Gold  – Duty, Responsibility, Being Prepared

A few Attributes

• “Be Prepared
• Love to plan
• Detail oriented
• Service oriented
• Values family traditions
• Helpful & trustworthy
• Conservative & Stable
• “Should” & “Should Not”
• Rarely breaks the speed limit
• Strives for a sense of security

My results indicated my core temperament Color was actually almost a tie between Orange and Gold. I believe it is a true representation of my core values, needs and preferences.

There are many assessments available today and I have had fun sharing my experience of the four of the assessments I personally have taken.  I hope you have too.

Assessments:  So Many Choices

by Cindy Stradling

When I meet with clients and they are interested in conducting an assessment for their organizations I am very careful to find out why they want to conduct and assessment and what information they intend to obtain.  There are so many choices, I could write blogs for the next six months and still not have explored all of them.  For the month of April I am going to share with you my experience of four of the assessments that I have personally taken. 

Week Three – Kolbe

The Kolbe wisdom is based on the concept that creative instincts are the source of mental energy that drives people to take specific actions.  This mental drive is separate and distinct from feelings and thoughts.  Creative instincts are manifested in an innate pattern (modus operandi or MO) that determines each person’s best efforts.  A person’s MO is quantifiable and observable, yet functions at the subconscious level.  MOs vary across the general population with no gender, age or racial bias.

An individual’s  MO governs actions, reactions and interactions.  The MO also determines a person’s use of time and his or her natural form of communication.  Exercising control over this mental resource gives people the freedom to be their authentic selves.

Any interference with the use of this energy reduces a person’s effectiveness and the joy of accomplishment.  Stress inevitably results from the prolonged disruption of the flow of this energy.  Others can nurture this nature ability, but block it by attempting to alter it.

The Kolbe assessment does many things (too many to mention in this short blog) and there are things it is does not do (again too many for this short blog).  I have listed five of the things Kolbe does and five that it does not.

Kolbe Does

• Identifies instinct based or natural abilities
• De-bunks performance related stereotypes, which have been based on gender, age, race and ethnicity, physical, intellectual and social attributes
• Provides language for describing innate talents as Natural Advantages
• Quantifies the stress a person will suffer if not given the freedom to operate according to individual needs
• Assesses the obstacles to freedom of operation, which may be imposed by the self and others

Kolbe Does Not

• Identify weaknesses
• Suggest to people that there is something wrong within them that should be changed
• Remove personal responsibility for actions
• Rate individual talents on scales of better or worse, more or less important or any other value system
• Suggest that one person is more likely to succeed than another.

As you can see Kolbe takes a very different approach.  What I personally liked most was that I could understand better what activities gave me energy and what did not.  I still had to perform the activities that actually drained my energy but after doing Kolbe I learned to manage them at times of the day when my energy was high and to perform these activities in shorter chunks of time, this was a big help for me to not procrastinate on my least favourite things.

The Kolbe Impact Factors are the 12 ways we approach problem solving determined by our MOs.  Although we can solve problems using any of the 12 methods, each of us has four – one in each Action Mode that allows us to do our best, most efficient and creative work.  We instinctively begin the creative problem solving process using our most insistent mode of initiation.

The Four Action Modes are Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start and Implementor.  My  index results show  that my natural advantage is that I am an innovator: meaning my conative creativity is intuitive, visionary, and highly original.  I have a knack for finding alternatives and discovering unique ways to get things done.

There is a lot more information available from the Kolbe assessment should you wish to have it done.

Next week: My results from taking the True Colors Assessment.

Assessments:  So Many Choices

by Cindy Stradling

When I meet with clients and they are interested in conducting an assessment for their organizations I am very careful to find out why they want to conduct and assessment and what information they intend to  obtain.  There are so many choices, I could write blogs for the next six months and still not have explored all of them.  For the month of April I am going to share with you my experience of  four of the assessments that I have personally taken. 

Week Two – Insights Discovery Personal Profile

I took the Effective Selling Chapter assessment to better understand my personal sales skills and abilities.  It also provided me with insights (no pun intended) regarding my communication style.  The Insights assessment is a personal development tool which gives individuals an engaging, reinforcing transformational insight in themselves and others.

It identified my personal style as friendly and supportive.  I am imaginative and creative visionary who is a source of inspiration to others.  It explained that I prefer to focus on positive, harmonious and uplifting aspects of people and human relations.

Some of my strengths included being intuitive, optimistic, easy going, fun, enthusiastic, adaptable.

It also indicated some of my weakness included being easily distracted, de-motivated with routine tasks, can procrastinate on longer term tasks, may not dot all her  “i”s and cross all her “t”s. 

I found both the strengths and weaknesses identified were in fact a good representation of me.  I am consistently improving the way I do things and this assessment helped me to focus on the areas that need the most attention.  Since doing the test I procrastinate less, am more focused and still working on getting excited with routine tasks.

The Effective  Selling Chapter  is used to develop strategies for improved customer relationships, greater self-understanding and more and greater sales.  It assessed me in six stages:

Before the sale begins

Strengths:  positive attitude, adaptable in prospecting, builds connections and long term relationship

Areas for improvement:  avoid procrastination, prioritize more effectively, research competition more

Identifying needs

Strengths:  easy to be trusted, fascinated by other’s motivations, needs, fears and problems, has strong relating skills

Areas for improvement:  probe more, spend less time with people who are not key decision makers, gather more details for complex processes

Proposing the solution

Strengths:  maintains high standards in telling it like it is, is fluent and reassuring in articulating customer’s goals, presents in a fast-paced vocal manner 

 Areas for Improvement:  stick to the point, ensure fully knowledgeable about every aspect of the product/service, have relative business cases available

Dealing with buying resistance

Strengths:   is constantly alert to customer’s concerns, uses intuition to uncover any hidden blockers to the sale, maintains professionalism always

Areas for Improvement:  be less sensitive to tougher objections, provide more detailed information when needed, pause and reflect before moving on

Gaining commitment

Strengths:  makes the process FUN!  Focuses on the long-term benefits, reduces loss to client by ensuring their needs are met

Areas for improvement:  pay more attention to details, refrain from over-assuming, at times take smaller steps

Follow-up and Follow through

Strengths:  maintains regular contact with her clients, sees customers as friends to enjoy time with, remains aware of new development opportunities

Areas for improvement:  confirm details, ensure action is always taken for customer requests,  check levels of satisfaction more frequently.

I took a great deal of value from this assessment and have made many positive changes as a result of the information outlined in the Insights report.  I recommend this assessment for any salesperson who wants to identify their own blind spots and improve their performance.

The  Insights Discovery Personal Profile also has chapters for Communication, Teams and Management

Next week: My results from taking the Kolbe Assessment.

Assessments:  So Many Choices

by Cindy Stradling

When I meet with clients and they are interested in conducting an assessment for their organizations I am very careful to find out why they want to conduct and assessment and what information they intend to  obtain.  There are so many choices, I could write blogs for the next six months and still not have explored all of them.  For the month of April I am going to share with you my experience of four of the assessments that I have personally taken. 

Week One – Lumina Spark Portrait

This particular assessment is a new offering for the alliance and I was excited to participate in the online questions.  I found it very easy to answer all of the questions and found myself  a little excited to see the results. 

I really liked how it explained in that no one quality was more important than another.  I thought this was important because we can sometimes think that there is something wrong with us if we don’t fall into a particular category.  At the heart of this assessment is a questionnaire which measures different aspects of your behaviour.  This portrait, based on years of psychological research, will give you some indicators about how you behave, acknowledge your strengths (and how you overplay them sometimes) and identify behaviours that your rarely display.  It will also make distinctions between your behaviour and your motivations.  The portrait is really an aid to guide you towards a better sense of self-awareness to allow you to recognize your strengths and possible areas for development.

When I sat down with Eva Gutsche (the alliance partner who is certified to deliver the Lumina programs) the first thing she said to me was that she could see how much self development I had done over the years.  As we went through the pages of the assessment and she explained the details about who I am, I was surprised at the accuracy.  The assessment uses a full color Mandala to show the results of the questionnaire.

The assessment is based on four archetypes.  These four archetypes are Inspiring, Commanding, Empowering, Conscientious and the results show how I use these four archetypes.  The assessment then shows how this translates into eight aspects in the form of a Mandala.  The top five aspects of my Mandala said I was Accommodating, Reliable, Imaginative, Demonstrative and Purposeful.

The assessment then goes into detail about me personally in each of the archetypes, followed by graphs that showed how I scored in relation to the general population.  I loved this part of the assessment.  I am a visual person and really liked how easily I was able to understand the information.

The assessment then looked at three perspectives on who I was based on my three personas

1)      My underlying persona (this is my most natural me, motivating)

2)      My everyday persona (how I tend to behave and how others might see me)

3)      My overextended persona (who I am while under stress, how I react to unexpected events)

The assessment also highlighted some of my possible blind spots and areas to consider for improvement.  I agreed with the results that I sometimes take on too many projects and can cause me stress, sometimes have a tendency to get distracted, I can expect others to produce/work at the same level of intensity and energy as I do, sometime can make snap decisions and need to give myself more time to examine all the facts.

I felt this assessment was very accurate and provided me with some concrete recommendations for improvement.

There is also a Lumina Leader and Lumina Team assessment available.

Next week:  My results from taking the Insights Assessment.