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Q4 • 2022


FEATURE


This should result in less time-consuming back-and-forth and greater satisfaction all around.


Employee development Conative, affective, and cognitive assessments might reveal hidden strengths and unrealized potential among team members. They can also shed light on certain weaknesses that could be hindering their performance and progress. With this knowledge, you can guide them toward specific training opportunities that would fit them best and open them up to future career paths.


Proceed with Care Personality assessments can greatly improve a workforce—so long as they’re implemented effectively. And that means, among other things, letting team members know the hows and whys of the assessments. “Don’t use them if you’re not going to talk about the limitations of the model or if you’re not being clear about the reasons,” Mercer cautions. While the primary reasons for testing will no doubt arise from business needs, such as improving intrateam communications or boosting camaraderie, “the benefits can’t be just for the organization,” Slater says. “They also have to benefit the individual and give them knowledge that they can take home and use in other aspects of their life.” As for assessment limitations, every test has them. Any assessment that relies on self-reporting is destined to be unreliable to some degree, as it is based on the individuals’ perceptions of themselves and their behavior. Someone might rate themselves as imaginative because they write fiction, for example, but in the workplace they might problem solve in a more conventional manner.


Because assessments can be subjective,


relying heavily on them has its hazards. “They should be used as a conversation starter, an activity, a way to look at things differently, and not as an end-all and be-


all,” Mercer says. “Don’t use the tools to weaponize.” An assessment that suggests a person is reserved is not reason enough to deny that team member the opportunity to go out into the marketplace. Likewise, someone who is assessed as being analytical and detail oriented should not automatically be passed over for creative assignments. Pigeonholing people according to their assessments is a common mistake. “Many use assessments as an ‘either/or’ model rather than as a ‘yes/and’ model,” Mercer notes. Rather than viewing team members as introverts or extroverts, risk averse or risk taking, keep in mind that such qualities are only part of their overall personality and functionality. Also keep in mind that if you’re


using affective or conative assessments for purposes beyond ice breaking or conversation starting, the tests themselves are only part of the solution. Knowing that one teammate is a concrete thinker while another is an abstract thinker won’t enable you to manage them more effectively unless you know what drives and holds back each type. “If you’re assessing to improve leadership self-awareness and you find there’s not much self-awareness, what are you going to do about it?” Mercer asks. And even after you use the insights


gleaned from personality testing to solve the problem at hand, you’ll want to continue to use the assessments as tools going forward. Leadership needs to encourage this: “Nothing lives on its own. And if it doesn’t come from the top, it’s not going to survive,” Slater says. He suggests using the assessment language when appropriate. When discussing an assignment with a colleague, for instance, “you might say,


An assessment that suggests a person is reserved is not reason enough to deny that team member the opportunity to go out into the marketplace. Likewise, someone who is assessed as being analytical and detail oriented should not automatically be passed over for creative assignments.


‘Remember, you’re a long Fact Finder, and I’m a short Fact Finder, so I need to know the ture.’” You could place placards esks indicating which p or hav member eir email si wt


emember, y e a long Fact Finder, and


a short Fact Finder, so I need to know big picture.’” You could place placards on people’s desks indicating which personality type they are or have members include the information in their email signatures. And when onboarding new team members, give them the same assessments as you did existing employees.


Perhaps most importantly, keep in mind


that personality assessments are “one limited view or perspective on something,” Mercer says. “It’s not all good or all bad. Take what works and leave the rest.” Slater agrees: “Celebrate people for what they offer and forgive them for what they don’t offer. Don’t penalize them for what they don’t offer.” 


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