Assessments for Strategic Insights

Story

I was recently working with a client on their strategic planning process for next year. Here is how the conversation went:

Client: We need to do more leadership development.

Me: What specifically do you want to do?

Client: Most of our leaders are new and have not had much experience managing and leading.

Me: What have you done to this point?

Client: Well...we have given them some guidelines in how to apply our mission and values. They have a performance tracker we use. The projects seem to run well.

Me: So you have put in place some processes to support them. What have you done to help each of them grow and develop their skills as individuals?

Client: Honestly, I am not sure we even know where to start helping them develop as individuals.

Me: If you knew their preferred work style, communication style, and level of leadership competency, would that help?

Client: Sure! But how do we get that?

This is when the conversation turned to assessments. There has been so much noise surrounding assessments and what works and what does not.

Experience

There is great power in using assessments when they are used correctly. In the context of what I call "people planning", assessments can provide insights and bring focus and clarity that you cannot get in any other way. Let me ask a few questions:

• If you consider one of your top performers, do you know what makes them a top performer?
• Could you identify a development roadmap to turn other employees into a top performer?
• Thinking of your highest performing team, what makes them the highest performing team?
• Can you identify the characteristics that drive their performance?
• Do you have an idea of how to increase the performance of other teams?
• Do you have a way to identify potential leaders for the future?
• Do you have a hiring model that provides objective measures to ensure better hiring success?

These questions can be answered through a well designed and implemented assessment process. Even better, you can gain a competitive advantage by leveraging assessments for hiring and development.

Better Data > Better Decisions

You would not make a critical decision without getting the best information available. People are the most important asset any organization has, so, getting the best data possible enhances the decision making process.

The key to leveraging the power of assessments for planning, development, and selection of talent, is to choose the right mix of assessments that will give you the data you need to make your best decisions.

This is where a certified assessment professional, certified in multiple types of assessments, can be a true strategic partner in your success.

Example

This is a team assessment that we use from Six Seconds. Here are some key insights from an assessment like this:

• Climate drivers will determine outcomes.
• Outcomes are real time measures that impact team success.
• This is truly actionable data.
• The data guides the creation of developmental KPIs (key performance indicators).
• Engagement levels directly correlate to productivity and team success.

The same assessment is available for the organization, and in a 360 format for individual leaders. These are great examples of assessments that give you actionable data.

Strategic Insights

One of the most difficult things to plan for is people. But it does not have to be that way. Using the right assessments in the right mix can provide insights into:

• Capacity
• Strengths and gaps
• Developmental opportunities
• Leadership potential
• Sales success potential
• Communication skills
• Cognitive aptitude
• Focus, energy, and engagement

Most "people planning" consists of putting in place some learning and development processes. These have value but the old methods of training and development only have about a 10-15% retention rate of the learning.

Assess - Equip - Align - Success

This is the four step process we use and has proven highly successful in empowering people to grow and learn new skills. We call it, "Equipping People to Prosper."

Notice that it starts with Assess. Do you feel you are the same as everyone else? Probably not. We are all unique. That points to the need for understanding how we are unique and how we can leverage our uniqueness. Then we can add to that a specific plan for growth and development to compliment who we uniquely are.

For more on the EQFIT® Team Vital Signs Assessment, please visit: 

EQFIT® Team Vital Signs Assessment & Results Coaching

Copyright © 2022 EQFIT® - Author: Steven Goodner All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [email protected]