Executive Assessments: What are my options?
Executive assessments are used to help executives gain insights and take action to become their most effective. There are numerous popular assessments used as part of executive coaching to provide valuable insights into an individual's strengths, development areas, and overall leadership style. Some of these tools can also be used to produce team profiles from the individual assessments so that teams can gain insights into their collective strengths and areas for development.
With all these options, how to know which assessment is best for you?
One of the first questions to consider is what you hope to achieve by using the assessment. These tools are most useful when their benefits are evident to the leaders who are taking them. Assessments are generally intended to provide information that can be used to build stronger teams and more effective leaders. They may help identify aspects of potential, and may inform understanding about performance, but most aren’t performance assessments, so don’t try to use them that way! I’ll offer you some ideas about options for executive performance assessments in another post.
Here are some of the most widely recognized assessments:
1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The MBTI is a well-known personality assessment that categorizes individuals into one of 16 personality types based on preferences related to perception, decision-making, and interaction. It helps executives gain self-awareness, understand their communication style, and identify areas for growth.
2. DiSC Assessment
The DiSC assessment measures an individual's behavioral style, focusing on four main dimensions: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. This assessment helps executives understand their communication preferences, work style, and how they interact with others in the workplace.
3. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Assessments
EQ assessments, such as the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0) or the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), evaluate an individual's emotional intelligence. These assessments measure competencies like self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, providing insights into an executive's ability to understand and manage emotions effectively.
4. StrengthsFinder
The StrengthsFinder assessment, based on positive psychology research, identifies an individual's top strengths out of a list of 34 themes. It helps executives understand their unique talents and how to leverage them for optimal performance, team collaboration, and leadership effectiveness.
5. 360-Degree Feedback
360-degree feedback assessments gather feedback from multiple sources, including colleagues, subordinates, and supervisors, to provide a comprehensive view of an executive's performance and leadership competencies. These assessments offer insights into strengths, blind spots, and areas for development, fostering self-awareness and guiding the coaching process effectively.
6. Profile XP
Profile XP provides a version of its assessment specifically designed for identifying factors related to executive potential, comparing individual results to data from across the globe. These assessments evaluate an individual's personality characteristics, strengths, and potential derailers that may impact their leadership effectiveness and overall performance.
7. Leadership Style Inventories
Various leadership style inventories, such as the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) or the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA), assess an executive's leadership behaviors and effectiveness. These assessments help identify leadership strengths, areas for improvement, and provide a benchmark for measuring growth over time.
As executive coaches, we often tailor the assessment approach to meet the unique needs of clients and align with their strategic objectives. One word of caution: our code of ethics requires us to be transparent about how assessments will be used- and how they won’t be. For example, these kinds of assessment tools do not assess current performance and should not be used as the basis for a decision to let an executive go. If a company uses them to justify a termination, they will destroy trust and make it difficult in future to use such tools to develop and build up executive effectiveness.
It's important to note that each assessment serves a specific purpose, and the selection of assessments may vary based on the coaching goals, organizational context, and individual preferences. That’s why looking at all the options with a consultant who understands these tools is a great first step.
If you are wondering if an executive assessment is right for you or your team, let’s chat about your options! Reach out today to set up a complimentary consultation.