Unifying People Assessment Tools

I posted before about my desire for something that managed to bring (and hold) together the variety of assessment tools used by HR and trainers when looking at personal and team skills, strengths, weaknesses, types, etc.

Well, since then I have formulated an idea that I want to capture and share. In looking for a unifying framework to join up all these tools, my epiphany was when I was introduced to the StrengthsFinder tool and realised could be the missing piece to help join the likes of Myers-Briggs, DISC and indeed Kiersey, and the Judgement Index. See the end of this blog for and an expansion on these tools, if required.

I have attempted to illustrate my idea it as a three dimensional model, but this is purely symbolic given that each "axis" is itself multi-dimensional. The three dimensions reflect a link and relationship rather than competition.

The axes are Type, Strengths and Judgement/Values. I think there is a natural order to these.

Type is the sort of psychometric tool that identifies the DNA of personality. Based on Jungian idea, Myers-Briggs, DISC, etc .tend to come up with a categorisation of each of us. Of course there is no right or wrong, but the sense is that our DNA is set during our early formative years and is unlikely to change much after that. Some movement where we place close to a boundary can happen, but in general it is fixed. For example, in Myers-Briggs I have almost always tested as ENTJ across a number of years and a number of different assessors and tools. I did come out as ENTP once, but that was on inspect probably driven by some immediate circumstances and the preference was only marginal.

So in essence that is the first assessment to do as it sets a more constrained field for the next consideration which is strengths.

In respect of strengths, the tool I have come across is Strengthsfinder which looks to identify the individuals top five themes or strengths from a set of 34. These are the areas in which they perform best or could deliver well if they there was a development focus. Not only can the strengths be developed, but the tool acknowledges the set can change as we move through life. That said it is most likely they will be smaller movements eg a strength that was already high on the list now appearing as a top five.

Something like Belbin's work on team roles seems to me to work across the DNA and strengths dimensions.

The strengths add texture to the type. If an ENTJ is a "field marshall" as it is often described, there will be a similarity in strengths, but we only need to look at history to see that there are major differences in the strengths and behaviours of people who would fall into that group.

The last piece is that of values/judgements. The only tool I find here is the Judgement Index. This looks to see how an indvidual views themself, the world around them and how they fit in. This is far more contextual. The likely view will differ by circumstance. For example you may well have different views if you have recently witnessed the birth of your child from when you have just nursed a sick parent for a long time. Similarly if you feel your job is at threat you will have a altered perception of yourself from someone who has just been hired.

To me if stengths add texture to the initial type assessment then this value aspect adds flavour.

I think that is the natural order to consider these aspects and use the tools. Only by looking at the three can one have a full (?) picture of the individual. They do not compete, but complement each other.

Of course I may have this all wrong, so I would be interested to hear from anyone else who has considered this question. For now this will be my working model.

If you are interested in looking at these tools I will provide a few links:-

Myers-Briggs
Wiki entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator
Free online test - http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp


DISC
Wiki entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment


Kiersey
Own site with test - http://www.keirsey.com/

Belbin
Own site - http://www.belbin.com/

Strengthsfinder
Own site - http://www.strengthsfinder.com/113647/Homepage.aspx

Judgement Index
Own site - http://www.judgementindex.co.uk/