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Using
Assessments to Develop Managers and Others for
Professional and Personal Growth
Gregory
P. Smith
 "Success in the knowledge economy comes
to those who know themselves, their strengths, their values, and how they
best perform." Peter Drucker
You have worked hard to hire and train a good management team. George has
worked with you for three months. His communication style is direct. He
has many good ideas and is good at starting projects, but weak on
finishing what he starts. Mary, on the other hand, is good at details. She
finishes what she starts, but seems to lack initiative. Jose is a great
teambuilder and keeps the team motivated. His only weakness is time
management. He has to be reminded to finish his projects on time. Victoria
is bright and intelligent, but is not sociable. She prefers to stay in her
office and send email messages to those she works with. You ask yourself,
"Why can't everyone just be like me?"
In my younger days, I had a narrow approach to managing others. I believed
people who did not respond to my management style were DEFECTIVE. I
evaluated everyone with the same broken yardstick. I now know I was wrong.
There are eight different, but predictable work styles or behavior
patterns common in people.
Toxic management. In the workplace, individuals and managers unaware of
these behavior patterns will unintentionally damage their personal
effectiveness. When a manager understands these unique differences then
they are in a more powerful position. They are better able to manage,
understand, and lead people toward higher levels of productivity, lower
frustration, higher morale, and better retention rates.
Many organizations are turning to behavior assessments and personality
trait testing for both hourly workers and managers. Back in the late '90s,
only 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies used some type of assessment.
Today, that figure is climbing to 65 percent. A year 2000 study by
American Management Association showed nearly half of 1,085 employers
polled use at least one assessment in their interviewing process.
Assessments can help:
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Individuals identify their strengths,
know which jobs they are best suited for, and design a development plan
to overcome shortcomings.
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HR managers predict a job applicant's
success before they are hired.
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Business owners understand the
temperament and work style of individual employees and managers.
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Supervisors can give performance
feedback to people in a style they understand and accept for improving
performance and accelerating professional development.
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People enhance communication,
understanding, and improve personal relationships.
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Sales managers select, hire, develop,
and motivate super sales people.
One client company used assessments to
improve their hiring and recruiting process. Previously, they made hiring
decisions based on the candidate's resume and then hired the person based
on their "gut" reaction. Once hired, many of these new people created
friction, had bad work ethics, and their attitudes had a negative impact
on their coworkers.
Emotional intelligence. By using assessments they created a visual
benchmark (graphic) of their "top" performers. They used another profile
to identify the values, emotional competencies, and behaviors needed for
success based on the requirements needed by each department. (E.g. sales,
customer service, management, tech support, quality assurance, etc.)
They had a roadmap for success. They identified the behavior
patterns, communication styles, motivations, and attitudes of their top
employees. In other words, they cloned their top performers.
These assessments measure individual attitudes, values, personal
interests, and behavior with 85% accuracy. Now the company is able to
screen out applicants who may have good interview skills, have a great
resume, but none the less are not suited for the job. The process saves
them thousands of dollars in costs and reduces a lot of frustrations.
Most assessments available on the market today can be administered on the
Internet and generate an amazing amount of detail. One assessment we are
familiar with provides over 25 pages of information including:
+General characteristics
+Value to the organization
+Checklist for communicating
+Don'ts on communicating
+Ideal work environment
+Perceptions
+Keys to motivating
+Keys to managing
+Areas for improvement
+Ranking of 12 leadership competencies
+Action plan for improvement
Successful management development programs first begin with self-analysis.
When you understand behavior styles, then you have a roadmap for improved
potential and enhanced communication. One assessment identifies eight
unique behavior patterns people fall into depicted on a wheel. The
behavior styles are:
-Implementor
-Conductor
-Persuader
-Promoter
-Relater
-Supporter
-Coordinator
-Analyzer
As a management consultant, I am asked to work with groups of people who
experience difficulty working together and/or meeting objectives. I worked
with one organization that failed to reach their sales goals.
After completing a behavior assessment on each of the directors, the
problem was clear. The executive director and two assistant directors
possessed the same personality style--all three of them disliked
confrontation. Their natural tendency was to go overboard to please
people. They did like to hold people accountable. After they understood
their natural tendencies, they were able to adapt and manage more
effectively.
Developing people is less expensive than firing them. By understanding
behavior differences an organization can align an employee's motivations
with the company's mission. Assessments also help individuals reduce
conflict and get along better. Furthermore, coworkers appreciate each
person's unique strengths and abilities. With this knowledge organizations
and managers can maximize the abilities of their workforce in ways to help
make all employees star performers.
For more information and sample assessments,
please go here.
Gregory P. Smith shows businesses how to build productive and profitable
work environments that attract, keep, and motivate their workforce. He is
the author of the book, Here Today Here Tomorrow: Transforming Your
Workforce from High Turnover to High-Retention. He speaks at conferences,
conducts management training, and is the President of a management
consulting firm called Chart Your Course International located in Conyers,
Georgia. Phone him at 770-860-9464. More articles available:
http://www.chartcourse.com
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