It’s easier to label people than it is to understand them; yet we misinterpret labeling as understanding. ~Mike Lehr
Assessments are a deliverable of our consulting process. They are a stand-alone service too. We use a proprietary method. We are not licensed resellers of other assessment products. We know statistics, surveying and observing.
Assessment Method
Our method:
- Blends statistics and observations
- Reviews surveys, interviews, observations and company documents
- Relates findings to clients’ context (strategy, plans, goals, etc.)
- Uses a sampling approach
Numbers do not tell the whole story. Interviews and observations are important too. Company documents tell us much too. This means knowing what to look for, what to ask and how to interpret it all.
Too many times assessors just label things. They do not say what that label really means to the client. So what if a culture is “Type A”? What does that mean for the business strategy? Who cares if someone has “Personality C”? How does that affect a manager with “Personality B” who must manage that employee?
Why rely on surveys distributed to everyone? Pollsters do not do that. They know only certain people will respond. That distorts results.
Assessment Types
We do assessments of business cultures, teams, relationships and personalities. They are done with this question in mind: What does the client want to be able to do with the findings? The answer helps us present the findings so the client is able to do that.
Among other things, our assessments help uncover preferred:
- Decision-making processes
- Innovation methods
- Networking and sales activities
- Learning styles
- Coaching approaches
- Communications
- Work habits
- Organizational tendencies
Examples
Business Culture
A company is planning to introduce a new product line. It will require the company to change many of its processes. How should the company best introduce and promote this change given its culture?
Team Dynamics
A team has many talented employees. They do not seem to producing at a level expected for that talent. How do we better go about managing these personalities? How do we best support the manager of this team?
Relationships
What are the relationships among the management team? What do we have to be sensitive to with each member? How can we improve those relationships? What would be the right approaches for doing this?
Personalities
What are the personalities of these three key employees? How are they likely to view their workload of projects? What problems might this produce? What opportunities are we missing to get them to gel quickly around some of the newer projects?
