By Ken Keis

It affects every aspect of our lives, yet few people will talk about it. If you have it, you are more likely to succeed. If you lack it, you will struggle.

What is it? Self-worth.

Self-worth is defined as the way you think and feel about yourself. It is the part of your personality that determines personal value and importance. Deeply seated within you, it strongly influences your attitudes and behaviors, ultimately determining your success or failure.

When self-worth is low, people have little or no energy to think, feel, and do. They lack the motivation to participate in life.

Here is an example from my own life. Over 16 years ago (prior to meeting my wife Brenda), I was engaged to a girl from Australia. After spending almost a year in my area, she returned home to plan for our wedding. Two months later, she contacted me with a “Dear John” phone call.

My self-worth hit the lowest point I could remember. Almost in a full depression, I did not eat and lost 15 pounds in 30 days. I went from being the #1 sales performer for our company to the poorest producer—in less than 60 days. My skills and abilities did not change; only my level of self-worth. My low self-worth negatively impacted everything.

High self-worth creates the opposite results. People with high self-worth believe their personal efforts will make a difference wherever they become involved. This high self-worth results in a confidence that increases their success.

Recent research shows that our self-worth levels are always fluctuating and being re-established every day. I suspect even Donald Trump had a couple of low self-worth days after his bankruptcy. And research reports that experiencing success produces more success and higher levels of self-worth. That’s why in sales training, they say the best time for a person to sell something is right after he or she has just sold something.

Developed over time, self-worth is determined by positive and negative events that occur within our families, work settings, relationships with others, and our relationships with ourselves. I was very successful in my work but, in the environment of my family life growing up, I endured a daily dose of criticism. Carrying that low self-worth into my adult life, I became critical of myself―until I recognized it for the destructive behavior it was and altered it! That attitude adjustment helped me increase my self-worth in essential areas.

There are a number of things you can do to increase your self-worth.

• Learn more about who you really are, to clarify what you need from others and the way you react in different situations. When needs are consistently met, self-worth goes up.
• Develop respect for yourself. Limit or eliminate negative relationships with individuals who mistreat you. Discontinue behaviors that make you feel guilty or ashamed.
• Forgive yourself for past mistakes and failures. Forgiveness releases strong feelings of bitterness and hate that act like poisons within us. Everyone makes mistakes. It is simply a matter of learning from them, correcting what we can, and moving forward.
• Identify and build on unused strengths. Knowing that you can do something well and doing it is a great confidence-booster.

One way to establish your awareness of your self-worth and then initiate change is to complete an assessment such as the Self-Worth Inventory (SWI).

Marcia Richardson has used the Self-Worth Inventory with clients. She strongly believes in the benefits it provides. “The SWI led us into discussions concerning self-image, how we downplay our contributions, tendencies to focus on the negative, or even how we are conditioned in our lives to be modest and not to brag. This assessment has been extremely useful in helping our clients overcome these negative conditionings.”

As you can see, the potential impact of the SWI with participants is significant. The SWI provides proven, practical ways for individuals to start from within and change the way they think and feel about themselves.

I want to mention that in some individuals, low self-worth can be biologically generated. Based on your diet and blood chemistry, you could have depression or low self-worth based on a biological condition—not a mental or emotional condition. As you look toward increasing your confidence and self-worth levels, please remember they can also be affected by physiological factors.

Self-worth is a key factor to success. If you don’t have strong self-worth, you may not feel you deserve success and therefore you sabotage your attempts to succeed. As a coach or employer, understanding your client’s level of self-worth will help you understand the individual better and provide you and the client with a map for moving forward. You may have a client or employee who seems lazy and unmotivated, yet the root of the problem is low self-worth. Helping people increase their self-worth can increase their productivity and their desire to contribute, thus benefiting everyone around them.

Include the SWI as part of your awareness program. The best thing you can do for your clients is to help them build their self-worth. The benefits are far-reaching and long-lasting.

Ken Keis is the president and CEO of Consulting Resource Group in Abbotsford, B.C. (www.crgleader.com). He can be reached at (604) 852-0566 or ken@crgleader.com.

By Sandra Lim, CPRW, CCM, CECC, Cert. Cybercounseling

Has your interest in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) been piqued with Freddie Cheek’s multi-part article, What ‘Type’ of Resume Writer are You?, appearing in Résumé Writers Digest?  This complementary article addresses how one becomes qualified to administer and interpret the MBTI®.

This topic of the MBTI® is also timely since the official professional association for MBTI® users will be holding its international conference in Toronto in July. Look for future synopses of conference sessions.

The MBTI® is a very versatile tool, which is used not only for career exploration, but also in such areas as improving communication, decision making, conflict resolution, team building, understanding managing style and the effect of this style on others, understanding organizational culture, and time and stress management, just to name a few.

The First Step: Becoming MBTI®-Qualified

What does it mean to be MBTI®-qualified versus being MBTI®-certified? (Read on the find out!) And how does one become MBTI®-qualified? Many people have read books on the MBTI® (such as the ones mentioned in Freddie Cheek’s first article) and gained a pretty good understanding of the 16 psychological types that make up the MBTI® – and have probably guessed their own type, as well as those of their friends, spouses, and coworkers.

However, the MBTI® is a psychological instrument that requires in-depth training in order to be able to purchase the testing materials and interpret the results. The MBTI® is a “B Level” instrument, restricted to users who have appropriate training and credentials – earned either by successful completion of the MBTI® Step I Qualification Program, or by “qualification through education.” Once you are MBTI®-qualified, you can purchase the testing materials and scoring forms, which can either be hand-scored or sent in for fee-based computer scoring.

MBTI® Step I Qualification Program

To become MBTI®-qualified, you must:

• Complete the 3-day training workshop (with 30-40 hours of pre-workshop self-study), which consists of two parts: an evaluation of MBTI® interpretation and feedback skills, and a multiple-choice examination. Those achieving 80% or more on the multiple-choice exam will not be required to complete the essay questions distributed after the workshop.
• Have a 4-year degree from an accredited college or university
• Have taken the MBTI® and received feedback from a qualified professional, such as a career counselor, psychologist, or vocational testing professional

In Canada, qualification programs are offered by:

Career/Life Skills Resources: http://www.clsr.ca/products_services/training/train-index-MBTI.htm

Psychometrics Canada: http://www.psychometrics.com/training/DetailsPage.cfm?ID=86&testcode=TRAIN
For other countries, check out http://www.cpp.com/Internationaldistributors/internationaldistributors.asp for qualification programs in your area.

Qualification Through Education

If you have a degree from an accredited college or university and have satisfactorily completed a course in the theory and interpretation of educational and psychological measurement, you may be able to purchase the instrument without undergoing the training program (however, this requirement is not satisfied by completing a course in statistics, research, or test design). In such a case, you would be considered “qualified by education” –  it is understood that such a person would be able to read and understand the MBTI® manual before administering and interpreting the instrument.

A Note on Ethics

MBTI®-qualified professionals adhere to a code of ethics that prohibits use the pseudo-MBTI® “tests” that have proliferated on the Internet and in print, since these do not meet standards for validity. One such popular un-validated assessment is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. The Myers and Briggs Foundation website, www.MyersBriggs.org is a resource site that points to websites related to the MBTI® instrument worldwide. The Official Web Partner sites listed have been screened and found to be reliable sources of information.

MBTI® Step II and MBTI® Step III Qualifying Programs / Advanced MBTI® Workshops

Once MBTI®-qualified, you may choose to enhance your knowledge by taking a MBTI® Step II Qualification Workshop to learn an advanced method of scoring the MBTI®. Step III Qualification also exists, which is only necessary for clinical use.

A number of Advanced MBTI® Workshops exist for those already MBTI®-qualified; some of these are:

• Type and Careers
• Using Type with Teams
• Using Step II with Teams
• Designing and Delivering an Introductory Workshop
• Type Development at Mid-Life
• Type: Teaching/Learning Styles

MBTI® Certification

Any qualifying MBTI® practitioner with at least one year of experience using the MBTI® instrument may apply for certification. The designation “MBTI® Certified” is reserved for those practitioners who are committed to continued learning (they must complete 20 continuing education credits every three years), understand the importance of the ethical use of the instrument, and can demonstrate six instances of use with type in at least two of the following four areas:

• use of the instrument with groups
• use of the instrument with an individual
• the presentation of an MBTI® workshop
• the completion of a thesis or dissertation using the MBTI® instrument or the publication of research using the MBTI® instrument

Association for Psychological Type (APT)

The Association for Psychological Type is the official professional association for MBTI® users and those interested in psychological type. APT provides opportunities for sharing type information through publications, international and regional conferences, local chapter meetings, and various training programs.

APT’s biennial international conference draws individuals from around the world interested in networking and enhancing their skills and knowledge, while accumulating CEUs for MBTI® Certification. The 2004 International Conference, to be held July 21-25, 2004, in Toronto, Canada, features a panel of speakers from around the world. Look for follow-up pieces in the next issue of the Résumé Writers Digest capturing conference sessions on:

Type and Coaching

• Using the 5 Elements of Success to Augment the MBTI®’s Effectiveness in Career Planning
• Career Counseling: The Easy-to-Use Type Model
• Using Your Non-Preferences as Your Career Development or Mid-Life Guide
• MBTI® Preferences/Personal Identity in an Online Learning Environment

To download the conference brochure in PDF format, visit http://www.aptcentral.org/conference/ConfBro.pdf. As an added bonus, non-members that register for the full conference will receive an automatic one-year APT membership!
Sandra Lim, CPRW, CECC. CWPP has been MBTI®–qualified and a member of APT since 1997. She is the President of A Better Impression (www.abetterimpression.com) in Toronto, Canada, and uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® with career counseling clients. Sandra can be reached via email at newcareer@abetterimpression.com.

Published 2004 in the Resume Writers Digest. Reprinted by permission by Career Professionals of Canada.

By Ken Keis

Everything in life centers around measurement—money, travel, time, age, weight, volume, temperature, stock indexes—the list is endless. Even underdeveloped countries use the rising of the sun and moon and the changing of the seasons as measurements.

Yet, my experience has been that most people do not have a personal measurement strategy to help improve their lives. A proper assessment/measurement strategy can offer amazing freedom, clarity, direction, and release to individuals and organizations.

Let me present an example: At one time or another, many of us have driven a vehicle with a fuel gauge that wasn’t working. Because we had to guess at the fuel level, we felt a great deal of mental stress and anxiety. If we experience stress for something as basic as a fuel tank, what internal measurements can we take to lower anxiety and stress in our daily lives? Do you and your clients clearly understand your/their values, aptitude, attitude, personality, stress and health, interests, purpose, self-worth, leadership, and management skills?

What is an Assessment?

An assessment is any process, tool, or methodology that benchmarks and measures a set of criteria for individuals, teams, or organizations. Like money, volume, or distance, assessment is a form of measurement that helps individuals know where they are and where they are going. Measurement does not create results; it documents what is already true.

What do Assessments measure?

There are no limitations to what assessments can measure. Assessments measure and clarify personal style, job style, character traits, leadership skills, team compatibility, aptitude, values, health, self-worth, integrity, trust factors, and much more.

Who can benefit from completing an assessment?

Given the wide variety of areas that can be measured, everyone at some level can benefit from assessments―individuals, businesses of all sizes, partners, families (including kids with a grade 6 reading level and up), and non-profit and volunteer organizations.

Assessments can help you hire the right person . . . the first time. One business owner complained he could never get the right person for a senior position. We recommended two assessments to help in the process: the Personal Style Indicator and the Job Style Indicator.

To hire for a six-figure position, he was reluctant to invest in assessment technology for the five individuals on his short list. As a result, he was consistently getting the wrong person for the job. How much was that costing him?

Do I need a professional to help with the process?

Because CRG’s assessments are self-scored and self-interpreted, you can apply the technology and look at your results in your own timeframe. You can, however, gain a deeper understanding of the tools and how to apply them by attending CRG’s Train-the-Trainer course.

How can you effectively use the assessments in personal and/or organizational applications?

• Establish the primary items you want to measure before conducting assessments. Make sure you select assessments that best apply to your situation.
• All team members should go through the assessment process.
• Confirm your assessment strategy and consistently implement and use it.
• Never abuse the privilege and confidentiality of the process. Share all results with the individual.
• It is not the results that are important; it’s what you do with them.
• Choose assessments that are proven in the marketplace and that are well regarded by their users. Just because an assessment is well known or has high market awareness does not mean it is high quality and will meet your needs.
• If you have no experience in the assessment world, contact a qualified professional who can recommend several options and choices. The use of assessments is a must for any progressive individual or organization.

In research conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), it was found that the most profitable and successful organizations were, on average, doing twice the training and assessments than businesses performing at below-average levels.

It is difficult to determine where you want to go if you don’t know your starting point. Use an assessment to evaluate where you and your clients are now and then to plan where to go next.

CRG’s tools and resources can be used in a wide variety of disciplines. The knowledge and understanding gained from these tools are applicable anytime you are dealing with another person. A better understanding of the people around you will increase the effectiveness of your communication and help you get the results you want.

Train-the-Trainer is your opportunity to learn more about CRG’s 16 assessments and over 100 resources―and how to quickly implement any one of them in your business or organization for breakthrough results.

Start now. Take your personal or business life to the next level with the right assessments for your situation.

Ken Keis is the president and CEO of Consulting Resource Group in Abbotsford, B.C. (www.crgleader.com). He can be reached at (604) 852-0566 or ken@crgleader.com.

By Julie Fulford, Hons. BA (Psych), CRC, CIP

The core objective of vocational assessments within the career counselling process is to assist you in making informed and satisfying career, training  or educational decisions through better self-understanding and exploration of career options.

As you consider your career options, vocational assessments can increase your self-awareness (understanding what you can do and what you like to do) and assist you in setting realistic career goals. This in turn, will:

• Assist you in making appropriate career decisions.
• Help you to examine the suitability of a possible choice, plan or decision…for example “I think I might want to change jobs and work in ____, but I’m not sure yet.”
• Stimulate interest in an occupational area you have not previously considered.
• Assist you in making appropriate educational/training plans.
• Increase the likelihood that you will be successful in your chosen occupation.

What you need to know about Vocational Assessments

• Vocational Assessments are intended to increase your self-awareness and to assist you in making career decisions, they are not designed to “trick” you.
• Vocational Assessments are most helpful when you understand the reason for taking a particular assessment…so ask questions.
• Several factors need to be taken into account when making career decisions, such as your interests, values, personality, aptitudes, acquired skills, as well as social and economic factors.
• Avoid making career decisions based on the results of one or two assessment tools. All of the information must be considered in making a wise career choice.
• Vocational Assessments are a valuable component of the career counselling process and should lead to an action plan, which will help to outline “next steps” for you to take.

Assessment Tools

There are many types of Career Assessment tools available in the marketplace. For the purpose of this discussion, we will outline several categories of assessment as well as some examples of tools/ inventories available.

SKILLS/TRANSFERABLE SKILLS ASSESSMENT

Ability is the capacity to act with competence in an activity or occupation. It has been referred to a mental power, acquired naturally or by learning, that allows you to do something well. Skill refers to competencies developed from learning and practice; it is the power to use your talents and knowledge effectively when you perform an activity.

Here are some examples of Skills Assessments:

• The personal counselling interview is one of the most effective places to start the assessment process. A series of good questions can lead to exploration of transferable skills. (What have you liked most in the work you’ve done? What have you not liked? What are the challenges for you in your most current work?)
• Client Reflection Sheet- “Things I do well”
• Skills Card Sorts (skills decision deck-client draws a card from the deck, reads the skill on the front of the card, sorts this into 3 headings: “like to do, don’t like to do, want to learn”)
• Remembering past achievements: the client completes a life review of paid/unpaid/volunteer work achievements, school/classroom and extracurricular activities, home/church/recreation/hobbies achievements, human relationships: family and social achievements) with examples to demonstrate these.
• Skills inventory: Data/ People/ Things
• Skills inventory: Self Management Skills
• What are your Career Assets? (Adapted from Barbara Moses)

VALUES ASSESSMENTS

Every person has a value system that is uniquely their own. As you seek self-Knowledge in order to make a career decision, you need to determine which work related values operate most within your own personality. A value is anything to which a person gives worth. It is a quality that makes something desirable.

There are many inventories/ tools available to assist with the identification of work values.

• Values Card Sorts (Values decision deck-client draws a card from the deck, reads the value on the front of the card, sorts this into 3 headings: “Always Value, Sometimes Value, Never Value”)
• Incomplete Value Sentences…(“If I had a million dollars, I would….”)
• Review of Work Values Inventory
• Prioritizing my Values and Virtues (Prioritizing Grid based on Richard Bolles: “What colour is your Parachute”)
• Work Values Auction * Adapted from Human Potential Seminars: Participant Handbook by J.D. McHolland

INTERESTS ASSESSMENTS

It is important to distinguish between interests and abilities. Interests are indications of activities you like to do; abilities are things you can do with skill. One expresses a preference, whereas the other indicates competence. There can be a world of difference between liking something and doing it. Again, there are many tools available to help identify client interests. Some inventories are self-administered, self-scored and self- interpreted. Other inventories are given by a career professional, scored by machine and interpreted by the professional. The client scores may be compared with the scores of other people to give an indication of how strong their preferences are in the occupational groups measured by the inventory.

The most widely used set of ideas for constructing vocational inventories is based on John Holland’s classification of personality types and work environments. Holland’s theory is useful in career planning if you accept the assumption that occupational choice is essentially an expression of personality, which can be measured by means of an inventory. Personality traits of most people can be organized into six types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional.

Some other interest inventories include:

• The Self-Directed Search/Vocational Preference Inventory (Both provide you with a 3 letter code for Holland personality types: the first letter represents your highest score, and the second and third letters follow in descending order.)
• Strong Interest Inventory
• Career Assessment Inventory
• Cops (Career Occupational Preference System)
• On-line Inventories such as Career Cruising also assist with identification of vocational interests.

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS

There are many career inventory options that make good use of your personality strengths.

These inventories are available to take a closer look at your personality preferences and how these relate to career satisfaction:

• MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator)
• Insights Discovery Profile may be used, but requires a skilled career professional to relate personality preferences to career satisfaction
• Personality Dimensions

WORK ENVIRONMENT PREFERENCES

Your work environment can be divided into 5 areas:

• The location where you want to work
• Physical conditions that are suitable for your work
• Work hours that meet your needs/balance your lifestyle
• The people you work with and for
• Your preferred level of responsibility within the organization

The work environment inventory asks a series of questions to further determine the parameters, which make up your preferred work environment. This enables you to better articulate the conditions in which you work most effectively.

Doing your best in Vocational Assessments

• Remember that you can’t study for vocational assessments.
• Answer the questions honestly and to the best of your ability.
• If you have any physical difficulties, tell your career counsellor/consultant.
• If you use assistive devices (eyeglasses, hearing aids) be sure to wear them during the assessments.
• It is normal to be a little nervous/anxious before an assessment. Remember, this is not a test.
• Ask the counsellor/consultant questions when you don’t understand something; they are there to help you.
• Always follow the instructions.

Presented by Julie Fulford of Coaching Solutions at the 2006 Strategies for Success Conference. Note: this article is not an exhaustive list of all inventories available for career assessment. Those included are for workshop discussion only.

By Bev Bayley

Did you know that a survey of over 2100 Canadian youth found that 50% of these youth in the 15 to 19 age bracket were uncertain about their post secondary educational and career plans? (Posterski & Bibby, 1988)

It’s not only youth that have difficulty sorting out what they want to do and where they want to do it. How many times have you heard from adults that they are unhappy in their current job but don’t know what they would do instead?

Career Development as a field of interest began with Frank Parsons who launched the field by recommending to his clients that they keep a record of their interests and activities as well as family background. He then assembled statistics on current labour market data and compared this information with his clients’ records in order to suggest possible career choices. His method was an interesting start, however it was time consuming and highly subjective.

During the 1900’s attention around human behaviour measurement tools began to develop. The field of career counselling embraced these tools for they offered the ability to differentiate one individual’s attributes from another on an objective basis. Career counselling researchers began to develop further assessments in order to determine a link between a person’s traits and specific occupations. Over the years, psychometric assessments have been refined in order to meet reliability and validity criteria, providing insight into a person’s individual characteristics and occupational suitability.

In order to determine the type of job that you would enjoy, it is necessary to do some exploration of your interests, skills, and personality type. In taking the first step towards discovering your interests you need to identify what you have been and currently are  interested in. Are you interested in working outside, building, using your physical skills in your work? Do you like organization and working with numbers? Are you artistic…dancing, painting or actively seeking out opportunities for drama or choir experiences? Perhaps you have an inquisitive mind that seeks out knowledge and further investigation. Do you focus on social endeavours, perhaps working in a helping capacity? Are you great at persuading and marketing ideas?

Whatever your past and current experiences have been, there are common threads of interest that become apparent when you take the time to review what you have previously been successful with and have enjoyed. In recognizing your personality type, you are able to gain additional perspective on the type of environment that you wish to work in and focus your energy and attention.

In the self-discovery process you can also take note of your skills and the times when you felt proud of your accomplishments. Perhaps it was learning to ski, completing a difficult project or work task, finding the courage to step outside your area of comfort, winning that race or counselling a client that provided you with a sense of pride and personal fulfillment.

If you are to commit to your personal career development, you need to step back and review what you find personally rewarding, interesting, and worthy of your time. In identifying your interests and personality through the use of assessments, you can work towards finding your “best fit” occupational clusters. In identifying occupational areas of interests, you can move onto exploring your options and building your educational or career development plan through targeted goal setting.

What are your past and current interests? What about pride experiences? Do you focus your energy and attention inwardly or outwardly? Is your personal style reflected in your personal and work life?

Choices Career Consulting provides formal and informal career assessments as well as private counselling to individuals of all ages in order to assist them with their educational and career choices.

By Sue Edwards, ACC, CHRP

It was a long, challenging search but you’ve finally identified the ideal candidate.  You used a thorough process to define the requirements of the position. After a second round of interviews, you administered a well-validated selection instrument and ran several reports.  After reviewing all of the information, the answer was clear…the candidate is perfect for the role!

In my work as a Leadership Coach I have found inordinate value in the use of Assessment results AFTER the selection process is complete.  Once the new hire is in the position, powerful insights can be gained from the reports, providing further value to the organization and the incumbent.

I recently coached a sales executive, Peter (not his real name), who had moved into a challenging new role.  Within the first week of joining the organization, Peter and I met for the start of a 3-month executive onboarding program. One of the first steps in the process was a full debrief of the model underlying the Assessment tool and the reports that were produced, based on his input.

In our initial meeting, it was evident that Peter was fired-up about charting a new course for the sales organization.  He was like a racehorse charging out of the gate, eager to have his direct reports embrace the ideas he had, based on his experience at his former company.

We walked through the Assessment.  His particular profile revealed that he was a highly results-oriented, driven individual who verbalizes a lot and displays an extremely fast-pace.  As we talked, he began to see that, rather than creating a connection with his direct reports as he wanted to do he was, in effect, shutting them down.  Peter was so excited to share his ideas that he was coming on like gang-busters.

Peter’s direct reports were shaking their heads and saying things like, “Who does he think he is?  I wish he would simply LISTEN to us and we could tell him about the challenges we face in this company and how they need to be addressed.”

In many organizations it would be months down the road, when the proverbial car is already in the ditch, that Peter’s manager would contact Human Resources with the command to “give this guy some 360-degree feedback so he can see what he’s doing to his people!”

Building in a confidential, one-on-one debrief of the Assessment up-front, before the pressures are too intense and the leader has already created a “name” for himself, is a proactive investment in preventing derailment.  My research on success factors and derailers in the first 3 months with a new employer clearly shows that listening and observing are the most important behaviours for leaders to demonstrate.  Providing that information, coupled with results of the individual’s own profile, is a powerful way to help the new hire internalize the messages they need to get right away.

Peter and I were also able to spend time with his manager, helping her to appreciate where she might need to assist Peter to course correct in the first few months, as indicated by his particular profile.

So… what could you do to more proactively and deliberately build an Assessment debrief into the process of transitioning a new employee into their new role?  What additional support could you be providing to the new hire’s manager? How might this set them both up for success?

In my Clearing the 90-Day Hurdle™ process, I administer a Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) to each coaching client.  This is a highly reliable and well-validated instrument available through Thomas International Inc.  We use this information to determine the areas of focus for our coaching.  It helps the client and I recognize the strengths that need to be leveraged in this all-important timeframe.   In the first 3 months with a new organization, personal branding is key. It is critical to leverage strengths quickly to help to carry my clients through the overwhelming sensation that often accompanies a new leadership role.

It’s also important to pay attention to the watch-outs or “limitations” in Thomas language, so that I can help focus my client’s energy on avoiding the typical derailers in the first 90-days and pay close attention to those areas that the individual’s profile indicate might be his or her particular nemesis.

We then leverage a report called “How to Effectively Manage”, which describes how my client is best managed.  We use this information to ensure that the new hire is proactively managing upwards with the new boss right from the start. What does the boss need to know about my client’s motivational and developmental needs?  I find that discussion of this report with my client and his boss fosters strong connection between the two individuals. It helps to cut through what I call the “politeness dance” of the initial few months.  It is my experience that too much time is wasted walking on eggshells in the early days of forming this key relationship.  Open, candid conversations can be jump-started through effective use of the Thomas tools or other effective Assessments.

So what happened to Peter?  With the insights gained from the Assessment tools, he was able to acknowledge to his direct reports that his eagerness to pursue the changes he desired was likely getting in their way. By building in time to listen to their ideas and using a more collaborative process to develop a shared vision, he rallied his team and achieved fantastic year-end results.  After sharing his profile openly with his direct reports and his boss, he asked for their support to tip him off whenever his behaviour suggested that he wasn’t listening and benefiting from the ideas around him.  Peter is thriving in his new role and his company is delighted with the leadership he is providing.

For more about how I use the Thomas reports in my Clearing the 90-Day Hurdle™ program, please e-mail  your questions to me at info@clearingthe90dayhurdle.com

Sue Edwards, President of Development by Design, is a Leadership and Business coach who specializes in working with leaders in transition to new roles and new organizations.  To download a free copy of Sue’s report: “Top Ten Success Factors (and Seven Deadly Sins) for Leaders Transitioning into Organizations”, click here http://www.clearingthe90dayhurdle.com/top10-report.shtml