assessments
Why are assessments important in business and career development?
Let’s say your company is a ship. In order to navigate the unruly seas and have a successful journey, you must first make sure that you have the right crew in the right place. You wouldn’t put someone without a sense of direction in the navigator’s seat, and you wouldn’t make someone who has poor leadership skills your co-captain. You also won’t make it very far if your crew can’t work together. Just as a ship’s crew must each take ownership of their position and responsibilities and work together, so a company must function in order to be successful.
By using assessments to identify key components of each team member’s personality, we are able to determine how and where they can achieve maximum functionality and success.
What is The Birkman?
The Birkman Method® is a scientifically developed, multi-dimensional assessment designed to help you achieve more at work and at home. It integrates behavioral, motivational and occupational data together to predict behavior and work satisfaction across situations. The Birkman Method is the personality assessment for improving people skills and aligning roles and relationships for maximum productivity and success.
BIRKMAN PRODUCTS
WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSIONAL STYLE?
Dive into the depths of your unique approach to life and work with just a few insightful questions! Take our short personality quiz to uncover whether you’re a Driver, Inspirer, Analyzer, or Strategizer.
Other Assessment Tools
DiSC
DiSC is a personal assessment tool used to improve work productivity, teamwork and communication. DiSC is non-judgmental and helps people discuss their behavioral differences. If you participate in a DiSC program, you’ll be asked to complete a series of questions that produce a detailed report about your personality and behavior.
DiSC stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.
The DiSC model provides a common language that people can use to better understand themselves and to adapt their behaviors with others. This can be within a work team, a sales relationship, a leadership position, or other relationships
The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal
Assessments take the guesswork out of hiring & development decisions. Especially critical thinking assessments. That’s because studies show that critical thinking is the foundation for virtually every workplace skill and ability. Hundreds of HR departments integrate Pearson’s talent assessments into their selection, development, retention and succession-planning programs—and have the successful leaders to show for it.
Watson-Glaser is the gold standard because it precisely measures critical thinking ability—one of the strongest predictors of job success. Nothing is more important than how employees question, analyze and make decisions under pressure.
MORE ABOUT BIRKMAN
THE BIRKMAN METHOD
The powerful data of The Birkman develops actions that empower our clients to succeed in some of the greatest feats in human achievement. That’s why Birkman is the trusted partner for the biggest brands in industries ranging from technology to space exploration, aeronautics to oil and gas exploration, and nonprofits to championship-winning sports teams.
Professionally, I’ve hired hundreds of people and use the Birkman in making every hiring decision. It has proven consistently accurate in aligning the career opportunity with the candidate best suited for the job, and then to help that employee achieve their personal and career goals as well.”
BIRKMAN PRODUCTS
The reality of life is that your perceptions– right or wrong – influence everything else you do.
~Roger Birkman
Four Perspectives of Personality:
The Birkman Method reveals four key perspectives of every person: Motivation, Self-Perception, Social Perception, and Mindset. In understanding these perceptions and how they influence each other, individuals can better understand the emotions and actions that drive their life.
1 | Motivation
Birkman’s data on Motivation measures passion and interest for different roles and initiatives in the workplace, and is described through the Birkman Interests. This aspect of The Birkman Method measures broad interest themes that are characteristic of many occupations. Birkman Interests provide awareness into the activities that foster greater engagement and enjoyment and those which can drain one’s energy and result in fatigue. Motivation is a critical factor in finding a fulfilling career path, being engaged in the workplace, and ensuring long-term workplace satisfaction.
2 | Self-Perception
Self-Perception reveals how we see ourselves and drives much of how we show up in the world around us. It’s driven largely by how we have learned to use certain styles to get positive results in past situations. We report this as Usual Behavior, and what is measured on the assessment is typically how a person feels they approach tasks, manage relationships, and contribute to their community.
3 | Social Perception
Social Perception is an individual’s underlying context or filter used to determine if a current situation or environment feels comfortable for the individual. Because this is a measure of an internal state, it is not always apparent to others how someone will act (or react) when circumstances change. Reported as Needs, this information allows a person to anticipate their reaction to new or changing situations in their lives, and thus avoiding the resulting Stress Behavior that might result if they do not manage these expectations. These Needs and expectations are an invisible driving force behind an individual’s behavior.
4 | Mindset
Birkman Mindset data provides insights into an individual’s belief system concerning themselves and others. Birkman addresses specific aspects of Mindset that address interpersonal, intrapersonal, and work alignment of individuals. On a macro-level, these meta-scales allow individuals to see new ways of thinking and confront the pros and cons of their perspectives. These perspectives dive deep into an individual’s subconscious and help explain the why behind one’s actions and behavior patterns.
BIRKMAN PRODUCTS
Myths
About
People
“I’m normal. It’s the other person who is not normal.”
“Behavior is generally predictable when we know how the person perceived the situation and what is important to him or her. While people’s behavior may not appear rational to an outside observer, there is reason to believe it usually is intended to be rational and it is perceived as rational by the person. An outside observer often sees behavior as non-rational because the outside observer does not have access to the same information or does not perceive the environment in the same way.” – Dr. Ed Lawler III, USC Marshall School of Business
The definition of normal, or not normal, is defined by the observer and their unique perspective.
“The best way is my way.”
There is more than one way to accomplish a task or solve a challenge. When the focus becomes too much on our own personal way of doing things we can create barriers for ourselves and others. These barriers close us off to other approaches that may be potentially better. They also can limit our access to information that may be valuable for developing better approaches to work and relationships.
“The way a person behaves is the way you should treat them.”
The way a person acts is not necessarily the way they expect and prefer to be treated. One of the defining features of Birkman, called Needs, reports the unique expectations and preferences we each have. The behavior we observe another person using may not send accurate clues to us for relating to and motivating them. Needs provide key understanding for what drives a person’s behavior.
“Other people feel the way I do.”
People have their own set of unique expectations and preferences that are not easily observed by others. In Birkman we call these Needs. These Needs create a unique perspective from which the person observes, experiences, and judges the environment and people around them. This perspective generates personal thoughts, feelings, and ultimately actions. It is reasonable to assume, then, that others do not necessarily think or feel exactly the way we do about a situation or relationship.
“There is an ideal profile.”
Perhaps life would be easier if we could aspire to an ideal profile. However, ideal profiles simply aren’t practical in the real world. One thing we can count on is change. As situations around us change they call on different behavioral approaches. In part, this is why a person can be effective in one situation, while becoming less effective in another. The person did not change, the situation changed.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
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