Throughout my years as an employee and a student, I have taken many different self-assessments. I have always been open to them, and I have generally found it fun to use them as a unique icebreaker for a team or group. However, I generally didn’t take them too seriously, mainly because I couldn’t see how to apply the information and because the results seemed like a snapshot, like something I could change over time as I evolved with my career goals and education. Basically, I’d see the results, take a few ideas away, and forget about the assessment within weeks.
It wasn't until I was an entrepreneur in a mastermind group to grow my business, that I was introduced to an assessment that helped me understand a part of myself that I didn’t know existed – my conative drive or natural instincts. As a highly driven person who is willing to learn everything and wear every hat, I was floored by how accurately the assessment described how I work most productively and efficiently. As I reflected on the results within the context of my life - my childhood, my attempts at working the way others do, and the times I forced myself to work against these natural instincts - it was so clear to me that, even though I could get results working outside of my natural instincts, it caused me stress, conflict, strain, and sometimes subpar or slow results when I did. It was also clear that this part of me is something consistent that has stood the test of time, that will not change as I grow, and that I want to leverage to reach my goals.
The assessment I took - the Kolbe A Index™ - showed me that my way of working must satisfy my innate need for improvisation, trial-and-error, and innovation... or else I would surely end up under stress. It also showed me that I am a streamliner, an editor, and a creator and that the first tasks I should delegate as a business owner are those that require planning, coordinating, researching, and calculating risks. It showed me a path to ease, productivity, and growth as a business owner.
Now, as a Kolbe-Certified™ Consultant, I have used Kolbe Assessments for over seven years to help clients work more productively, delegate more effectively, and get the right people in the right seats.
Here are just a few ways you can use Kolbe Assessments to hire your next new team member:
1. Determine what you need to delegate
Take the Kolbe A Index yourself. Spend some time digesting the information and noticing how it plays out in your daily work. Use the tips called "Conables" in the report to determine what to delegate and get off your plate. If you are not the hiring manager, have the hiring manager do this process to further define the open role.
2. Understand the gaps and strengths in your current team
Have your current team members take the Kolbe A to identify their innate conative strengths. Review the results to see where your team has strength gaps that are needed for critical tasks that might be burning people out or worse, falling by the wayside. Determine if a new hire could potentially take on some of these tasks in the new role, and keep defining the open role.
3. Use the Kolbe RightFit™ process to evaluate candidate fit
The EEOC-Compliant Kolbe RightFit process allows you to assess what innate strengths you will expect in the new role and then evaluate how well a candidate fits your expectations. Since Kolbe is 80% predictive of how someone will behave in a role, it gives you a sharp insight into that instinctual aspect that is otherwise very difficult to know going into the selection process. It allows you to hire someone who possesses the strengths to complete the tasks you need done and can be in their stride while doing so.
What an amazing insight Kolbe provides to know how others behave naturally and to use the knowledge to set expectations in alignment with what people do best. When I saw this aspect of Kolbe, it was the first time I could really see how to use the results of an assessment. I could quickly diagnose the root causes of certain conflicts, shift my perception and expectations immediately, and improve my relationships and my ability to work with others.
Using this game-changing assessment as part of hiring is that extra edge to start things off on the right foot for everyone to be free to be themselves and be a success!
Please visit leadwithharmony.com/knowyourstrengths for more information on Kolbe Assessments.
If you’d like some additional tips on how to get clear on your hiring needs and attract great candidates, grab our FREE Job Ad Checklist at jobadchecklist.leadwithharmony.com
Andrea MacKenzie, Founder of Lead With Harmony, is an MBA, multi-certified coach, Kolbe-Certified consultant, and leadership and team-building expert with over 20 years of combined experience in corporate roles and business consulting. Andrea enjoys working with growth-oriented business owners and executives who advocate for the advancement and well-being of the people they serve, hire, and inspire.
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