Talent Assessments

Walking down the sidewalk this afternoon in a bustling city, I overheard a group of professionals having an interesting conversation. A woman in the group was talking about a personality assessment she was being required to take by her manager. She was appalled.

“Why do I have to take a personality assessment? It’s the work that I do that’s important, not how I do it!” She went on to share her concerns that this was probably the first step towards her termination, and that she’s been a top performer relative to her peers. There was a lot of nodding & sympathy all around.


The group wasn’t looking for commentary from a random man on the street, but I wanted to ask why a top performer would be concerned about being terminated.

From organization development & talent management perspectives, the first impression of the woman’s situation would be that a high performer is on a development track to prepare her for a larger role in the organization. One of the first steps in developing an individual is to assess that person and gain an understanding of strengths and development needs.

It’s easy to find a wealth of assessments that can be helpful in understanding talent.  Here are three of the better known assessments:


Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Perhaps the best-known individual assessment tool, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI for short, is a questionnaire that results in the individual being assigned to one of 16 “types,” denoted by four letters.  The first letter is attitude, the second and third are functions, and fourth is lifestyle.  Roughly based on the work of Carl Jung, the type is intended to provide a broad behavioral profile.

• First letter will be either E (extrovert) or I (introvert)
• Second letter will be either S (sensing) or N (intuition)
• Third letter will be either T (thinking) or F (feeling)
• Fourth letter will be either J (judgment) or P (perception)

The literature around MBTI is very robust, and not all of it is helpful.


Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)
Thomas-Kilmann has been around a while, and measures how individuals deal with conflict.  There are five modes of handling conflict, which can be nicely plotted along two dimensions:  assertiveness and cooperativeness.  Assertiveness correlates to the value of the outcome to the individual, and cooperativeness correlates to the value of the relationship.

Here are the 5 modes:

Avoiding: Low assertiveness, low cooperativeness.  Both the issue and the relationship are not important to the individual.  Individual actions might include postponing and withdrawing.

Accommodating:  Low assertiveness, high cooperativeness.  The issue’s outcome is not terribly important to the individual, but there is a desire to maintain/build/protect the relationship.  Individual actions might include obedience to another, generosity, charity, and compliance.

Competing:  High assertiveness, low cooperativeness.  The issue’s outcome is important to the individual, and the relationship is not.  Competing is outcome-focused, and the individual actions reflect a strong desire for success – but only in the context of the individual.

Compromising:  Intermediate assertiveness, intermediate cooperativeness.  The outcome is fairly important and the relationship is fairly important.  This type of interaction abounds in very large groups with a mid- to long-term time horizon to work together, such as the U.S. Congress.  Individual actions might include agreeing on a middle ground, and choosing an action that drives an outcome not fully suited to any of the parties involved.

Collaborating:  High assertiveness, high cooperativeness.  The relationship and the issue are important, and individual actions are driven by the desire to create a “win-win” scenario in which the solution is fully agreed upon and fully satisfies all engaged parties.The TKI provides a picture of the individual’s tendency in conflict situations.  As a development tool, it’s helpful to explore how a person can expand  his or her repertoire, matching the conflict mode to the situation at hand.


Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32i)

The Occupational Personality Questionnaire measures personality characteristics that influence work-related competencies.  OPQ32i has a solid foundation of research on which to build, and comes in several flavors depending on industry and functional work description.  There are several reports available, all based on the 45-minute questionnaire, including:  leadership, behavioral style, candidate (used in selection), and coaching.  There is also a team report if more than one individual is being assessed.

There are several other popular tools available, including firo-b, and the Strong and Hogan assessment suites.  Whatever tool you choose, be sure to deliver the news, the assessment, and the feedback in an appropriate context and supported by coaching and conversation.  Otherwise, you might find that someone on your team is walking down the street in a bustling city…thinking the worst.