Behaviors

Success in life, work, and relationships stems from having a sense of self—of deeply comprehending who you are, what you do, and how you do it. We use an assessment that measures behaviors based on the DISC theory first developed by William Moulton Marston. DISC measures Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance.

This assessment is key in helping people to understand how they are inclined to behave and how they can interact effectively with others at work and in life. This understanding helps them to deal with problems and challenges, to influence and lead others effectively, to adjust to the pace of their environment, and to work well under established rules and procedures.

Motivators

Whereas the behaviors assessment illustrates the “how” of your actions and decision making, this assessment, based on Eduard Spranger’s theory of human motivation, explains the “why” behind your actions and passions. Motivators are the windows through which an individual views the world. They are the driving forces that influence on-the-job performance, and they explain a lot about why an employee acts a certain way.

The assessment measures the relative prominence of six basic interests or motivators. Basically, these are fundamental life values:

• Theoretical—the discovery of truth
• Utilitarian—ROI of one’s time and resources
• Aesthetic—form and harmony
• Social—an inherent caring for people; helping others
• Individualistic—personal power, influence and renown
• Traditional—a system for living

Competencies

For many jobs, it’s not always the technical skills that will catapult employees to success but rather the personal skills or “soft skills,” which often are transferable to different jobs. In the workplace, technical knowledge is complemented by such intangible skills as leadership, persuasion, and playing well with others. These are qualities that define us as people. Typically, they will be key to an employee’s job performance.

We can measure competencies with an assessment that examines the level of development of twenty-five unique personal skills. Those can be ranked from the most well-developed skill to the one in greatest need of further development. Different jobs, of course, require different competencies. Here are the personal skills that the assessment examines:

• Continuous Learning
• Employee Development/Coaching
• Interpersonal Skills
• Leadership
• Personal Accountability
• Decision Making
• Appreciating Others
• Influencing Others
• Negotiation
• Self Starting
• Customer Focus
• Diplomacy
• Problem Solving
• Resiliency
• Goal Orientation
• Project Management
• Creativity and Innovation
• Futuristic Thinking
• Planning and Organizing
• Conceptual Thinking
• Flexibility
• Time and Priority Management
• Teamwork
• Conflict Management

Emotional intelligence

To achieve superior performance in the workplace, you must understand the role of emotions—both your own and other people’s—in the decision-making process. That understanding will lead to greater collaboration and boost productivity.

Research shows that successful leaders and superior performers have well developed emotional intelligence skills. This makes it possible for them to work well with a wide variety of people and to respond effectively to the rapidly changing conditions in the business world. In fact, a person's (EQ) emotional intelligence may be a better predictor of success performance than intelligence (IQ). 

The EQ assessment we use examines five key areas:

• Self-awareness—understanding one’s moods, emotions, and drives and how they affect others

• Self-regulation—ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods; to think before acting

• Motivation—passion to work for reasons beyond money or status; pursuit of goals with energy and persistence

• Empathy—ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people

• Social skills—proficiency in managing relationships and building networks