Organizational Coaching
One of the foundations for professional coaching is the selection, administration, and interpretation of what is broadly referred to as ‘assessment’ when developing a coaching action plan.
When you look at the landscape of the most commonly used assessments you see an alphabet soup of choices including the MBTI, DiSC, TKI, 16PF, CPI, and iEQ9. How does a coach know which tool or instrument to use? To illustrate the confusing aspect of the world of assessments, I threw this topic into the winds of cyberspace to see what would come back. The following tests I found highlight how the subject of assessment is sometimes misconstrued:
- A PhD Designed Personality Test “This is extremely accurate and insightful. No registration required. Only takes 10 minutes.”
- The Genius Personality Test “to begin your journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance and self-permission impacting your health, career, and relationships.”
- Take the Plant Personality Quiz and “discover what type of plant you are most similar to in order to discover your inner Herb Nerd.” (my favorite!).
Those ridiculous ads illustrate how the subject of assessment is sometimes misconstrued as to what they are and how they can be used in professional situations. The good news for individual and organizational consumers is that coaches who are following a best practices approach have specific training in the assessments they utilize for their clients. When being considered for organizations, some of the contextual items may include asking
- Is the purpose to assist an individual to grow in their work?
- Does this need to evaluate capability on a team or as a sole contributor?
- Who will review the results and why?
- For what purpose and how will the results be used?
Coaches are able to harness assessments to explore many aspects of an individual or organization that include:
- personality attributes
- career skills
- competencies
- attitudes
If you would like to take a deeper dive into which assessments coaches use, check out this article from the Library of Professional Coaching. Assessments can be a highly valuable tool in the overall coaching action plan and yield results that will have a positive effect on the well-being of both the individual and your organization for years to come.
We have a team of coaches available to talk to you about assessments. Please contact us.
