Choosing An Accurate And Reliable Personality Assessment
Ever wondered why you always end up in the wrong job or the worst relationships, even when they seemed so promising going in? It can be especially confusing when there doesn't really seem to be anything wrong with the work or the other person, just that things never did seem to take off or click. Well, maybe it's not the work or your prospective partners - maybe you just don't have a clear understanding of who you really are in the first place - your personality type, your risk aversion levels, your tendencies and the underlying assets, preferences and issues in your make-up that you may not be taking into consideration. But how do you go about "finding yourself" without embarking on a navel-gazing and soul-searching journey of epic proportions (which, face it, few of us have the time for)?
One of the best places to start is personality assessment. There are literally thousands of different assessments available, often on the Internet where they are either free (although often in an abbreviated form from their full fee access) or at a reasonable charge. A quality test can help you map your personality makeup as a whole and perhaps tease out previously hidden factors in your mindset or behavior that may affect your decision making, your overall job and life satisfaction in given situations and your choices.
There are many website and hard-published assessments which can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and where your personal gifts lay. However, you have to pay attention and steer clear of "recreational" assessments and quizzes if you are looking for an accurate and predictive overview, especially on the Internet. To be truly useful, a personality assessment must meet three criteria:
It must be empirical and accurate This means that the test is based on scientifically designed questions that are proven to be predictive (by having known personality types take the test, and checking for correlation in the results).
It must be normed This means that when the assessment results are tabulated as a group, the number and pattern of personality types it presents must be representative of the general population who are likely to be taking the test. This is done by testing a representative sample, graphing the test results and then matching the results against a scientifically predicted bell curve for that particular population. Note that if an assessment is designed for a specific, narrow population (such as law enforcement cadets, engineers or abused women), it will produce results that are skewed from the general population norm, but which can be internally predictable and normed within that narrowly defined group.
It must be reliable and consistent This means that the test must return the overall same pattern of results for the same person taking it repeatedly, even if their answers differ slightly from day to day due to normal moods and perceptions. This also means that the greater the number of questions, the more likely it is to be accurate (assuming it was created by trained individuals). A large pool of questions (from which the actual test is randomly generated) allows a little "wriggle room" for slightly different answers, plus allows for plenty of "cross-check" questions which ask essentially the same things, but from different perspectives and with different wording. Often an assessment will be tested for internal consistency by giving the same individuals half of the test questions (say, all the odd numbered questions). The test result is tabulate, and then the other half of the questions is given and the results compared. If both halves produce essentially identical results, the test can be considered internally consistent.
There are innumerable "fun" tests out there, from "Are you a good kisser?" to assessments designed to look scientific but which, in effect, tell you what you want to hear (along the lines of fake horoscopes and palm readings at the fair) and only after you sign into their "members-only results" area, as a means to procuring your email address. Or they give you a free low-content, vague and essentially useless answer, and then offer to send you the full results if you sign up for their product or course. Of course, there are several respected and reliable assessment companies that also offer a two-tiered membership approach (free scaled back test, and membership-fee full service and content version), so you need to be able to differentiate between the two.
Many well-respected assessments, especially the popular ones such as the MAPP (Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential), the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator or the DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) Profile, charge quite a bit for the full service. But this is only fair, as they are the result of literally years of research, proprietary information gathering, intellectual property creation and relentless testing, not to mention countless man-hours of work. Also, many of these high-quality and scientifically validated tests are so complicated, and the results so open to misinterpretation by the layperson, that in order to get the full benefit and usefulness of the test it needs to be administered by, and the results personally reviewed and discussed with, a trained administrator.
The results you get from these fee-paid assessments are generally worth the money, if you have it. If you don't, you can still find several small or scaled back assessments that give reasonably detailed and accurate results for free, or for a nominal registration fee. Another way to get a proper assessment on the cheap is to take one offered in a book, either purchased or loaned out from your local public library. Many assessments can be found in hardcopy form and even if they lack the depth of a professionally administered version, they can be taken and the results studied and interpreted at your leisure. Of course, as with the Internet versions, you have to critically judge the content and accuracy of any book-bound personality assessment you take.
What you find out about yourself once you've competed a few assessments may shock you. Or it may simply confirm suspicions you've had all along. Either way, by actively and consciously using the information you have gained, you will stand a far better chance of creating and maintaining a quality and style of living that works for you rather than against you - and that's an assessment we can all live with.
About the Author Steve Hoogenakker provides a solid, common sense approach to solving problems and answering questions relating to consumer loan products. His website seeks to provide free online resources for the consumer, including rate-watch, tips and articles, financial communication, news, and links to products and services. Visit: www.Landscape.Pro, you can email Steve at Steve@Landscape.Pro or Steve@MrHomeLoan.com. Steve Hoogenakker, Minnesota, Showacse Landscape, MHA, MNLA, CAI, CIC Midwest, Taylor Made Landscape. You may reprint or publish this article as long as Steve Hoogenakker and all contact information and links are included. http://www.showcaselandscape.com
Friday, September 21, 2007
Primitive Instincts of Landscape management
The Primal Instincts of Landscape Management
Mastering Skills in Personal Relationships
98% of conversations are positive & can provide for a sharing of ideas that are neutral or that improve our lives. The few conversations that are emotionally charged or serious will have the biggest impact on our lives. In this article, I hope to give you the understanding to change your life by being your best at these critical moments.
Honing & perfecting your relationship skills is probably the most important skill you’ll ever learn and one you can use every day of the rest of your life.
Let’s discuss Primal Instincts and what happens when we get into a critical conversation with others.
Let’s take the example of deciding on a new irrigation division inside our company.
A critical conversation happens when 3 things are present:
1) Stakes are High – The division can generate millions of dollars over it’s lifetime
2) Emotions run strong – Your operations people are strongly against it, your salespeople for it.
3) There are differences in opinions Sales dept. says the customers are demanding it, we might lose clients to competitors plus loss of revenue (and commission). Ops dept. says we are barely keeping up with present needs.
A critical conversation can occur spontaneously and catch us off guard. When we’re under pressure, such as from an argument, our body pumps adrenaline. We didn’t ask our body to do this, but it’s hard wired into our system. Blood is sent coursing to arms and legs to fight or flee, and our higher reasoning centers are starved. We are then forced to think on our feet with the brain equivalent of a potentilla and we’re stuck with the consequences. In our doped up, dumbed down state, when we need our intelligence most, we’re at our worst. Add to that our learned response from watching just a few Jerry Springer shows and we can be in trouble.
OK, it’s important to understand what is happening to us during this critical conversation. but even more importantly; we’re learning the skills to know what’s happening with the other people in the conversation.
We have 3 choices when faced with an important conversation.
Ignore the problem, go silent and hope it goes away
Deal with the problem poorly
Deal with the problem well.
HOW DO WE HANDLE THIS PRIMAL RESPONSE?
We apply the most basic of primal reactions: WE CREATE SAFETY!
Safety short circuits the primal response. Make people feel safe in the conversation. This means safe in expressing their true feelings or thoughts, even if they are angry. You might have to work hard to draw the thoughts out. This allows people to contribute to the conversation, and keeps their adrenal glands in check.
If we don’t provide safety, then an individual WILL provide their own safety by clamming up and going to silence, or they’ll resort to verbal violence as another defense for personal safety. This ONE skill will improve your personal and professional life and pay for your membership to MNLA.
We create safety by following a few simple principles.
1. Check your motives at the door. Ideally, you should already know what you want out of the relationship or conversation. So start with heart. Stick with what’s important. In a heated conversation, you might subconsciously want to be sarcastic, humiliate them or put them in their place, especially if they attack you first. If you start to feel this way, take a breath and remember what’s most important.
2. Stay Focused. Crucial conversations have a way of taking us off of our game. “Once we name the game, we can stop playing it.” If our goal is to “Keep clients happy, provide services that can meet our high standards and make a profit”, then that’s the name of the game. It isn’t “promote me to Jerry’s job”, or “the rainy weather prevents me from doing that” While those might apply, they are NOT the name of the game. They are primal instinctive defenses, suckers choices and somewhat off topic.
3. Most importantly, Create safety for the other individual, even if they don’t “deserve” it.
A master landscaper starts a critical conversation by creating a dialogue with
1. A clear goal
2. Honest motives.
Then, he/she:
Watches the conversation
Thinks about their own style of conversation and what their own body is doing
Remember what’s important
Stays Focused
Stops problems BEFORE they become BIG problems.
If we find we’re starting to slip out of dialogue, we can get back in the game by asking 4 questions:
What do I want for myself
What do I want for others,
What do I want for the relationship, and my favorite question;
How would I behave if I really wanted these results?
THE SHARED POOL OF MEANING
A skilled professional will find a way to get the free flow of relevant information out into the open, It’s the principle of the “Shared Pool of Meaning”. This is the synergistic pool of ideas and feelings of the entire group Getting ideas into the “pool” have 3 major benefits:
The larger the Pool, the better the decisions.
The time you spend up front is more than made up by faster, more committed action later on.
People who don’t get their ideas into the pool are rarely committed to the solution & silently criticize the decisions. People that have at least a small part of the decision will work to make it succeed.
We aren’t saying we want a consensus opinion, or that the landscape company owner doesn’t make the final decision. Whoever makes the decision will benefit by having the most information available.
As a matter of fact, a good idea is to state up front that there will be 2 phases to the conversation. First, a Discussion or Dialogue phase where all of the ideas are added to the pool of meaning. Second, after all ideas are shared, discussion is shut off and the Decision phase begins with decisions made by whoever is in charge.
Using these skills will make you a better communicator and leader in the Green industry. It will give you insights into others that you never would have received any other way. It will help you to listen and respect others in ways that 99% of the rest of the population will never truly understand
Steve Hoogenakker
Showcase Landscape
Steve Hoogenakker has 20 years in the landscaping and leadership field. He can be reached by email at Steve@Landscape.Pro. Much of this information can be found in the excellent book, Crucial Conversations.
Steve Hoogenakker, MHA, CAI, CIC Midwest, MNLA, PLANET, MTFG, Showcase Landscape
Mastering Skills in Personal Relationships
98% of conversations are positive & can provide for a sharing of ideas that are neutral or that improve our lives. The few conversations that are emotionally charged or serious will have the biggest impact on our lives. In this article, I hope to give you the understanding to change your life by being your best at these critical moments.
Honing & perfecting your relationship skills is probably the most important skill you’ll ever learn and one you can use every day of the rest of your life.
Let’s discuss Primal Instincts and what happens when we get into a critical conversation with others.
Let’s take the example of deciding on a new irrigation division inside our company.
A critical conversation happens when 3 things are present:
1) Stakes are High – The division can generate millions of dollars over it’s lifetime
2) Emotions run strong – Your operations people are strongly against it, your salespeople for it.
3) There are differences in opinions Sales dept. says the customers are demanding it, we might lose clients to competitors plus loss of revenue (and commission). Ops dept. says we are barely keeping up with present needs.
A critical conversation can occur spontaneously and catch us off guard. When we’re under pressure, such as from an argument, our body pumps adrenaline. We didn’t ask our body to do this, but it’s hard wired into our system. Blood is sent coursing to arms and legs to fight or flee, and our higher reasoning centers are starved. We are then forced to think on our feet with the brain equivalent of a potentilla and we’re stuck with the consequences. In our doped up, dumbed down state, when we need our intelligence most, we’re at our worst. Add to that our learned response from watching just a few Jerry Springer shows and we can be in trouble.
OK, it’s important to understand what is happening to us during this critical conversation. but even more importantly; we’re learning the skills to know what’s happening with the other people in the conversation.
We have 3 choices when faced with an important conversation.
Ignore the problem, go silent and hope it goes away
Deal with the problem poorly
Deal with the problem well.
HOW DO WE HANDLE THIS PRIMAL RESPONSE?
We apply the most basic of primal reactions: WE CREATE SAFETY!
Safety short circuits the primal response. Make people feel safe in the conversation. This means safe in expressing their true feelings or thoughts, even if they are angry. You might have to work hard to draw the thoughts out. This allows people to contribute to the conversation, and keeps their adrenal glands in check.
If we don’t provide safety, then an individual WILL provide their own safety by clamming up and going to silence, or they’ll resort to verbal violence as another defense for personal safety. This ONE skill will improve your personal and professional life and pay for your membership to MNLA.
We create safety by following a few simple principles.
1. Check your motives at the door. Ideally, you should already know what you want out of the relationship or conversation. So start with heart. Stick with what’s important. In a heated conversation, you might subconsciously want to be sarcastic, humiliate them or put them in their place, especially if they attack you first. If you start to feel this way, take a breath and remember what’s most important.
2. Stay Focused. Crucial conversations have a way of taking us off of our game. “Once we name the game, we can stop playing it.” If our goal is to “Keep clients happy, provide services that can meet our high standards and make a profit”, then that’s the name of the game. It isn’t “promote me to Jerry’s job”, or “the rainy weather prevents me from doing that” While those might apply, they are NOT the name of the game. They are primal instinctive defenses, suckers choices and somewhat off topic.
3. Most importantly, Create safety for the other individual, even if they don’t “deserve” it.
A master landscaper starts a critical conversation by creating a dialogue with
1. A clear goal
2. Honest motives.
Then, he/she:
Watches the conversation
Thinks about their own style of conversation and what their own body is doing
Remember what’s important
Stays Focused
Stops problems BEFORE they become BIG problems.
If we find we’re starting to slip out of dialogue, we can get back in the game by asking 4 questions:
What do I want for myself
What do I want for others,
What do I want for the relationship, and my favorite question;
How would I behave if I really wanted these results?
THE SHARED POOL OF MEANING
A skilled professional will find a way to get the free flow of relevant information out into the open, It’s the principle of the “Shared Pool of Meaning”. This is the synergistic pool of ideas and feelings of the entire group Getting ideas into the “pool” have 3 major benefits:
The larger the Pool, the better the decisions.
The time you spend up front is more than made up by faster, more committed action later on.
People who don’t get their ideas into the pool are rarely committed to the solution & silently criticize the decisions. People that have at least a small part of the decision will work to make it succeed.
We aren’t saying we want a consensus opinion, or that the landscape company owner doesn’t make the final decision. Whoever makes the decision will benefit by having the most information available.
As a matter of fact, a good idea is to state up front that there will be 2 phases to the conversation. First, a Discussion or Dialogue phase where all of the ideas are added to the pool of meaning. Second, after all ideas are shared, discussion is shut off and the Decision phase begins with decisions made by whoever is in charge.
Using these skills will make you a better communicator and leader in the Green industry. It will give you insights into others that you never would have received any other way. It will help you to listen and respect others in ways that 99% of the rest of the population will never truly understand
Steve Hoogenakker
Showcase Landscape
Steve Hoogenakker has 20 years in the landscaping and leadership field. He can be reached by email at Steve@Landscape.Pro. Much of this information can be found in the excellent book, Crucial Conversations.
Steve Hoogenakker, MHA, CAI, CIC Midwest, MNLA, PLANET, MTFG, Showcase Landscape
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