I use a variety of assessments to help clients improve self-knowledge. I have a few favorites that I will list here and some thoughts about how to apply them. I usually have clients take several assessments and then help them integrate the data into an overall strengths profile. Through the coaching process we identify themes and patterns and synthesize this information into a powerful framework that makes this data easy to remember and apply. Please contact me if you have questions or are interested in taking any of these assessments for yourself or for your team.

Reiss Motivation Profile: I am certified to administer and interpret this assessment and it has a number of applications. The profile helps you understand your core, intrinsic desires that motivate you in various ways. I often use this assessment for leadership development and career transitions. I like to use this in combination with the Strengths Finder assessment to help you find your motivated-strengths or your sweet spots. There is also a personal version of the Reiss Motivation Profile that I use for couples. It can be very enlightening to see your basic motivations side by side with your partner’s motivations. This is often helps you understand the sensitivities and behaviors of one another in a whole new way.

StrengthsFinder 2.0: This is a very popular, publically available assessment that is often used in the workplace to help people understand their top 5 strengths. As noted above, I find this assessment most useful when integrated with the Reiss and other assessments.

Stand Out: This is a relatively new assessment developed by Marcus Buckingham, who also helped develop the StrengthsFinder. I like this assessment because it is designed to capture how you think and respond to scenarios rather than just doing a self-rating. Stand Out is often very helpful if you are seeking clarification about career direction.

Everything DiSC® Work of Leaders: This version of the DISC is very useful for leadership coaching because it integrates your DISC type with a leadership framework. Clients receive very useful feedback on how they are likely to behave on various dimensions of leadership such as creating a vision, inspiring support for that vision, and leading execution to move towards that vision. This assessment also provides practical steps to take to strengthen various aspects of leadership behaviors.

Kolb Learning Style Inventory 4.0: The Kolb LSI has been around for several years but this is a brand new and important version. It is an important update because this assessment not only gives you feedback about your preferred learning style but it also rates you on your learning flexibility. This is critical to understand and develop in our fast paced, constantly changing world. They also provide a grid of nine learning styles which can be used to expand your perspective and thinking ability on any complex situation.

Values in Action: This assessment helps clients define their primary values and character strengths. This is very important information when creating your overall strengths profile and can help you understand what guides your decision making and your behaviors.

Other assessments: I use a number of other assessments for specific coaching situations. If I am not personally certified I have a number of colleagues I call on who are certified in various assessments. Examples are the MBTI, Emotional Intelligence, 360 feedback surveys.