In his regular column, Reg Garters (The Press, 04/02/2012) talks of the benefits of regularly reviewing one's personal and working life in the key areas of: physical, mental, family, spiritual, financial, social, community and business. He suggests after completing the review, to jot down the findings in an annual report to oneself. It's a great idea, as it encourages us to check the balance in our lives and to see where and what we are spending our energy and time on. It can show us where we may be excessive or deficient in some areas. The analysis can encourage us to make any changes we need and want to make.
Applications for next year's fellowships are invited by 31 July 2012. The Winston Churchill Trust enables a small number of Fellows each year to travel overseas and pursue ideas that will have a benefit to them and the wider community. For details contact Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, P.O. Box 805, Wellington. Phone 0800 824 824 Email: trusts@dia.govt.nz
Another natty assessment is the Birkman Method® which examines aspects of behaviours and the motivations that influence them. The Birkman Method® questionnaire contains a total of 295 questions (!) and elicits success factors intrinsic to each individual and provides information that illustrates how people interact with one another. Moreover, the assessment predicts how people can effectively contribute to an organisation's goals. This assessment can be completed online or through a paper questionnaire.
The PIA&V assessment (Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values) used today is based on research done in 1928. The assessment measures the ‘why' of behaviour and helps individuals discover their personal motivators by identifying their attitudes, beliefs and values. It is a person's attitude, beliefs and values that move them into action, so the PIA&V focuses on why people act in the way they do.
I'm often struck by the numbers of different assessments employees are put through as part of recruitment processes and then, once in an organisation, as part of ongoing team building processes or self development initiatives. Assessments are great tools to understand why we are as we are; and the conditions that enable us to be at our best or worst. It's great for teams to know the different ‘types' within the team and how to use the strengths of everyone's different personalities, to best advantage. The important thing once individuals or teams are assessed is to do something with the learnings so they're talked about, applied, reflected upon and talked about some more. This way, the return on the original investment increases, for individuals and the organisation.
There are hundreds of assessment tools available now to individuals, recruiters and human resources personnel, thanks to some early work that started in 444 BC. At this time, Empodocles, the founder of the school of medicine in Sicily, categorised behavioural elements in terms of earth, air, fire and water. About 100 years later, Hippocrates determined that four ‘humours' of blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile were each thought to be responsible for a different type of personality. Over the centuries some of these descriptors have changed, however the work to understand people and how they tick, continues. Carl Jung, in 1923, described people's ‘types' in terms of Feeler, Intuitor, Thinker and Sensor - the foundation for the Myer's Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The basis for the DiSC assessment emerged from William Marston and his research on the emotions of people, in 1928.
