As with any journey, in order to know the path to our destination, we must be aware of our starting point. The life journey is no different. To find the starting point, we need to gain self-awareness through self-assessment.

Self-assessment is a process by which you learn more about yourself -- what you like, what you don't like, and how you tend to react to certain situations. Knowing these things can help you determine which occupations and work situations, as well as personal life goals, could be a better fit for you.

Given the pressures of day-to-day business, it is hard to step away and get an objective look at how we are operating and what our strengths are. There are simple administered tools that objectively measure effectiveness both at an organizational and individual level.

There are many varieties of assessment tools, each measuring a particular facet of you, like your interests, skills, personality, and values and decision-making styles. Self-assessment tools can be either Self-Directed or Requiring Interpretive Assistance.

• Self-Directed means the tool is designed so you can use it and review your results without a licensed or trained professional interpreting the data for you. Even though they do not require intervention to read the results, you may still find you have questions.
• Tools Requiring Interpretive Assistance means your results will have to be discussed with a person certified or trained in the particular tool so you can understand what the data is saying.

As a sales manager and business coach, the use of interpretive assessments has been the most successful. These tools are the most objective way to learn how we function with others within the corporate structure.

Goal setting is a vital component to all personal and business development. It is impossible to know your path without a starting point and a destination. These tools aid in determining the NOW. Who are we today and who and where do we want to be? Sometimes the problem is finding the right tool to help you in a particular situation. The assessments I use most reflect decision making style, Attribute Index and ego states, or Transactional Analysis.

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Objectively Assessing Individual Attributes to Maximize Human Capital

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Today, business success is measured in HUMAN CAPITAL-the RIGHT talent for the job! Lack of job performance and related employee turnover can result in missed business opportunities and increased costs. Eventually this lowers the value of the company. It makes business sense that companies are now seeking better ways to accurately assess, develop, and retain top talent.

Unique to the Attribute Index is its ability to assess individual's cognitive structures (i.e., how their mind perceives themselves and the world around them). Unlike any other instrument, the Attribute Index has a direct relationship with mathematics, and this is the secret behind its ability to accurately measure the core dimensions of how we think and make decisions. The result is an accurate ranking of personal ATTRIBUTES describing individual potential for workplace performance. Unlike many other instruments intended for a clinical setting but adapted to a business one, the Attribute Index was designed, from the beginning, exclusively for a business environment, and has since become a tool for personal growth.

Transactional analysis is frequently applied in many areas of communications, education, and business management as well as therapy. The strongest appeal of this technique has attracted parents, professionals, social workers, and others who strive to achieve maximum personal development. Transactional analysis is considered to be an effective method of enhancing relationships with oneself and with others. There are three ego states analyzed in this tool.

The Parent ego state represents the extent our behavior resembles that of a parent. It is characterized by automatic use of words as “cute,” “Sonny,” “ought,” “should,” “must,” “always,” “disgusting,” “naughty,” etc. The Parent is never wrong.

The Adult ego state represents the extent our behavior is a function of thought processing of facts offered by the “here and now” environment. It also includes probability estimating. The Adult says, “I will.” The Adult will take responsibility for their actions.

The Child ego state represents the extent our behavior resembles that of children. Oaths, exclamations, name calling along with the use of such words as “gee,” “I'll try,” “maybe,” etc., are typical. The Child often blames others for their actions.

Knowing how we communicate and how those we work with communicate and respond to others can be very beneficial in the workplace and at home. An individual who is parental may get childlike reactions from others and not know why. Understanding the difference between Parent and Adult can be helpful in those relationships, as well at what induces childlike responses.

Bottom line, the more we know about who we are today, the better we can determine where we need to grow and the best path to get to our destination.