Our basic In-Depth assessment is state of the art, minimal use of executive’s time and has three quite different applications: Developmental, Pre-Hire Candidate Fit, and Team Development.
Chris has been doing assessments of one kind or another for over 40 years. His initial training as a psychologist gave him a good understanding of the basic ingredients necessary for a reliable and valid assessment of people. He has created several assessment instruments (leadership competency, 360, team and organizational assessment). His Dawson 360 tool is psychometrically valid and reliable, as well as fully automated in the cloud.
Professional assessment should be distinguished from ‘amateur’ assessment (even if well-intended). Everyone has a persona they wish to project; executives tend to be confident, ambitious and in-control. Seeing past the ‘story’ takes considerable training and skill. You don’t need to be a psychologist to do professional assessment, but you do need to have training and supervised experience in doing assessments. There are no ‘naturals’ in this field.
It is imperative to use both quantitative and qualitative tools and methods. As well as to know how best to report findings of the assessment.
We typically produce a written report that outlines key strengths, development areas and depending on application a discussion of fit/risk areas or practical recommendations for the interviewee and their manager about how to action the recommendations. For developmental assessments, it is common to have both an individual feedback session for interviewee and manager, in addition to a 3-way discussion of findings facilitated by Chris. Sometimes the summary data is not what the interviewee was expecting or wanting to hear. Managing this challenge requires courage, skill and sensitivity. The goal is always to be constructive and helpful – irrespective of whether the interviewee sees it in the same way. Some need to be approached explicitly and directly; others need softening so as not to be demotivating, and everywhere in between. How this is done both in writing and verbally in live feedback is an art that Chris has 35 years experience with.
Our basic professional assessment process has three distinctly different applications: Developmental, Pre-Hire Candidate Fit and Team Development
The Developmental Assessment is typically in context of a Talent Management initiative, Succession Planning, On-Boarding or Career Development. A special application can be the Hi-Value Problem Executive – an executive offering exceptional value and perhaps deemed ‘indispensable’ who is disrespectful, abusive or or not a positive model of the culture. Often this individual has been counseled but to no avail. Our Developmental Assessment with/360 has never once failed to create the proverbial wake-up call for such executives. Incredibly, they are often surprised when others report their behavior as ‘toxic’ or demotivating It is difficult to deny empirical data about how one is viewed when presented fairly by a credible expert, in detail and with explanation of the cost to overall effectiveness, future career, and perhaps continued employment.
The Pre-Hire Candidate Fit Assessment is an incredibly inexpensive risk mitigation tool before hiring an executive who, should they not succeed – through fault of their own or their new team – will exact a high price. We meet with the hiring manager position stakeholders prior to the interview with the goal of understanding the requirements for the job, the organizational culture, and the personality of the hiring manager. Rarely is a candidate without some areas of less-good fit but identifying those risk areas and naming them with recommended solutions can make the difference between success and failure. With many of our clients, the newly-hired candidate continues On-Boarding coaching with Dawson.
The Team Assessment is often a prelude to Chris’ work with a team that is not functioning at the level they must in order to be successful. Individual Assessments are performed along with team measures to better understand how the ‘team molecule’ is composed and where predictable areas of conflict and misunderstanding are likely to arise. The effectiveness of the Top Leadership Team is the single most impactful capability available to the CEO.
The culture of great companies is a reflection of their leadership and the talent they attract. We help clients select and develop exceptional leaders who align with their unique culture and business strategy.
