Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Psychometric Assessment Can Evaluate Leadership Qualities

By Bill Stans

Psychometric Assessment can help employers find good leadership qualities among the many applicants for a job. to find future leaders? There is not much of a challenge for companies that only promote from within because the company can recognize its potential leaders through familiarity. ut what if the company is seeking to hire recent college graduates who will be developed into future leaders over time? The human resource manager can use an asssessment to determine the best candidates for a leadership position.

f the organization is planning a new leadership training program owned and sponsored by the company, then developing its own assessment or utilizing one that already exists would be a valuable first step in determining likely leadership candidates. Such an assessment would be an easy addition to the psychometric assessment given to applicants to determine aptitude and personality. A leadership assessment could be added to a psychometric assessment that consists of aptitude testing and personality assessment.

There are twelve indicators of a good leader that can be determined thorugh a Psychometric Assessment:

1. Carefulness. A good leader plans and thinks carefully before he speaks or acts.

2. Cooperation - the ability to be likeable and genial in interpersonal relationships.

3. Creativity. A leader is willing and able to "think outside the box".

4. Discipline - a tendency towards being dependable, responsible, and able to follow through in order to complete tasks.

5. Goodwill. A leader does not hold grudges and always thinks the best of others.

6. Influence. A leader has the ability to impress others because he communicates his thoughts without hesitation.

7. Optimism - tendency toward a positive attitude and having confidence in favorable outcomes,

8. Order - the natural tendency toward organization

9. Savvy - ability to read people to know their needs and intentions,

10. Sociability. A leader enjoys people whether he is at work, at home, or in social events.

11. Stability. A leader is always steady and calm even during stressful situations.

12. Striving. A leader is able to push hard and work hard towards goals.

There are more than enough assessments in the marketplace to choose from. Employers may also wish to develop their own assessment the is customized to their particular organization. The best advice would be to compare several assessments to get a feel of the questions asked and what report one can expect to get before finalizing a decision. he talent assessment can help an organization save time and money by helping the company find leadership potential among job applicants. If a company's senior leaders are retiring within a few years, this assessment can be given every time there is a job opening in the company so that new potential leaders can be trained and transitioned smoothly into the vacated positions. - 15246

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