Forbes

As an executive coach, what is the most important thing I look for when debriefing a psychometric assessment? Stand by to find out this fundamental viewpoint that makes a real difference when evaluating leadership capability. I believe in the value of assessments as a key part of understanding leadership potential and developmental opportunities. And yes, they are only a piece of the puzzle when evaluating someone, but let me give you my perspective on one of the most important parts of an assessment debrief. When someone completes an evaluation, it is critical to conduct a debrief of the results to confirm that it is valid and truly represent the person. One of the key factors I look for is the person’s self-awareness or professional maturity. Here is an example.If someone is inclined to be stressed in certain situations naturally or has a hard time naturally recuperating from a stressful event, many assessments show that this person is inclined to shut down in high-stress scenarios. However, during my debriefs, I probe deeper to see if they are aware of these tendencies and if they do anything to offset what is an instinct. If someone demonstrates that they are aware of how stress affects them, but they have countermeasures like meditation or yoga or exercise to overcome those feelings and anxiety, they are better equipped to handle scenarios as they arise. That is self-awareness or professional maturity; without a debrief, a person’s real abilities could be skewed without proper context. The secret in assessments is ensuring it is debriefed and assessed not only the instincts based on a personality trait but the level of self-awareness, making it a valid piece of the evaluation matrix.——–N2Growth is a global leader in executive search and leadership advisory. We are consistently ranked as a Top Executive Search Firm by Forbes every year since its inception. Our practice focuses on senior executive, board, and C-Level searches. Many of the world’s leading companies seek our advice and counsel on executive recruiting, leadership development, and succession planning.More information can be found at https://www.n2growth.comFollow us on Social Media:https://www.twitter.com/n2growthhttps://www.facebook.com/n2growthhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/n2growthhttps://www.instagram.com/n2growth