PSYCHOMETRIC PROFILING AND LEADERSHIP

By Rob Brown

Anyone in a position of leadership, including those who aspire to be so, will appreciate that there is no one way to lead. Literature is rife with theories on management and leadership styles, as well as profiles of great leaders which often seem diametrically opposed. What is clear is that good leaders need every edge possible to win the hearts and minds of their people.

The role of psychometric profiling has become every more vital in modern day business. The delicate domain of recruitment is one area where choosing the right candidate has become something of a minefield.  Appropriate profiling of potential employees can give a powerful steer on attitudes to work, preferred styles of engagement, interpersonal skills, drivers, persistence and resilience. Part of being a great leader is hiring the right people in the first place!

"Organisations tend to recruit ­people for their technical excellence, but fire them for their personal failings," says Raymond Walley, product director of the firm Success Dynamics. "Psychometric profiling can help those organisations identify the right personalities at the selection stage and avoid those costly and unfortunate errors."
Strong leaders are also mindful of the need to manage ‘self. Yet the ability to ‘look inside’ does not come easily to many. Michael Dell was famous for saying ‘I don’t do introspection’. In getting too close to the subject, leaders can utilise the power of psychometric profiling to help target and improve qualities such as self-awareness, self-management and relationship management skills.

Finally, the role of psychometric profiling in identifying leaders of the future can be crucial. The valued qualities of analysing, communicating, decision making, leadership, management, organising, problem solving and team building are all brought out in such profiling. In addition, skills and qualities such as the ability to work with minimal supervision, assertiveness, confidence, enthusiasm, friendliness, imagination, initiative, loyalty, resourcefulness and willingness to learn will be pinpointed by accurate psychometric profiling.

Any leader or aspiring leader needs to know their weaknesses and strengths. By focusing on the latter and minimising the former, they are better equipped to face the challenges in today’s competitive marketplace.