Using a personality profile for development
In this case study we build on our previous blogs about making the very best use of your in-house expertise, this time by bringing in external support for development purposes. In this example we outline how you could use a personality profile for development as part of your in-house personal development programme.
An OD Director designing an in-house development programme
An OD Director was designing a personal development programme. They wanted to make maximum use of the expertise they had in-house. But equally they felt that they needed some external support to help participants really open up and reflect in a safe space, outside of the organisation.
Providing external “Safe Space” prior to the programme
Our aim was to provide that safe space for self reflection, growth and ultimately to feed into the start of their in-house development programme.
Taking a full brief from the OD Director, we selected an appropriate personality questionnaire to use as the starting point for our discussions.
We always consider the outputs of psychometrics simply as conversation starters…..to open the door to that in-depth self reflection.
The process
Participants completed the on-line questionnaire prior to having a full development conversation by telephone. The key features of this process included:
- It was their “safe space” to use in the way that was most beneficial for them.
- The outputs from the personality profile acted as a starting point for the conversation.
- A full and confidential written personality profile was sent to each participant.
- A confidential summary report from the conversation highlighting agreed development areas, was sent to each participant to act as an aide-memoire.
- It was extremely cost-effective for our client.
The outputs of the process
Participants engaged in this process of self-reflection prior to the start of their personal development programme. We observed that individuals entered into the conversations at different levels, according to their personal needs. Some individuals identified just a few areas that they wished to work on. They could then take these forward through the programme and their personal mentors. Others meanwhile, used the opportunity to have an extremely in-depth cathartic conversation, and reflect on some fairly complex issues.
Space and time with an impartial Psychologist
Ultimately each participant had the opportunity to have personal space and time, with a completely impartial and external Psychologist.
Many of the participants used this time to fully reflect on their own preferences, skills and abilities. They also had the opportunity to understand and prioritise their own development needs, prior to the start of the development programme.
If you would like more information about our personality profile for development please contact viv.walton@deardenassessment.co.uk