It Wasn't What I Wanted to Hear, But ...

By Shari Caudron, Workforce Magazine, May 2000

A journalist discovers why individual assessment is so important to management development.

The first clue that I might not be totally thrilled with the results of my Hartman-Kinsel Profile hit me as I read this assessment of my approach to problem-solving: "It is very common for this pattern to signal either high intelligence or attention deficit disorder."

Staring at the Report, I hoped the first part of that description was true and that...I'm sorry...what were we talking about?

Oh, yeah...the Hartman-Kinsel Profile. The Profile, developed by Dr. Robert Smith of Kinsel Enterprises in Dallas, uses a science called formal Axiology to measure and describe how people think, make decisions, and evaluate themselves and others. Smith believes that managers – or any other thinking people, for that matter – can't improve their effectiveness unless they understand the biases and patterns that influence their thoughts and interactions with other people.

Intrigued by the thought of learning about my own strengths – never mind my weaknesses – I signed up to complete the online Profile. It was surprisingly simple, taking less than 15 minutes to work through a series of screens in which I had to rank-order words like "nuclear war" and "parking ticket" from best to worst according to my own interpretation.

Because I had no idea what the Profile was measuring, there was no way for me to cheat – not that I would anyway, but, well, that's another matter. After completing the form, I returned it online, and at 8:30 the next morning I downloaded my very own 60-page Personal Profile Report.

Eager to know the real me, I printed the Report and began reading. The first few pages detailed my strengths. I scanned it, happily reading phrases like "naturally optimistic," "intuitive," "concerned about people," and "very good ability to empathize." This is amazingly accurate, I thought to myself. What a phenomenal tool this is.

Then, a third of the way into the Report, my weaknesses began to show. "Moderate-to-low attention to rules, order, and agendas," it said, followed by adjectives such as "impatient" and "unconventional." All right, already. The words pinched, but on some level, I know this stuff is true. After all, normal people who like structure don't freelance for a living.

By about page 40, I started reading characteristics that clearly belonged to someone else: "excessive self-judging," "crippling fear of failure," and "a perfectionist who thinks good enough is rarely good enough." Suddenly, the Profile was so obviously not about me that I started flipping through the pages to make sure I didn't accidentally get my mother's Report. Seeking validation, I showed the results to my best friend, Angela. "This is incredible," she exclaimed. "They have you nailed!"

I stared at her slack-jawed. Something had happened to this friend I'd trusted for years for advice and support. Maybe she was feverish. There was that spring flu going around. In fact, she seemed a little vicious. Maybe she had rabies. As I headed to the phone book to find Angela a doctor, it began to dawn on me that maybe, just maybe, the Profile was mine after all.

I seemed to recall Smith saying how hard it is for people to see themselves objectively and that is why the individualized assessments are so important to the development process. "Without an understanding of your own particular biases, the likelihood of making any lasting change is slim to none," he said.

Putting down the phone book and smiling sheepishly at Angela, I started to see why individual assessment and attention matter so much to management training. A class in which everyone is treated the same would not address my "special needs." In fact, a highly structured class probably wouldn't work for me at all. Nor would it take into account the two or three strengths I do have.

For instance, I don't need to learn how to empathize; I need to learn how to organize. I don't need to learn how to reward others; I need to be better about congratulating myself.

If you're talking about training one or two managers at a time, such differences may appear minor. But multiply these idiosyncrasies across the entire management team and you begin to see how much money and time companies stand to waste by providing one-size-fits-all training courses. So when you think about management training, don't think group, think individual. And don't think training before you think assessment.

As Thomas Mann once said: "No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself."

Reprinted with permission from Workforce Magazine & ACC Communications