We use a variety of world-class assessment tools in our work of developing leaders of organizational human capital, and organizations themselves. There was a time not long ago when we did not have benefit of these assessment tools. On the individual level, this meant that organizations typically would self-assess. This usually meant that someone decided what kind of training and development they thought their managers and leaders needed, perhaps based on intuitive judgment or anecdotal “evidence”. Usually this self-prescribed effort 
resulted in a training program being offered to (or required of) every manager and leader, whether they needed it or not. One of our colleagues refers to this as the “annual sheep dip”. This was often a waste of time and money.
Assess the Individual Employee and the Whole Organization
Today we have a variety of assessment tools that take advantage of personal computer technology to make it possible for virtually any organization to assess their managers, leaders, or the organization itself. On the individual level, they make it possible to know exactly what each manager’s or leader’s strengths, and opportunities for development, are. This assessment data in turn makes it possible for the organization to provide training and development resources only in the areas where it is needed, and only for the individuals who need it.
On the organizational level, it is possible to similarly assess the organization itself (or one or more of the teams that make it up), and likewise determine where the organization (or team) is strong, and where it is not, and then to make organizational development efforts accordingly.
There are several types of individual assessments. Currently popular are 360° assessments, such as 20/20 Insight Gold, where participants receive feedback from four directions, typically boss, peers, staff, and self. Please download the handout “360° Assessments: Are They Right for Your Organization?” below for more information.
Other formats are simulations and knowledge-based assessments. Some of the world-class assessments we use in our work are as follows:
- 20/20 Insight Gold, the world’s best multi-rater feedback system
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the premier personality type assessment, for both individual leadership and team development
- The Leatherman Leadership Questionnaire (LLQ)
- Team Effectiveness Profile, for measuring how good your team really is
- Contact us for further information on these tools, and a sample assessment