Psychological assessment in executive coaching

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Psychological assessment in executive coaching

• Dr Elizabeth Allworth
• Allworth Juniper Organisational Psychologists
• Barbara Griffin
• The University of Sydney

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Overview

• Types of tests and measures used in coaching
• Job-person fit model
• Testing issues
• Benefits and limitations of testing

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Case study

• Steve, your new client, is the marketing director
  for a major Australian retail organisation
• A recent merger has resulted in a narrowing of
  Steves responsibilities
• His most recent performance review highlights
  leadership and planning as areas for development
• Having been in the role for five years, Steve is
  considering what he wants to do next
• He is not getting on well with his new CEO who
  doesnt seem to listen to him
• Can psychological assessment help Steve?

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Types of psychological assessment measures

• Psychometric tests
• Performance measures
• Job analysis

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Psychometric tests

• Standardised measure of
• ability/aptitude cognitive ability tests
• personality
• values
• interests etc.
• Scores compared with a norm group e.g. other
  managers
• Used to profile an individuals preferences, work
  style, capabilities, needs etc.

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Performance measures

• Ratings of observable behaviours
• 360-degree feedback
• Multi-rater feedback
• Supervisor/manager ratings
• Upward feedback
• Used to establish a base-line performance level
  and to monitor/review progress

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Job analysis

• Importance of understanding the coachees job
  context in terms of
• Job requirements
• Cultural environment
• Current and future change
• Future opportunities
• Assessment of the individual needs to be matched
  with an assessment of the job

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A model for assessment in coaching Minnesota
Theory of Work Adjustment (Dawis Lofquist, 1984)
Satisfactory Performance
Tenure
Satisfaction
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Individual KSAs
JOB
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Coachees KSAs
Individual supplies of KSAs

• What do they do well?
• What skills knowledge do they have? work or
  non-work related transferrable
• How do these relate to job requirements?
• What are the gaps?

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Cognitive ability tests

• Measures of
• General cognitive (intellectual) ability
• Specific abilities - numerical, verbal and
  abstract problem-solving
• Provide an indication of
• learning potential
• capacity to manage complexity in problem solving,
  decision making etc.
• speed of thinking and judgment

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Examples of cognitive ability tests

• SHL Management Graduate Item Bank (numerical
  and verbal)
• ACER Graduate and Managerial Assessment
• Ravens Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices
• Wonderlic Personnel Test

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Personality tests

• Three types of measures
• Broad based measures of personality e.g. OPQ,
  CPI, 16PF
• Measures of Type e.g. MBTI
• Measures of the Big Five e.g. NEO-PI-R, NEO-FFI,
  Hogan Personality Inventory

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Broad-based personality measures

• Assess a range of attributes e.g. interpersonal
  confidence, team style, achievement drive,
  organisation and planning, resilience, energy,
  empathy etc
• Results should be interpreted against the
  requirements of the coachees job

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Measures of the Big Five

• Five factors that account for most of personality
• Conscientiousness
• Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
• Agreeableness
• Extroversion
• Openness to Experience

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The Big Five and job performance

• Conscientiousness Emotional Stability
  predictive across most jobs
• Extroversion Agreeableness predict management
  and sales
• Openness to Experience predicts training outcomes

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Individual needs, values, interests
JOB
Individual needs, values, goals, interests etc.
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Motivation/Values
Individual needs, values, goals, interests etc.

• What drives the person
• dynamic work environment, need for security or
  achievement etc
• How they like to be rewarded
• money, status, advancement etc
• Preferred management style
• directive vs participative
• Preferred work style
• structured vs flexible
• Match with the organisational culture or values

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Examples of motivation/values assessments

• Work Aspect Preference Scale (WAPS)
• ACER Occupational Motivation Questionnaire (OMQ)
• SHL Motivation Questionnaire (MQ)
• Gordon Personal and Interpersonal Values

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Career interests
Individual needs, values, goals, interests etc.

• What do you like doing? work and non-work
• Helping people
• Analysing problems/diagnosing
• Managing, promoting services
• Handling data/writing reports
• Using your hands
• Art

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Examples of interest measures

• Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
• Self-Directed Search (SDS)
• Occupational Card Sorts - Centre for Work Life
  Counseling
• SHL Advanced Occupational and Management Interest
  Inventories
• Campbell Interest Skill Survey

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Linking individual KSAs with job requirements

Requirements for knowledge, skills and
abilities (KSAs)
Individual supplies of KSAs

PERSON
JOB
Individual needs, values, goals, interests etc.


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Requirement for KSAs
Requirements for knowledge, skills and
abilities (KSAs)

• What is done on the job?
• What are the skills, knowledge and attributes
  that are critical to success?
• Qualifications?
• Experience?
• What are the organisations goals and strategies?
  - competencies needed?

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Models and tools for assessing jobs

• Interview observation diaries task lists
• ONet (Occupational Information Network)
• TMS Types of Work Profile
• SHL Work Profiling System

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Linking individual needs with job
rewards/reinforcers

Requirements for knowledge, skills and
abilities (KSAs)
Individual supplies of KSAs

JOB
PERSON
Individual needs, values, goals, interests etc.
Supply of rewards and reinforcers

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Rewards and reinforcement

• Money
• Promotional opportunities
• Social interaction
• Being able to do what you like doing
• Opportunities for learning
• Opportunities to manage people
• Security.

Supply of rewards and reinforcers
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Assessment of organisational/job reinforcers

• Self-ratings against same dimensions in which the
  individuals needs/reinforcers were assessed
• Culture surveys,e.g. Human Synergistics OCI
• Climate surveys e.g. Macquarie University VOICE.

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Job performance
Satisfactory Performance
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Behavioural measures

• Ratings of behaviour on-the-job, in simulations
  e.g. assessment or development centres
• Self assessment, upward feedback, manager
  feedback, peer or customer feedback, multi-rater
  feedback including 360-degree
• Provide a baseline against which progress can be
  measured

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Examples of behavioural measures

• Off-the-shelf
• TMS Linking Skills Profile
• MLQ Multi-factor Leadership Questionnaire
• Human Synergistics Life Styles Inventory (2) and
  Management Effectiveness Profile System
• Customised
• designed to measure specific job-relevant or
  target behaviours
• enable within-person comparisons over time no
  normative data

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Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment (Dawis
Lofquist, 1984)
Satisfactory Performance
Tenure
Satisfaction
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Assessing job satisfaction

• Subjective ratings along same dimensions as
  assessment of individual needs/reinforcers
• Staff and climate surveys

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Conclusion

• Psychological tests represent the best, fairest,
  and most accurate technology available for making
  many important decisions about individualsNation
  al Academy of Science (1982)

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Limitations of testing

• Accessibility requirements for professional
  accreditation
• Time requirements
• Costs of testing
• Some tests are culturally biased
• Validity of tests varies there are good tests
  and not so good tests

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Testing traps

• Tests that look good are not necessarily good
• Face validity is important for acceptance - but
  does not ensure validity
• A good test used inappropriately is no longer a
  good test

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How to select a good test

• Based on sound scientific theory
• Measures relevant job competencies
• Adequate and appropriate norms
• gt200 in normative sample
• Norms are relevant to your candidate pool

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How to select a good test

• Satisfactory reliability
• Stability of results over time (test-retest
  reliability)
• Extent items measure the same thing (internal
  consistency)

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How to select a good test

• Demonstrated validity
• The extent to which a test measures what it says
  it measures (construct validity)
• The extent to which the test items are
  representative of the relevant behaviours or
  knowledge (content validity)
• The extent to which performance on the test
  predicts performance on the job (criterion
  validity)

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Validity for future performance

• Cognitive ability tests .51-.53
• Structured behavioural interviews .51
• Assessment centres .37
• Personality tests .13-.31
• Unstructured interviews .14
• Academic achievement .11
• Age .01

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Appropriate use of tests

• Accreditation issues
• Tests limited to registered psychologists
• Tests for registered users e.g. MBTI, SHL
• Training
• Assessing factors that may impact on test
  performance
• Language competence, disability, culture, anxiety
• Test bias, adverse impact issues

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Appropriate use of tests

• Standardized administration
• Provide feedback
• Confidentiality issues
• Privacy legislation
• Clarify who the client is
• Future use of test results
• Maintain security of test materials

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Benefits of psychometric assessment in coaching

• Information Provide data not easily obtained by
  other methods
• Self-awareness Profile individual across a wide
  range of personal attributes
• Comparison An individuals abilities,
  preferences, values etc benchmarked against
  others in a particular norm group e.g.
  managers, health workers, general population
• Reliability and validity Increases confidence in
  the data used to assist planning of coaching
  program

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Benefits of behavioural assessment in coaching

• Program planning Establish baseline performance
• Monitor and review progress Periodic self and
  other ratings across relevant behaviours

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• Thank you