Directing, inviting, sensing or organising?

2023 may be behind us but employee engagement remains one of the biggest challenges for all leaders and managers. 

Attracting and retaining good people is mission critical work. But it can often feel like a luxury when we're in a financially tight environment - as we are in 2024.

Did you know that 67% of employees in Australasia are ambivalent about their work? (Source: Gallup).

Somebody once told me that the best (and worst) part of their work was the people stuff. Any change effort involves dozens of interactions, and the challenges is facilitating these interactions in a way that progresses your mission.

That's why personality profiling has become so popular in recent year. These personality tests provide a way for us to understand ourselves and shine a light on a path to improvement. But do they work?

The dark side of profiling

Thanks to COVID, I found myself in bed for the first week of the holidays with a TV remote in hand. When you're sick, watching even the most gripping TV show can be a struggle. But I found myself strangely captivated by a documentary called Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests.

The documentary explores the unexpected origin story of the western world's great obsession with personality testing. It uncovers the intriguing history behind the world-famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. And it raises a slew of ethical questions - asking whether personality tests may do more harm than good, especially for things like online dating matches or job prospects.

You've probably taken one (or many) of these tests in your time. The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most famous and gives you a four letter personality-profile. (Mine is INTJ if that means anything to you.) Or there's the Gallup Strengths Finder, the DISC personality test, the Human Synergistics assessment... and so many more besides.

Many of us love these tests as a light-hearted way to learn about ourselves. They can help us understand how to work better with our colleagues. As a tool for discovery, they are valuable.

But their dark side lies in their use as a screening tool. Do we really want to place something so important as employment selection into the hands of a 40-question multi-choice quiz? It's efficient - yes. But is it effective? I'm not so sure.

Have you taken my Leading by Facilitation profiling quiz?

Last year, I developed two assessments based on the thinking in my Leading by Facilitation book. (The manuscript is now at 34,000 words and counting. I'm getting there!)

This one is a quick little quiz that asks 8 simple questions. It helps you to understand your preferred role within a group, and points you towards areas for improvement in how you lead and facilitate.

Leading by facilitation requires us to balance directing, inviting, sensing and organising. But which are you naturally drawn to? Complete the quiz here if you'd like to find out.

And if you like what you see, sing out. This is a quick and free version of a more in-depth skills assessment that I run as part of my training programmes. It could be the special sauce your team needs to lift their performance and engagement this year.