Individual Development

How effective are your managers, salespeople or technical staff? The greater the complexity of the job, the greater the difference in performance between average performers and the best. We help managers and specialists raise their game, either individually or as a group.

For example workplace studies^[1],[2] have found the top 15% performers in non-sales jobs are between 19% and 48% more productive than average. In sales jobs, the top 15% are between 48% to 120% percent more productive. 120% more productive corresponds to sales of more than 80 times salary. In low skilled jobs the top 1% employees are 3 times as productive as the bottom 1%. Whereas in medium complexity (e.g. software developers) jobs the top 1% are up to 12 times more productive than the bottom 1%. Another study found the top 15% construction project managers are nearly 50% more productive than the average which corresponds to an economic benefit 300 times the average salary. Clearly, selecting the right people in the first place is critical to boosting productivity. However we can help existing staff become even more effective as well.

It is not just a matter of productivity. Effective managers need to lead, motivate and make the right judgments. With coaching and practice we can help them on their journey to delivering world class results.

To find out more please call 01628 674398 or email info@self-insight.com.

Assessment

We work with individuals on a one-to-one basis, in groups in workshops, on programs or some combination. The first step in the process is to identify people's strengths and weaknesses. The key methods we use are:

• Psychometric personality, values and cognitive ability tests.
• 360-degree feedback. This is a powerful technique measuring perceptions of co-workers along a set of competencies deemed essential to the person's job.
• Assessment exercises. This covers, for example asking the person to give a presentation; business simulations; leaderless group tasks etc. They provide an opportunity to observe the person in action.
• Interviews. This covers, broadly, behavioural and competency-based interviews, and more in-depth sessions intended to follow-up on themes identified in psychometric tests. These would explore the person's personal narrative, motivations, values, beliefs and assumptions.

Development

We help individuals reflect on the feedback from the assessment, and open up issues that perhaps have caused problems without being acknowledged. We can then work with the person to identify personal development goals, and plan milestones, time-scales and resources. We work with the person over time to track progress, provide support and encouragement, help them deal with setbacks or barriers to change, and help measure the tangible impact of development. One basic philosophy to which we adhere is that people learn by doing. Another is that many aspects of behaviour are skills which can be learned, re-learned or unlearned. However there are limits to the time and energy available, and sometimes it is best to focus on developing other strengths or relying on complementary team members rather than persisting when change does not take root. We also offer executive coaching. and career coaching.

References
[1] Hunter, J. E., F. L. Schmidt & M. K. Judiesch. (1990) “Individual Differences in Output Variability as a Function of Job Complexity.” Journal of Applied Psychology 75, 28-42.
[2] Spencer, L.M. “The Economic Value of Emotional Intelligence Competencies and EIC-Based HR Programs,” in Cherniss, C. & Goleman, D. (Eds.) (2001) The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select for, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups and Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

© Self-insight 2011