Points of Leadership: The Limitations of Leadership Assessments

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Quote: "So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” — Colossians 1:10

Points of Leadership is all about equipping leaders in maximizing their leadership for the people they lead and care for. Good leaders grow on purpose. Points of Leadership is where that growth happens.  

Hosted by Dr. Feyi Obamehinti, ordained minister, author, and leadership educator, alongside co-host Kristin Jaeck, CEO of ReWorking Strategies, combine over three decades of corporate leadership experience, this podcast delivers practical, faith-informed leadership development for leaders in any industry who want to lead with greater impact, integrity, and care for the people they serve. So, pull up a chair, call a friend, and take a listen.
 
Leadership assessments have become a plumbline for many companies’ human resources operations. From DISC, Gallup, 360, Working Genius and more. These assessments help identify natural strengths, behaviors and gaps for growth. Since these leadership tools are designed by humans, we can expect some anomalies that deviate from what are expected functionally. Even though the anomalies could be in the 3-5 percent range, that is still a big enough gap to ensure the integrity of the leadership assessments, because people are unique in all aspects of their creation and being.

During our last episode, we examined the Working Genius model and how important it is to align people’s geniuses with their job-related roles. Companies like Michelin show us the great impact of investment in aligning their employees’ genius with their roles. Employees everywhere can benefit from this type of investment for optimal outcomes. In this episode we do a deep dive into some of the gaps and address how companies can get the optimal outcomes using leadership assessments models.

First, we examine how a team’s power dynamics can be omitted with the assumption that there are equal voices and psychological safety on all teams. We explain how each leadership assessments tool sees through an ideal lens, rather than real world teams. In an Harvard Business Review article, ensuring teams are fair and safe is critical. Leaders that care for their teams make impact as an outflow of that trust and psychological safety. When leaders “edge God out” their teams suffer and it is a tell-tale sign of inner turmoil.

Secondly, we provide some insights on how leadership assessment tools can be misused in recruiting and retention. In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), some companies use AI for several steps in their hiring process, such as screening. However, some of the AI models have not yet been fully refined for every people group and could be biased in its assessment results. To ensure the fidelity of leadership assessment tools, transparency is important to address the risks and ethics associated with using them.

Lastly, we address the lack of developmental pathways in some leadership assessment tools. For those that propose frustration areas without pathways for growth, seem to provide a license for disengagement and high turn-over. Instead, we applaud self-governance and leadership growth for employees that go the extra mile to find alternatives outside their organizations to intentionally grow.  

As always, the leadership principles we share here on Points of Leadership are for any leader in any industry that desires to take care of those they lead well through the overflow of his or her life. So, pull up a chair, call a friend and take a listen and share with any industry leader in your life on addressing these leadership assessments gaps.

​Bio: Dr. Feyi Obamehinti is a wife, mother, an ordained minister of the gospel, Bible Teacher, speaker, life educator, author, co-founder of nonprofits Oasis Connection Ministries and Oasis Focus Inc,. co-host of Oasis Connection TV, Oasis of Hope Podcast, host of Points of Leadership Podcast, and encourager extraordinaire of the Wellness Project. To learn more, visit:
www.oasisconnection.org
www.oasisfocus.net
www.wellness-project.org
The Thriving Life-Patheos

Bio: Mrs. Kristin Jaeck brings nearly three decades of experience working with organizations across multiple industries in the areas of stakeholder engagement (internal and external), leadership development, organizational analysis and restructuring, change management, and strategic planning.  To learn more visit: www.reworkingstrategiesllc.com