What Is a Self-Assessment?
A self-assessment is a tool for understanding and evaluating yourself. For example, some assessments focus on personality traits, and others on skills or career interests. Self-assessments are typically conducted online through a series of questions or statements that you work through. The assessment results are often available immediately, either on screen or via email.
Benefits of Self-Assessments
Self-assessments can help you build greater self-awareness. They can also help you identify and prioritize developmental opportunities for skill building and training — whether you are a leader, aspiring leader, or an employee. I recommend taking a variety of self-assessments over the course of your career to deepen your self-awareness and gain broad insights that you can apply to your workplace interactions.
Strengths Assessments
As a positive psychologist, I often recommend beginning with a strengths assessment. This type of assessment will help you understand your natural talents and strengths as well as your weaker areas. In addition to deepening your self-awareness, a strengths assessment can help you enhance your effectiveness on the job. Examining your results as they relate to your work can help you identify which strengths to develop further, as well as which areas to improve. Don’t get too hung up on the weak areas, unless they are critical for success in your current or desired role.
Gallup’s CliftonStrengths® Assessment
The most well-known strengths assessment is Gallup’s CliftonStrengths® Assessment, which was formerly referred to as StrengthsFinder. The CliftonStrengths® Assessment can be completed in one hour or less. If you own or purchase one of Gallup’s strengths books (e.g., It’s the Manager; Now, Discover Your Strengths; StrengthsFinder 2.0), you can take the CliftonStrengths® Assessment and download a report describing your top five strengths for free, using a code in the back of the book.
Gallup also offers a paid version of the full report, containing 34 strengths and “lesser strengths” (i.e., weaknesses). You can choose a general, manager, or leader version. If you select the manager or leader report, you will receive additional insights into how your natural talents can help you be more effective in the context of a management role. You can apply your strengths to any aspect of your life, although Gallup’s assessment includes a strong workplace focus, which is why I recommend it for work-related use.
VIA Character Strengths Survey
The VIA Character Strengths Survey was not designed specifically for use in the workplace, but it is also well-known. It provides an overall view of your strengths, which you can apply to any context. The VIA survey can be completed in as little as 15-20 minutes, depending on how long you spend on each question. The survey is online and free. Once you complete the survey, you will receive a list of your character strengths at no cost.
A variety of reports are offered for purchase, such as your top five or complete 24 character strengths. A new report option combines a mindfulness questionnaire with the VIA survey to provide you with ratings on your mindfulness skills and ideas for integration with your character strengths. Also now available for a fee is an artificial intelligence (AI) “coach” to “discuss” your strengths with you.
Both the CliftonStrengths® Assessment and the VIA Character Strengths Survey are accepted and widely used by positive psychologists. By better understanding your natural strengths and “lesser strengths,” you can hone in on the developmental priorities that will best serve you in your current or ideal role.
Dr. Lauren Forgacs is an organizational development psychologist and applied positive psychologist, with more than six years of service in the federal government and 20 years of private sector experience, including award-winning accomplishments with a top five management consulting firm. She provides expert guidance and customized solutions to federal leaders on organizational development and culture, change management, leadership, teambuilding, employee engagement, and psychological safety. She is an expert on human-centered leadership and recently developed a year-long, cohort-based training program to enhance enterprise-wide leadership skills, organizational effectiveness, and the employee experience. Dr. Forgacs has held several leadership positions, effectively leading and motivating remote, hybrid, and on-site teams. She is also a certified federal leadership coach and a Gallup-certified strengths coach.
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