Reflection of Korn/Ferry's prospective assessment
Summary of Korn/Ferry Assessment
The assessment results reveal that my top five leadership characteristics include keeping on point, relating skills, managing work processes, understating business, and making tough people calls. My keeping on point characteristic is defined by my ability to stay focused and to sort through competing priorities. People say that I am likable, respectable, affirming, and genuinely interested in other individuals. In addition, I am in a capacity to understand and manage processes well because I can evaluate, tweak, and optimize efficiency to achieve improvements. Another key characteristic is understood business, which is derived from interaction with senior executives, high level of acumen; understand the language of business, and speaking intelligently about all stakeholders (LinkedIn 1). Finally, my ability to observe an individual behavior, and accurately assess other individual's strengths and weaknesses help me to make tough people call.
Despite great leadership characteristics, the assessment results indicated that I have a potential blind spot, which is illustrated by the challenge of balancing work and life. Sometimes, I cannot say no and I am forced to sacrifices personal activities such as exercise for work. In addition, I might try to gain perfection at home and at work and ability to team up. However, from the assessment, I discovered that I did not have any hidden strengths. One of problem areas involves inability to build or inspire talent, which lessens my effort to be a great leader, set the tone for what is acceptable and delegate to develop. Another problem involves being too narrow, which challenges my career progress. This is enhanced by the challenge of deploying myself, trusting my instincts, broadening my horizons (LinkedIn 6).
In addition, the assessment illustrated the comparison with other colleagues regarding my leadership characteristics, potential blind spot, and problem areas. On the leadership characteristics, the assessment revealed that my ability to stay focused and set priorities is different from my peers. In addition, the results indicated that lack of interpersonal skills could adversely affect my leadership career. Positively, my understanding on tweaks, and to see a process as a dynamic system make me different from the others. Another unique characteristic involves my knowledge of business operations. However, the inability to build or inspire people, balance work/life, and to be too narrow constrain my leadership career.
Interview Summary
Questions
In looking at my leadership traits, which ones do you feel are particularly strong and WHY?
In looking at my leadership traits, which ones do you feel are particularly weak and WHY?
What do you think is my potential strength and why?
Looking at my problem areas, which ones do you feel is my greatest challenge and why?
Compared to other, which is one is my least weakness?
What one piece of advice can you provide to me on how to become a more successful leader and WHY?
Similar to the assessment result, the interview with my mentor and colleagues indicated that I have unique and impressive leadership characteristics. For instance, the interviews suggest that one of my strongest characteristics is the ability to stay focused and set priorities. The interview added that I have effective time management and ability to concentrate on my formulated goals. Although my colleagues and mentor suggested that I have good relating skills, my colleagues revealed that I have weak interpersonal skills, which can affect my leadership career. They suggested that although I have good communication skills with individuals, I am weak on teamwork.
The interviews also suggested that my potential blind spot would be described by my inability to balance between work and life. The respondents suggested that I am too much committed to my work and less committed to my social life such as interacting and going out with my friends. However, the interviews suggested that I have a potential strength of developing interpersonal skills. Since I can relate to other individuals effectively and I have verbal fluency, my mentor supported that I can also develop teamwork skills.
The interviews suggested that my greatest challenge on my career progress is the inability to build or inspire talents. Compared to others, this is the most harmful aspect of my success. This is the challenge that needs to be addressed quickly to help me obtain results and lead a healthy and productive team. Ability to inspire talents is a very crucial element in effective leadership, especially in executive level. However, compared to other peers, being too narrow is the least challenge to my success. This is one of the challenges that is underestimated by many leaders. My colleagues and mentor advised me to improve and concentrate on developing my interpersonal skills to achieve my potential strength and boost my relating skills.
Professional development strategy
One of my greatest challenge that needs to be mitigated is the inadequacy in interpersonal skills because I am not able to work in groups. As a way of minimizing this weakness, I am required to be inclusive so that I can integrate other people in decision-making, discussion, and other activities as an effective leader. In addition, I should start learning how to take turns: interchanging the role of follower and leader while listening and sharing my opinion with others. In addition, I should adapt to qualities of transformation leaders so that I can improve my weakness of inspiring other people. Such traits include aiming to achieve large-scale changes that correlate with the firm's efforts and vision, which inspire, motivate, and empower my followers. I should acquire innovative and creative strategies that inspire my followers. Therefore, I should formulate clear vision, identify and utilize talents and strengths, serve as a role model, develop and maintain a positive attitude, and motivate others to success
References
LinkedIn. (2011). Assessment Results. Korn/Ferry International.
