Assessment Services

The first step in any change is to assess where we are right now -- the current state. While many managers get a sense what their organization or teams might need, it is nearly always more effective to do an analysis first. Getting initial measures of effectiveness not only focuses the efforts and resources, but, also, provides a way to evaluate the success of those efforts. At Professional Development Associates, we have worked with scores of organizations to help determine their individual, team or organization's needs. Needs assessments can be done efficiently and inexpensively. New techniques allow us to get the information electronically.

The following are two assessment tools and a sample report:

• Effective Team Member Assessment (pdf) - A printed or electronic tool to evaluate the performance of individuals on a team. Can be used for project teams, functional teams, executive teams, etc. Questionnaire can be modified to fit any organization's needs and practices.
• Global Leader of the Future Inventory (pdf) - Developed for a Fortune 100 company. Later expanded for use by any organization that seeks to determine developmental needs of their leaders. Excellent multi-rater tool to evaluate individual and group performance.  Can be modified. Available in either paper or electronic formats.
• Professional Effectiveness Assessment (pdf) - Sample, full version of a  multi-rater report. This report can be made available in either paper or electronic formats.

The Leader of the Future Process is designed to help make an organization's vision, values and change strategy "come to life" in leadership behavior.

The way in which the process is implemented varies from organization to organization, but the philosophy is similar. Senior management describes the values of their organization and their vision for the future. The Leader of the Future Process helps translate this vision for change into demonstrated attitudes and behaviors.

Individual leaders get confidential feedback on how they are perceived in terms of demonstrating desired behaviors on the job. The corporation gets summary feedback on how the entire leadership team is perceived. The individual and the corporation receive affirmation in perceived areas of strength and develop action plans for change in perceived areas for improvement. The individual and the organization's leaders then follow-up with co-workers to ensure the successful implementation of their action plans.

The Leader of the Future Process provides a system that helps organizations and their leaders develop in a manner that supports the organizational change strategy. This process has been used in over 70 organizations, and custom-designed Leadership Inventories have impacted over a million people.

The Leader Of The Future Process: Typical Steps

In implementing the Leader of the Future Process, Professional Development Associates will:

1. Meet with representatives of the organization to understand the vision, values, broad organizational goals and change strategy.
2. Work with the organization to develop a profile of the Leader of the Future. This profile is typically composed of two parts. The first part centers on values or principles that are held dear to the company and involve issues such as integrity, quality, and respect for people. Johnson & Johnson calls these the "Credo." American Express identifies them as their "Blue Box Values." The second part identifies a set of core competencies and leadership behaviors crucial to future success. These might include such issues as communication across organizational boundaries and dealing with individual behavior that undermines teamwork.
3. Help the organization design a Leadership Inventory to reinforce the desired characteristics of the Leader of the Future. This profile aligns organizational goals and change strategy to individual performance expectations of leaders responsible for implementing change in the organization.
4. Design a leadership training process that is consistent with the organization's needs. (The length of leadership workshops varies with corporate needs and resources - from several hours to three days.) Our goal is to provide maximum behavioral change with minimal time spent in training.
5. Distribute Leadership Inventories to program participants before the program is conducted. (Typically one for each direct report, eight for associates, and one for a self-evaluation).
6. Prepare a confidential, individual feedback report for each participant, and a summary of all reports for the team or for the organization.
7. Conduct a leadership workshop where participants learn how they can better help their organization achieve its strategic change objectives, learn how to implement the process, receive confidential one-on-one feedback on their perceived effectiveness, and develop action plans in identified areas for improvement.
8. Follow-up with the corporation and team on the summary feedback and on participants' suggestions for the corporation (if this is a component of the workshop).
9. Follow-up with participants (on a regular basis) to help ensure that the individual action plans they developed (in the program) are being implemented. A customized mini-survey process can be used to measure the effectiveness in the areas selected by the individual.
10. Conduct a follow-up feedback process (in approximately one year) so that participants can measure perceived behavioral change. This process has been shown to produce significant, measurable positive changes in leadership effectiveness. In a study we conducted, 89% of leaders following this process were seen as more effective. In contrast, over half of those leaders who did not follow this process were seen as unchanged or less effective.For a list of "off the shelf" 360º Assessments, please visit our assessment page.

Are your leaders effective?

Research shows that companies who enjoy long-term success rely heavily on leaders whose behavior is consistent with the organization's goals and core values. Do your leaders know what is expected of them? Do they know how they stack up against other proven leaders? They deserve to know.

Let us show you how.
Assessment Plus can help you deliver the answers. Through our leadership effectiveness process, we work with you to create the unique blueprint of success for your company. Then, your leaders are assessed on the critical behaviors necessary to succeed, and provided with the feedback that is essential for identifying their strengths and developmental needs.

But don't stop here.
The feedback you gather will be more effective and generate more lasting change if it is accompanied by personalized, professional coaching and follow-up. We will show your leaders how to increase and maximize their effectiveness and stay focused on their improvement goals.

Here's how the process works:

• Assessment Plus consultants work with you to develop or select a survey that measures the behaviors your leaders must exhibit to be successful in your organization.
• We help you clearly communicate the goals and purpose of the assessment process to all employees to secure commitment and participation.
• Surveys are distributed to direct reports, supervisors, colleagues, customers, etc., so that a broad range of perspectives is captured for each participant.
• Assessment Plus compiles and analyzes completed surveys, and then generates reports for each individual leader, work group, team or your organization as a whole.
• Customized training is provided to set the stage for team and individual improvement.
• Professional consultants provide one-on-one feedback to each leader to identify strengths and developmental needs and to help them develop an action plan for improvement.
• Then, six to nine months later, leaders can participate in a mini-survey follow up process to get feedback on whether they have improved on the specific areas they targeted. Our studies show that leaders who have a clear action plan, share their plan with others, and consistently follow up to see if they are improving, are perceived as more effective.