2. Workshop Plan
Introduction
Competency model used in construction of the assessment
Overview of the factors covered by the assessment
Management styles and how they play out in the workplace
Leadership coaching according to one’s strengths and
challenges
Validation of the MANSSA
Summary of results from studies
Tidbits and insights
Question period
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3. Introduction
Identifying management potential is a complex task
Often, companies pick very competent specialists and promote them into managerial
role disregarding whether the person actually has what it takes to do the job
Consequences of hiring or promoting a mediocre manager are significant
Impact on morale, job satisfaction, turnover, performance
Impact on the bottom line
Good job fit is essential
A big gap between the position’s requirements and the manager’s traits can cause
major problems
Different times, situations, and kinds of organizations need different types of
managers
Tough times may call for an authoritative manager who can take charge and make firm
decisions
During labor shortages, a people-oriented leader who can keep good employees may be
needed
However, there are certain key skills and traits that should be present in a good
candidate for a managerial position
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4. Competency model: o*Net
Tasks
Oversee activities directly related to making products or providing services.
Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the
production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.
Review financial statements, sales and activity reports, and other performance data to
measure productivity and goal achievement and to determine areas needing cost reduction
and program improvement.
Manage staff, preparing work schedules and assigning specific duties.
Direct and coordinate organization's financial and budget activities to fund operations,
maximize investments, and increase efficiency.
Establish and implement departmental policies, goals, objectives, and procedures,
conferring with board members, organization officials, and staff members as necessary.
Determine staffing requirements, and interview, hire and train new employees, or oversee
those personnel processes.
Plan and direct activities such as sales promotions, coordinating with other department
heads as required.
Determine goods and services to be sold, and set prices and credit terms, based on
forecasts of customer demand.
Locate, select, and procure merchandise for resale, representing management in purchase
negotiations.
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5. Competency model: o*Net
Knowledge
Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles
involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership
technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing
customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality
standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for
personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and
negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Economics and Accounting — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and
practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, calculus, statistics, and their
applications.
English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language
including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word
processing, managing files and records, designing forms, and other office procedures and
terminology.
Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and
selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product
demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
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6. Competency model: o*Net
Skills
Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to
understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at
inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work
related documents.
Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or
organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they
react as they do.
Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and
future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related
information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential
actions to choose the most appropriate one.
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7. Competency model: o*Net
Abilities
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas
presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others
will understand.
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It
does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas
presented in writing.
Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so
others will understand.
Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce
answers that make sense.
Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another
person.
Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern
according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures,
mathematical operations).
Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules
or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
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9. Factor 1: Intrapersonal Skills
There are certain personal qualities that are essential to being an effective manager. A successful
manager has a solid sense of self, is capable of withstanding the stress of running a department
or organization, and possesses solid self-confidence.
Self-oriented perfectionism: Whether the individual is overly self-critical. (Ideal is mid-range)
Coping skills: Whether the person can survive setbacks.
Self-confidence: Whether the individual feels good about him or herself and feels confident in
his or her abilities.
Comfort with authority: Whether the individual feels comfortable being the one in charge.
Decision-making: Measures decisiveness and the ability to feel confident in his or her decision.
Optimism: Assesses whether s/he has a tendency to look on the bright side, even in some
difficult situations.
Concentration: Evaluates the test-taker’s ability to set aside distractions and get work done.
Locus of control: Measures whether the individual feels that things that happen in his or her life
are the result of his or her actions or out of his or her control.
Integrity: Assesses whether a person's behavior is marked by integrity.
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10. Factor 2: Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal competencies include sensitivity to social cues, communication
skills, approachability, and the ability to build positive relationships. It also
entails being able to control negative emotions and putting aside personal
problems with subordinates for the better of the organization.
Soft-skills: Assesses whether the test-taker is able to establish a comfortable, open
and friendly environment for employees.
Communication skills: Measures listening skills and whether the individual is able
to get his or her points across to others.
Self-monitoring: Evaluates the test-taker’s ability to control his or her emotions and
is able to put aside personal feelings in favor of professionalism.
Sensitivity to social cues: Whether the subject picks up on subtle social cues
around him or her.
Other-oriented perfectionism: Whether the individual is overly critical of others.
(Ideal is mid-range)
Flexibility: Whether the individual is able to compromise and adjust to other people
and changing circumstances.
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11. Factor 3: Executive Skills
The Executive Skills consists of the items relevant to whether you would be able to run a
competitive business and be able to perform the actual job functions in an effective
manner.
Drive: Whether the test-taker possesses a strong force propelling him or towards important
goals and is persistent and motivated.
Creativity: Measures whether this person possesses a different perspective on the world and
finds innovative approaches and solutions at work.
Time management: Whether the test-taker is able to juggle the different management tasks, get
his or her work done on time, and make the most use of his or her time.
Vision: Whether the individual possesses a solid mental picture for the future while keeping
important goals and values of the organization in mind.
Goal-Setting: Whether the individual continually sets both short and long-term goals.
Organizational skills: Whether this individual keeps an orderly work environment, maintains
documents properly, as well as keeps his or her schedule in order.
Cognitive ability: Whether the individual is intelligent.
Risk-taking: Measures whether the test-taker is comfortable with an element of calculated risk
in his or her life.
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12. Factor 4: Leadership
Measures whether the individual is able to coax out the best possible performance from
subordinates. This factor is divided into two Subfactors.
Transactional Leadership: Making sure that employees know what is expected of them,
stepping in when problems arise, and providing adequate feedback to keep subordinates on
track.
Rewarding performance: Whether the individual believes in rewarding or reprimandeing employees based
on performance.
Delegating: Assesses the extent to which the individual is willing to ask for help with his or her work when
necessary.
Giving feedback: This scale measures whether the individual is familiar with the best ways of providing
feedback to subordinates
Transformational Leadership: Making effort to bring out the best in employees, working as a
team with subordinates, seeking creative input and help from them, and communicate a vision to
them in a way that makes people excited. Perhaps most important, this factor also entail setting
an example that makes employees want to work harder.
Motivating: Whether the individual is able to motivate subordinates.
Coaching: Assesses the ability to help subordinates come up with their own solutions for problems.
Problem-solving: Measures whether the person is a good problem-solver, whether s/he comes up with
surprising solutions and thinks outside the box.
Communication of Vision: This scale assesses whether the individual is able to share his or her ideas in
a convincing manner, charisma.
Collaboration: This scale assesses whether the individual would ask for input and help from subordinates,
harnessing the strengths of individuals in each department.
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13. Leadership Coaching
Powerful leaders are people, not superheroes
Even the most talented and skilled individuals can refine
their skills, become more self-aware, and avoid
counterproductive behaviors
Coaching should start with an assessment of
Personality traits and behavior styles
Management and leadership competencies
360-degree assessment is ideal
Coaching should be a structured process focusing
sequentially on most important challenges that the
person faces
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15. All-Star Leader
Great scores on all factors
Got all that it takes to be an
excellent manager:
Good people skills
Good intrapersonal skills
Good executive skills
Stellar leadership skills
Might benefit from coaching in
specific areas as indicated by
lower scores on certain
subscales
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16. All-business Leader
Good executive skills
Strong product orientation
Have a great deal of direction,
creative ideas and a solid IQ
Poor interpersonal skills
Business-like and focused, they lack
the ability to hone-in on how their
actions and words will affect those
around
So engrossed in achieving goals
that they miss important signs that
they need to step in and take action
Could benefit from coaching in many
areas, starting with specific attention
to subscales that show major
deficiencies
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17. Self-Absorbed Manager
Decent or great intrapersonal skills
Poor interpersonal skills
Lack of sensitivity and diplomacy
Authoritarian - ‘My way or the
highway’ attitude
May miss signs of trouble and fail
to intervene
Don’t really care about direct
reports – sees them as tools, not
people
Could benefit from coaching to
improve
Understanding of others
Diplomacy
Respect
Sensitivity
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18. Middle-of-the-road Manager
Decent but not great scores
Adequate in all four
management areas
Interpersonal skills
Intrapersonal skills
Executive abilities
Leadership potential
Could benefit from coaching in
all four areas with specific
attention to subscales that
show deficiencies
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19. Flock-less Shepherd
Good executive skills
Have good ideas
Creative
Have a vision
Disciplined, good organizational
skills
Lack leadership skills
Not persuasive
Don’t communicate vision
effectively
Don’t want to delegate authority
Don’t empower employees
Could benefit from coaching but
some issues may be difficult to
change
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20. Structure-less Visionary
Good leadership ability
Has great influence over others
Delegates responsibility
Communicates well
Lacks executive skills
Lacks structure
Poor organizational and time
management skills
Lacks creativity
Lacks drive
Can get people exited and psyched,
but lets it dissipate due to lack of
direction
Could benefit from coaching –
issues are workable
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21. Scattered Boss
Good intrapersonal skills
Good interpersonal skills
Poor leadership skills
Not persuasive
Don’t communicate vision effectively
Don’t want to delegate authority
Don’t empower employees
Lack executive skills
Lack structure
Poor organizational and time management
skills
Lack creativity
Lack drive
Can benefit from coaching – issues
are workable
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22. People-pleaser
Good interpersonal skills
Put others first
Very well-liked
Possess a solid understanding of
what makes other people tick
Will do whatever it takes to keep
people happy
Lack intrapersonal skills
May let others walk all over them
Lack solid self-image
Don’t feel comfortable in a
management position
Could benefit from coaching in
many areas, but some of the
issues they need to work on are
quite difficult to change
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23. Challenged Leader
Challenged in all four areas
Interpersonal skills
Intrapersonal skills
Executive abilities
Leadership potential
It would be fighting an uphill battle
in a management position
Could benefit from coaching in all
four areas, starting with specific
attention to subscales that show
major deficiencies
Many of their issues are difficult to
change, while others are trainable.
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29. Ranking of scales (2,227 managers)
Factor Mean SD
Sensitivity to Social Cues 73 11
Optimism 73 12
Giving Feedback 72 13
Creativity 72 13
Decision-making 72 16
Delegating 71 16
Communication Skills 71 12
Communicating Vision 70 15
Risk-Taking 67 15
Concentration 66 13
Locus of Control 65 15
Comfort with Authority 64 18
Coping Skills 63 15
Perfectionism (Self-directed) 42 16
Perfectionism (Other 38 17
directed)
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30. Gender differences
Women scored higher on: Men scored higher on:
Communication skills (+3) Comfort with authority
Coaching (+3) (+6)
Motivating (+3) Risk-taking (+3)
Integrity (+3) Coping skills (+2)
Soft skills (+2) Decision making (+2)
Internal locus of control Other-oriented
(+2) perfectionism (+2)
Delegating (+2) Communicating vision
Self-monitoring (+2) (+2)
Cognitive ability (+2)
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31. Differences between managers and non-managers
People with managerial experience scored significantly
higher than non-managers on all scales except:
Perfectionism (self and other-oriented)
Rewarding performance
Cognitive ability
Impression management
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32. Interesting Tidbits
69% believe that it’s up to them (as mangers) to set the bar high for
employees.
Only 3% indicated that they don’t care about their relationship with
their subordinates.
71% would accept advice from subordinates.
69% believe that it’s very important for employees to be aware of
the organization’s long-term goals.
20% feel that if they were to delegate one of their tasks to an
employee, it won’t be completed to their satisfaction.
51% feel that managers must share some of the blame if an
employee has an accident, or makes a mistake.
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33. Interesting Tidbits
10% have trouble showing gratitude to employees after a job well
done.
87% indicated that, if forced to choose, they would do the right thing
(i.e. follow legal/ethical standards) rather than what is easier or
more profitable – which means that 13% admit that they would be
less-than-scrupulous managers!
73% indicated that they remember little details about their
employees (e.g. hobbies, favorite sports, etc.).
81% stated that they have a clear vision of where they want their
group/organization to head – which means that 19% will simply wing
it…not a comforting thought for employees.
32% worry that they are not as good a manager as they should be.
74% feel that they inspire their employees.
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34. Interesting Tidbits
87% feel that asking employees about motivates them is a smart
idea.
3% would fire an employee who appears to lack motivation…6%
would threaten to fire the employee if there is no improvement.
Despite being completely overwhelmed with work, 38% still wouldn’t
delegate some of their tasks to employees.
84% will offer clear ways for an employee to improve if said
employee was given negative feedback.
11% believe that maximum efficiency is achieved when everyone is
told exactly what to do.
7% believe that the best way to motivate an employee is to offer
him/her money.
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35. Interesting Tidbits
With great power comes great responsibility…
22% are comfortable warning an employee to shape up, or else.
36% are comfortable telling an employee that his/her work is only
satisfactory.
39% are comfortable talking to an employee about his/her poor performance
rating.
35% are comfortable responding to an employee who is upset about his/her
poor performance rating.
44% are comfortable conducting a formal performance appraisal for an
ineffective employee.
36% are comfortable telling an employee that his/her assigned project has
been re-assigned to someone else (i.e. someone more capable).
41% are comfortable confronting an employee suspected of theft.
55% are comfortable intervening in a conflict between two employees.
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53. Conclusion
Assessment of management skills and styles is a must for leaders
who want to develop their potential to the fullest
Leadership coaching is an activity with a major return on investment
If a managers is reluctant to take assessments and/or have a 360
done on him/her, it should raise a red flag
Either thee are aware that there are problems and don’t want to face
them
Or they feel that it’s degrading for them to be evaluated by direct reports
Either way, these are specifically the people who would benefit most
from the program.
If the biggest asset of a company is the “human capital”, then
logically, managing that asset is the most important function.
They say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Don’t let
a weak link sit at the top of your company’s food chain.
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54. Ilona Jerabek, PhD
9001 blvd. de l’Acadie, Suite 802
Montreal, Qc H4N 3H5
ilona@psychtests.com
Direct line: 514-745-3189, ext 112
Fax: 514-745-6242
http://archprofile.com
http://www.psychtests.com
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