An example of a summary report used for presenting non-technical skills for either external career search or internal promotion.

1. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
CAES
Results, Not Resumes
joining personality
with performance
Work Personality Assessment Summary
Prepared for: Example
As of: April 5, 2013
Intended Use: Support résumé and any other portfolio-related documents
Comparison Group Used: Managers / General Population
This report is the property of EXAMPLE and CAES. The information within is confidential and may be legally
privileged. Access to this report must be approved by EXAMPLE. CAES accepts no liability for any negative
impact or damage caused by this report.
It is highly recommended that CAES is contacted to verify the authenticity of this report and to provide further
explanation. Doing this will ensure that the work characteristics mentioned will match your specific requirements
for any hiring decisions, internal promotions, leadership development, or performance improvement.
Purpose
Superior performance will be sustained over time when the person involved has the required educational
background, technical skills, industry experience, and work personality characteristics. It is important for these
personality characteristics to fit with a person’s position, management group, team, and organizational culture.
It is crucial for the hiring manager to evaluate the match between EXAMPLE’s work characteristics and the predetermined objectives and requirements of the position under consideration. This will ensure that an appropriate
performance match is achieved, and will increase the opportunity for a positive work relationship.
This report will help the reader to understand the work personality attributes of EXAMPLE, and thus to assist in
possible employment decisions and management approaches. The results have been compiled through both
personal interviewing and written assessments. The findings, interpretations, and recommendations are based on
the opinions of the author, and are intended to assist EXAMPLE in his career development. The hiring company
assumes responsibility for their own actions and any decisions based on this information.
Problem Solving Capability
Different positions in an organization will require the ability to work with problems of varying complexities that
may span anywhere from one day to several years. As positions become more complex and managerial, different
time orientations (scope) are required. Cognitive scope refers to how a person handles information complexity.
The greater a person’s ability to handle information complexity, the greater will be his or her ability to think
ahead and work with more complex problems. And the ability to conceptualize and to envision multiple
possibilities greatly expands that person’s scope level.
EXAMPLE is transitioning in his cognitive capabilities. His ability to address increasingly complex and
interrelated problems, and then to be able to establish effective solutions within greater time horizons, positions
him to assume a senior managerial role. This enables him to contribute both as a strategic leader (and add value to
forward thinking, organization-wide initiatives), while at the same time to effectively manage current
departmental activities by ensuring operational best practices are developed, implemented and maintained. He is
comfortable managing multiple, independent, serial projects and can balance resources among a number of
departments or sub-units.
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EXAMPLE

2. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE’s cognitive scope and planning capability is within the 2 to 5 year range, and he is quite capable of
evaluating the effective use of human resources and technologies within this time frame. He will be comfortable
with 3 year budget based projects.
His desire to consistently ‘do things right’ will support his eagerness to establish standardized procedures that will
ensure effective work practices, systems and overall productivity. But once accomplished, EXAMPLE will also
seek out contingencies, logical innovation and alternative paths, both in upgraded technologies and in personnel
development schemes, which will contribute to evolutionary change.
EXAMPLE’s dominant thinking preference is abstract sequential, (abstract thinking is more typical of people in
the upper managerial ranks) while his secondary preference is concrete sequential, and this combination mirrors
his current ‘cognitive shift’. What this means is that EXAMPLE will typically rely on a step-by-step, procedural
approach whether thinking in abstract, ‘big picture’ terms or when focusing on daily realities and details. So
EXAMPLE will be realistic, practical, logical and well organized in both his evaluation of current operational
processes and activities, as well as in his evaluation of new ideas, different theories and potential changes to
existing operational procedures.
Concentration & Attention Scales
Superior performance is dependent on the ability of the individual to concentrate and make good decisions, or
take appropriate action, while dealing with the stress involved at that point in time. Knowing that each individual
has a dominant concentration style, identifying their style, and comparing it to the typical stress tolerance
requirements of the position and environment, will increase the likelihood of superior performance. More
importantly, as stress levels increase a properly matched concentration style will enable the person to better
handle any increased demands.
EXAMPLE’s scored very high on all three concentration preferences, compared to both the general population
and to the Managerial norm group. His dominant concentration preference is to focus on details and to take
action, secondary is his analytical and conceptual abilities, and his third preference is his awareness of people and
the environment. (Note: although his weakest trait, his environmental awareness is superior to most managers).
Also significant is his ability to shift his concentration easily in order to adapt to changing requirements and to
pay attention to the right things at the right times. He is rarely prone to distractions (when distraction does occur,
it will come from internal thoughts and feelings rather than external influences), and so EXAMPLE’s profile
indicates that he has a strong ability to avoid concentration errors even when under significant stress.
Motivation
High motivation and superior performance go hand in hand. But it is not enough to simply be “motivated”. The
person’s motivation must be matched to, and supported by, the motivational characteristics of the immediate work
environment, the team members, the manager and the overall organizational objectives and culture. So here we
are interested in first determining the motivational characteristics that are available in the work environment and
then determining the relative match with the individual’s personal motivational requirements.
Like most achievement-oriented people, EXAMPLE needs a challenging, dynamic and fast-paced environment.
His career progression reflects his desire to experience success and he is motivated when achievement is
encouraged, recognized, and rewarded. EXAMPLE defines success through both the accomplishment of his own
personal goals and via the development (and success) of the people around him. His strong team orientation
fosters his understanding that team success equates to personal success for everyone involved.
People like EXAMPLE are typically motivated towards goals. His motivational process begins by his first
defining the goal, in accumulating whatever information is needed to accomplish the goal and, once satisfied that
he has enough of the right information, he will then quickly move forward and complete the appropriate tasks. As
opposed to people who are motivated to ‘rush in’ too quickly, and miss gathering relevant background details, or
those who take too long to get going, by over-analyzing too much information, EXAMPLE’s balanced
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3. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
motivational approach will reduce the likelihood of poor decisions or errors of omission, while still getting things
done right in a timely manner.
In line with his thinking preferences, EXAMPLE will sustain his motivation when he can function in a more
procedural environment as compared to a more loosely structured working world. Whether planning or doing, he
prefers to have a path to follow, which becomes a point of reference to return to when he embarks on less
structured creative thinking and in generating new ideas. While EXAMPLE will primarily draw his motivational
support by receiving input and feedback from his manager, peers, team and external clientele, he will also rely on
his internal values and opinions in certain situations. This desire for external input is congruent with his need for
active communication and strong interpersonal relationships.
While motivated by success, and ongoing personal development, EXAMPLE will be demotivated when there is
significant lack of structure (procedures), unprofessional behaviours or a lack of organizational direction.
EXAMPLE believes in having rules, and that all organizational members should follow them,
Productivity Traits
Superior performers develop consistent, reliable work productivity traits. These traits are rooted in their “work
ethic”, and are often defined as the values that they hold pertaining to work. For superior performance to be
sustained over time it is important that the person’s work values be in alignment with those required by the
position, department and the organization as a whole. When aligned, the individual is confident and comfortable
that their efforts and approach to work are consistent to what is required and they will naturally incorporate
learned successful approaches into their daily work activities.
EXAMPLE displays above average performance characteristics as compared to other managers and the general
population. He likes to take control, has high energy, a strong, conscientious work ethic, and enjoys being
productive. He is goal-oriented, dedicated and he accomplishes through hard work. He is very much a ‘multitasker’ who likes to have a lot on the go both professionally and personally. His ability to handle a number of
detailed-oriented, and complex tasks simultaneously, is congruent with his higher cognitive capability and his
ability to envision solutions to problems over longer time horizons. His organizational capabilities, and
procedural motivation, help him to organize and manage those numerous details that he prefers to pay close
attention to, and enables him to make sure that they are included in his plans.
EXAMPLE has superior tenacity (focus on task completion), he is resourceful in finding solutions and he will
follow through on any request made of him. Not quite a complete ‘perfectionist’, he tends toward it, and this
supports his dedication to getting things done. EXAMPLE likes to do things the right way from the beginning,
(quality over quantity or speed) and while he hates to make mistakes, he does learn from errors made and is
unlikely to repeat them. He learns quickly. His high need to multi-task will require that, to be most effective, he
be given the autonomy to control, organize and prioritize his workload. But once given direction toward a goal,
EXAMPLE will want to assume personal responsibility to achieve it, so the delegator can be confident that
EXAMPLE will complete any task given.
EXAMPLE has an above average ability to perform under pressure. Combined with his significant capability to
control his behavior, EXAMPLE will rarely (if ever) ‘lose his cool’ in high stress situations. His stress response is
anger and frustration (as opposed to anxiety and worry), but he will internalize significant stress, so people will
not be aware of this reaction when it occurs.
In more relaxed situations, EXAMPLE is very good at creating an environment around him that will support his
decision making style. And again, based in his motivational preferences, EXAMPLE will proactively make a
decision once he has had the time to collect and consider all relevant information. He is strong at evaluating
alternatives, deciding and implementing decisions made. While always focused on quality, EXAMPLE will make
effective decisions a little faster than the average business manager, but since he is not a big risk taker, he will
carefully consider and evaluate all of the details involved in any risk.
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4. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
That said, with his ability to perform under pressure, and his flexibility, I would expect that he is capable of
making very fast decisions in high stress situations. In these instances, because of his high self-confidence,
EXAMPLE will trust his experience, judgment and personal values when he needs to make decisions quickly.
And he will use established procedural ‘checklists’, based on sound technical training, to reduce decision
complexity and ensure proper choices.
Like all self-confident people, EXAMPLE should remember to check decisions made, as compared to the original
objective, in order to evaluate its effectiveness and to continue to learn from the process.
Communication Skills
The ability to effectively get their message across to other people and to understand the other person’s point of
view is a common characteristic of superior performers. We can determine a person's dominant expressiveness
style, and match that with what would be required of their respective position. More importantly, we can ascertain
their comfort with the expression of ideas, their ability to understand and adapt to the communication style of the
recipient, and their acceptance with having their thought processes challenged. We can also identify each person’s
dominant style for receiving communication input, for adapting to alternative forms of input while maintaining
appropriate concentration, and whether their learning style is visual, auditory or kinesthetically based. Finally, we
can evaluate true aptitude for written and verbal communication as per the requirements of their position.
EXAMPLE has exceptional communication skills, is highly verbal, is able to engage most people in lively
conversation, and he can write effectively. He is comfortable in the limelight, and is not intimidated by people (or
their life-position), and his extroverted nature indicates that he will often take the lead in conversations. He will
be quite comfortable in helping ‘laypeople’ understand technical details, but while still serious about his work, he
does not take himself too seriously. His ability to relax people (but such means as appropriately injecting humour
into a conversation) will help him to ‘disarm’ negativity, to build relationships, and to gain people’s support for
his work objectives.
EXAMPLE’s preferred communication input (and learning preference) is through visual means, so he will prefer
to use visual inputs (writing, pictures and graphs) as his dominant learning source. He processes information in
serial terms (step-by-step), and he prefers to communicate in auditory terms (speaking). And while he understands
his own communication strengths and preferences, more importantly, he is aware of the need to adapt his
communication delivery to best meet the requirements of the other person in order to effectively get his message
across. EXAMPLE will use his environmental / people awareness to determine the right way to communicate
with an individual when he is explaining his position, presenting his ideas or fostering support – and thus gain
‘buy-in’ and collaboration. He will readily share his ideas with his managers, team, peers, external personnel and
the public.
Equally important, EXAMPLE knows when to listen. So it should not be surprising that his dominant
communication style is supportive in nature. Because he actively hears what people say, he will easily interpret
and respond to other people’s needs and wants. And, he will readily implement valuable suggestions that are
made to him from management, staff, customers and peers - especially when they support his ability to achieve
his goals. At the same time, when under significant stress, most people with his high level of control, selfconfidence and competitiveness, may have a tendency to over-rely on their own perceptions at the expense of
hearing valuable external advice. EXAMPLE’s supportive communicative style should moderate the impact of
this.
When required, EXAMPLE is appropriately confrontational in his communication. This means that, while he can
easily maintain control of his thoughts and feelings, he will step forward and confront staff members should they
try to take advantage of him or of the organization.
EXAMPLE has a balanced ‘push and pull’ influencing approach. When needed, he can be persuasive, assertive
and he will ‘fall back’ to referencing established rules and standards. At other times he will influence people by
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5. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
creating a shared vision, building consensus and employing joint decision-making. Again, his flexibility to focus
on the right things at the right times, and his adaptability, enable him to choose the best approach depending on
the situation.
Interpersonal Skills
Human relations are a critical component of successful performance as nobody operates within a vacuum.
Whether internal or external to the organization, on a peer to peer basis or an employee – manager interaction,
everybody has numerous interpersonal interactions daily. Superior performers are adept at creating and
maintaining strong relationships, and via these relationships they subsequently encourage collaboration, support
for their ideas and commitment to performance. People are more likely to agree with, and follow, someone who
they respect and like. Top performers naturally use their interpersonal skills to make this connection with those
around them.
EXAMPLE has a very extroverted personality type, and prefers an active and open work environment. He needs
ongoing involvement with people, both internal and external to the organization, and his high level of
‘agreeableness’ indicates that he can easily put people at ease. He values building and sustaining relationships at
all organizational levels, he understands the need to create relationships in order to gain support for his objectives,
and he knows the value of win-win negotiations. As a strong team player and motivator, EXAMPLE will use his
supportive communication style (and ability as a role model) to influence team behavior, to encourage input from
all sources, and to involve people in collaborative decision-making.
In situations in where there is not enough time for discussion or negotiation, EXAMPLE will readily assume
straightforward authority and take the lead. And while this approach may sometimes be intimidating to some, he
should be able to moderate people’s reactions via his ‘people skills’ and by direct communication regarding any
apparent issues. As well, EXAMPLE’s environmental awareness and flexibility help him to evaluate the potential
volatility of situations, to position himself ‘diplomatically’, to keep a ‘low profile’ when necessary, and to back
out of ‘unwinnable political fights’.
Emotional Stability
An often neglected element involved in performance assessment is an individual’s level of (or lack of) emotional
stability. Most people have suitable levels of stability to cope with their daily stress loads. However when stress
levels are accelerated less stable people will tend to be emotionally reactive and vulnerable. This can emerge as
anger, anxiety or depression, and will obviously affect their performance, problem solving and concentration
levels, as well as have a negative impact on the people that they interact with. Often in a bad mood, they are more
likely to interpret ordinary situations as negative and have difficulty thinking clearly and making appropriate
decisions in a reasonable period of time. Their emotionally stable counterparts will tend to be less emotionally
reactive, have a more positive outlook and can make calm, logical decisions in highly stressful situations.
EXAMPLE’s overall emotional stability score is typical as compared to the general population. He will sustain
calmness under stress, and will maintain emotional stability in his work environment – and he likes to present a
calm persona in public. As mentioned, EXAMPLE’s significant ability to control his behavioural impulses will
ensure that he will very rarely (never?) display any inappropriate behavior or reveal his stress response when
under pressure. He does not inappropriately seek out attention, is not particularly self-focused, he shows aboveaverage concern for others, and he takes pride in his ability to emphasize in order to create and sustain
interpersonal relationships.
Ethics & Integrity
Hiring managers are interested in hiring people who are trustworthy and share the organization's ethical values
regardless of the position that they will occupy. Talented or not, one would question why anyone would
knowingly hire a dishonest person in the first place, better yet maintain their employment knowing that they were
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6. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
untrustworthy. There is comfort in knowing that superior performers will tend to score high on integrity and
ethics evaluations.
EXAMPLE’s ethics and integrity evaluation shows higher levels than both the general population and his
managerial comparison group. He strongly believes in rules and structure, he is most comfortable when standard
procedures and guidelines are in place, and he expects that all organizational members, from top to bottom, will
follow the rules. EXAMPLE respects authority, and will want to earn respect from his staff. But he does not have
a need to prove his own superiority, he will not try to take advantage or exploit others, nor does he show any
inflated sense of entitlement.
Management Approach
In addition to his solid technical capability and industry experience, EXAMPLE’s managerial approach is also a
reflection of his combined personality-based preferences. It should not be surprising that he will take a detailoriented and organized approach to most of his managerial tasks. His planning, problem solving and decisionmaking will be based on quality rather than speed. His achievement motivation, supported by his determination to
perform effectively, will motivate him to make thoughtful decisions and avoid making common managerial
mistakes.
He employs a people-oriented management style, wherein he will use his supportive communicative skills to
motivate people, manage conflict and build the strength of his team.
The concept of ‘team’ is important to EXAMPLE. An exceptional team player himself, he fully understands team
dynamics, he likes to openly share ideas with team members, and he is knows the value of mutual support and
collaborative effort. EXAMPLE is committed to ongoing overall team development, and he will be eager to
actively participate in the establishment of a developmental climate for his people. EXAMPLE scored noticeably
higher than his managerial comparative group in his team-related abilities regarding; the ability to articulate his
vision, provide feedback, manage team conflict, assign member roles, and to develop individual members. As
well, he will not fall into the too common trap of being intimated by a talented staff member. He understands the
value of surrounding himself, and developing, the right people.
EXAMPLE is very capable of initiating and leading change (and innovation). He will be most comfortable with
evolving change, rather than revolutionary change, or change for change’s sake. Quite good at identifying the
need for change, he will be frustrated when he identifies a need and yet does not have the opportunity to
participate in solving the problem. Very strong at planning change, EXAMPLE will also be capable at inspiring
innovative thinking in his people (assisted by his own abstract thinking preference), in supporting ‘innovation
leaders’, in managing resistance to change (via communication and support) and in implementing new initiatives.
EXAMPLE will be able to take this even further should he build the systems to support change and innovation
into his operational plans and procedures.
Leadership
EXAMPLE has demonstrated leadership skills that he continues to build upon. Like most leaders, he scored
highly in the core traits that we see as being critical to effective leadership; desire for control, self-confidence,
multi-tasking capability, extroversion, idea exchange, supporting people and decisiveness, and as well in many
supportive personality traits.
Based in his self-confidence, EXAMPLE is eager to take control of situations. His preference to ‘lead by
example’, to maintain a calm ‘emotionally intelligent’ persona under stressful situations, to do what he says he
will do, and to consistently follow up on his commitments will all draw the attention and support of followers.
Using his strong communication skills to clearly articulate his vision and to define his expectations, he will be
able to stimulate people’s ‘buy in’ and motivate them to take action. EXAMPLE has an appropriate level of
competitiveness, and will not ‘turn people off’, by taking competition too far. He will tend to encourage team
competitiveness, and this strong team orientation and supportive management style will build and sustain the
commitment of his people over time. From a developmental standpoint, he will be able to build even greater
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7. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
support as he identifies training needs for his staff, assigns training-related tasks and then subsequently delegates
appropriate activities to those who are more capable.
EXAMPLE is very capable at balancing leadership and management – which is an essential ingredient at the
more senior organizational levels. On the management side, he is strong in developing the structures needed for
organizational best practices and in reinforcing appropriate performance. While on the leadership side, he is very
capable at communicating the specific details pertaining to organizational direction, in inspiring others to follow
them, and in developing key multi-level support relationships in order to push forward and get things done.
EXAMPLE also scored significantly high in his capability to function as a transformational leader. Here we
evaluate the presence of an individual’s personal leadership characteristics, how they actually behave as a leader
and how capable they are at building a supportive culture in which their leadership activities will be successful.
The most effective leaders, like EXAMPLE, will score high on each scale. So not only do they ‘have what it
takes’, they actually use what they have, and they build a supportive environment to sustain what they do.
EXAMPLE’s strengths in this specific assessment, (which are congruent with other results) can be seen in his
ability to evaluate organizational performance, to provide input into higher level organizational direction
decisions, to subsequently set congruent transformational departmental or unit goals, to decisively communicate
the direction that senior management wants everyone to go, and then to confidently provide clear and consistent
leadership.
EXAMPLE’s Management Response Needs
To sustain high motivation and performance, EXAMPLE will perform best with a Manager who:
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Strategically defines the ultimate organizational direction
Presents a clear vision on goals to be achieved within specific time frames
Identifies performance guidelines for direct subordinates
Then provides autonomy
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Believes in the team concept
Displays strong team facilitation skills
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Is open to suggestion and staff input
Encourages idea exchange and innovation
Uses an open and active communication style
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Inspires and leads by example
Mentors and helps develop his people
Educates on mistakes made
Gives regular performance feedback
Gives appropriate support and appreciation
Summary / Performance Facilitation
EXAMPLE has certainly found his ‘calling’ in his career in XX. While technically knowledgeable and skilled, he
is just as much a people person, and he continues to thrive on the active involvement that goes with working in a
service oriented environment. He has enjoyed both the technical aspects of his career and the opportunities that
are available for him to interact with people, to help others (internally and externally), and to be involved with
multi-level collaboration.
As evidenced in this report, EXAMPLE is a highly capable manager with proven leadership skills. These above
average characteristics are supported by his significant technical knowledge, cognitive capability, concentration
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8. CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY
EXAMPLE
skills, motivation, productivity attributes, communication skills and his ability to build strong interpersonal
relationships.
Like all career-oriented people, EXAMPLE will continue to seek out greater challenges and developmental
opportunities. The current transitioning of his cognitive capabilities will facilitate EXAMPLE’s interest in
resolving the higher complexity, greater scope, issues that come with a more senior managerial role. Combined
with his balance of technical capability, managerial abilities, and his leadership skills, EXAMPLE is well
positioned to assume more responsibility and higher level problem solving challenges.
Like everyone, there is always room for growth and improvement. As can be seen in this report, EXAMPLE’s
combined high achievement and success orientation, his high self-confidence, desire for control and desire to
lead, his significant skill at multi-tasking, his attention to detail and his eagerness to take action, in combination,
may cause him to take on too much of a workload – otherwise known as over-committing. This can be common
experience of ‘over-achievers’.
Should over-commitment begin to occur, the easy remedy would be for EXAMPLE to step back, evaluate, and
prioritize his workload, and then to delegate some of those specific detail oriented tasks and activities that would
be more suited to subordinate personnel. Doing so will provide EXAMPLE with more time to focus his efforts on
larger scope analytical, environmental and people-related activities, while at the same time he will be creating
developmental opportunities for his staff.
Jim Gilchrist B.E.S.
It is highly recommended that CAES is contacted to verify the authenticity of this report and to provide further
explanation. This will ensure that the work characteristics mentioned will match your specific requirements for
any hiring decisions, internal promotions, leadership development, or performance improvement.
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EXAMPLE