Korn/Ferry Assessment

Copyright © 2011 Lominger International, a Korn/Ferry company. All Rights Reserved.
Korn/Ferry’s ProSpective Assessment is an online assessment tool created by Korn/Ferry International to assist LinkedIn users with their career
development. Leadership characteristics are based on research by Lominger International, a Korn/Ferry company.
ProSpective Assessment
Stephen Walker's Assessment Results
These are your Top 5 Leadership Characteristics:
Focusing on the Bottom Line
You are achievement oriented. You are eager to take action and see results. Even when you
encounter obstacles, your energy and perseverance keep you going. You are motivated and
optimistic. At your best, you ensure that your actions are focused rather than letting
momentum take over. You attribute much of your strong performance to your sense of
urgency, drive, and resilience.
Getting Organized
You are steady and calm in situations that others find overwhelming. When you are faced with
ever-increasing demands, when you are under pressure to keep up the pace, you approach
your work with focused attention and careful planning. You manage your time well. You have
the ability to call upon the appropriate resources at a moment’s notice in order to advance the
project or deliverable. You are constantly monitoring, thinking ahead, and making timely
adjustments in order to avoid obstacles and keep things moving on track.
Dealing with Trouble
You are willing to stick your neck out. You have the courage to challenge the status quo and
bring up ideas that may make others uncomfortable. People count on you to stand up, speak
your mind respectfully, and not let others off the hook. It’s something they admire about you
because they know it’s not easy to do. With you, people know where they stand. You do not
hesitate to confront problem performers, deal with conflict, or deliver negative feedback. Your
approach is productive, not threatening. And you are able to keep your own personal feelings
in check. Challenge, conflict, and hardship do not deter you from leading. In fact, you are
energized by tough challenges.
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Top 5 Characteristics (Cont'd)
Caring About Others
People matter to you. You take a personal interest in their well-being. You care about others,
and you’re willing to help them when they are in trouble. You may be focused on getting
results, but you make time for people. You take time to check in and see how they are doing.
You are not afraid to show kindness and compassion. You recognize that you can be both a
strong, respected leader and a caring, compassionate person. It is not a paradox for you. You
balance caring and confidence as complementary leadership qualities.
Managing Work Processes
You understand and manage processes well. You know that the best processes are dynamic
and require constant evaluation and tweaking. You see how all the pieces fit together and how
one affects the other. You build in feedback loops and monitor key metrics. Optimizing for
efficiency is something you focus on—you are always looking for continuous improvement.
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Potential Blind Spots
Blind spots are characteristics that you overestimate. You are likely to see yourself as stronger in these skills than
others see you. A self assessment can give you insight on potential areas for self improvement, however, asking
others for their input by doing a network assessment will give you far greater insight on your blind spots. Here are
your potential blind spots and some ideas for next steps:
Balancing Work/Life
Does your boss care if you have a life outside the office? Probably not. But most bosses know
that a happy employee is an employee who spends time with friends, writes an occasional
limerick, and reads stories to his or her kids.
Just say no – You are the only one on earth who can push back on work when its time to
eat a healthy lunch, exercise, attend your child’s recital, or have a relaxed dinner with your
partner. In the long run, forgoing these things will likely decrease, not increase, your overall
productivity.
•
Reset your standards – If you’re striving for perfection at work and at home, you’re in for
a tough ride. Take a cue from the world’s most productive, successful people and give
yourself room to be pretty darn good most of the time. This means you’ll get almost
everything done by the end of the day and still have time for a quick round of Ping-Pong®.
•
Team up – Try teaming up with coworkers to create a backup system. Everyone needs to
take a day off, sometimes unexpectedly. Serving as backup for one another can take the
pressure off when you really need a break.
•
Demonstrating Personal Flexibility
Clearly, our world is in constant flux. And as the pace of change accelerates on all of us,
organizations have become keenly aware of their need for people who can tuck and roll and
keep their balance in a context of continuous change.
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Demonstrating Personal Flexibility: Blind Spots (Cont'd)
Keep learning – Getting better and better at something you’re already good at does not
grow you as fast as pushing past your comfort zone and entering unfamiliar terrain. Seek
out classes, opportunities to cross-team, or even lateral moves that will allow you to
exercise new muscles and break up your routine.
•
Start again, and again – Resilience used to be a term used mostly in psychology and
sports, but it’s creeping into the business lexicon. It refers to one’s ability to bounce back
from setbacks, losses, or simple failure. Your grace in the face of such challenges and your
ability to get back on the horse will communicate your resilience.
•
Think solutions – Where there’s a problem, there’s always a solution (or at least a brave
attempt at one). Identifying problems is an important part of any job, but looking deep into
the heart of a problem and coming up with a recommended course of action is what
separates the truly nimble from the rest of us.
•
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Potential Hidden Strengths
Hidden strengths are characteristics that you underestimate. You are likely to see yourself as weaker in these
skills than others see you. A self assessment can give you insight on potential areas for self improvement,
however, asking others for their input by doing a network assessment will give you far greater insight on your
hidden strengths. Here are your potential hidden strengths:
Keeping on Point
You have discipline. Despite all of the tasks and challenges vying for your attention, you sort
through competing priorities and stay focused. You have your favorite tricks for doing
this—setting aside blocks of time, finding ways to minimize interruptions, making decisions
quickly. You know that it’s not enough to be busy. Your concentrated focus produces
meaningful accomplishments.
Communicating Effectively
You are clear and credible when you communicate. You are knowledgeable about the topic.
You have an interest and a passion in the message. And you are in tune with your audience.
You adjust your message and delivery appropriately for the audience. You are an articulate,
engaging speaker and a strong writer. Your use of stories, visuals, descriptions, and tone
captivate the reader or the listener. You effectively inform, persuade, coach, and inspire.
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Problem Areas
Problem areas can be hard to talk about. However, we want to arm you with as much information as possible
about the roots of success as well as known causes of derailment. Through studying the career trajectories of
thousands of individual contributors, managers, and executives, we’ve identified the five most common barriers
to career success. If you suspect one or more of these areas is a problem for you, the section below will provide
initial steps toward improvement.
This assessment did not generate any problem areas for you.
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Korn/Ferry Insights
Here’s how you compare to others:
Focusing on the Bottom Line
Focusing on the Bottom Line is critically important. It is highly correlated with performance and
promotion at the individual contributor and manager levels. Most people tend to be good at
this, partially because organizations clearly communicate their desire for people who get
results, and it’s easy to identify and measure this skill in others. Focusing on the Bottom Line
is a non-negotiable for anyone who wants to succeed at work.
Getting Organized
Getting Organized is important at all leadership levels, particularly at the individual contributor
and manager levels where it is highly correlated with strong performance. Most people are
moderately skilled at Getting Organized, and for those who need to improve, it is easier to
develop than most leadership skills. Planning, marshalling resources, and multi-tasking are
key, especially for leaders who are charged with efficient execution.
Dealing with Trouble
Dealing with Trouble is highly correlated with strong performance at the manager level.
Dealing with Trouble is a rare skill among individual contributors but is more common at the
manager and executive levels. It takes courage to handle conflict, deliver tough feedback, and
stick your neck out for an unpopular idea. These are the things that make Dealing with Trouble
harder to develop. It is a good idea to begin to develop this skill as early as possible in your
career so that by the time you lead and manage others, you are prepared to handle tough,
controversial situations.
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Korn/Ferry Insights (Cont'd)
Caring About Others
Most people are moderately skilled in Caring About Others, and it is moderately difficult to
develop. Leaders who are skilled in Caring About Others also tend to be skilled in Managing
Diverse Relationships and Being Open and Receptive. Taking an interest in others and
showing kindness and concern demonstrate how much you value others and can impact your
ability to lead and influence others.
Managing Work Processes
Managing Work Processes is highly correlated with strong performance at the manager level.
Managers are often responsible for seeing the big picture and understanding how the pieces
interrelate. Most people are low in this skill, and it is moderately difficult to develop. The ability
to see a process as a dynamic system and to understand how tweaks create ripple effects is a
vital contribution to a business and will differentiate you from other leaders.
Keeping on Point
Keeping on Point is very important across all leadership levels, particularly at the manager
level where it is highly correlated with strong performance. However, the skill level for most
people in Keeping on Point is moderate when compared to other leadership skills. Fortunately,
it is easier to develop than most leadership skills. The ability to set priorities and stay focused
is not common—it will differentiate you from your peers.
Communicating Effectively
Communicating Effectively is particularly important at the individual contributor level. The
number of people who are good communicators tends to be lower at the individual contributor
level but steadily increases among managers and executives. With a little effort, this skill is not
hard to develop. The ability to tailor your delivery and clearly articulate your points builds
credibility for both you and your message.
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Korn/Ferry Insights (Cont'd)
Balancing Work/Life
Balancing Work/Life ranks among the lowest skills for leaders at all levels, and it is harder to
develop than most leadership skills. Ultimately, the way you balance between work and life is
a personal choice. The ability to consciously make trade-offs and get what you want out of
your career and personal life will help you balance career achievement with other things you
value.
Demonstrating Personal Flexibility
Demonstrating Personal Flexibility is a very low skill for most people. It is also harder for
people to develop because it involves the willingness to respond to feedback and to change.
Change can be hard for people, and personal change can be even more challenging. People
often overestimate their ability in this area; it is a common blind spot across all levels of
leadership. Enhancing your ability to adjust, adapt, and flex in response to feedback or
changing conditions will make you a resilient and nimble leader.
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