Mohammad akhtar prospective_assessment[1]

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
Mohammad Akhtar's Assessment Results
These are your Top 5 Leadership Characteristics:
Creating the New and Different
You are able to envision a future that no one else sees and invent things that haven’t been
imagined. You focus a lot of your time on gathering information and asking good questions.
Because you value all points of view and look broadly for information, you are able to make
connections across many fields and use analogies that help you think differently about a
problem. During brainstorming, you value the outlandish and the absurd—which can spark
new thinking. You don’t judge. You don’t hem people in. You believe that many people with
different ways of looking at the world will always outperform any one individual’s ideas. You
are not afraid of failure. Fail early, fail often is almost a mantra for you. You expect a result that
will wow clients and strive to make it a reality.
Relating Skills
Most people would say that you are a likable person. You relate well to all kinds of people. You
make other people feel at ease. You are genuinely interested in other people. And you
naturally build relationships by inquiring about people’s interests, priorities, and perspectives.
After spending time with you, people feel like they matter. Your positive, affirming nature
makes others feel important and valued. People are quick to offer the same respect and
consideration back to you.
Being Organizationally Savvy
You see the complexity of an organization—its policies, politics, people. You see navigating
the political maze as a necessary means to get results. You know whom to go to for what
purpose, how to usher a project through a myriad of stakeholders, and which messages or
arguments will influence key decision makers. You are up to speed on titles as well as
personalities and relationships. You gracefully navigate a tangled, high-stakes web of egos,
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Being Organizationally Savvy: Top 5 Characteristics (Cont'd)
agendas, changing priorities, and sometimes outrageous demands. You leverage your
understanding of the organizational landscape to adjust your approach for the best outcome.
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.
Making Tough People Calls
You are able to accurately assess other people’s strengths and weaknesses. By carefully
observing a person’s behavior, you are able to see patterns that help you predict how well that
person will perform in different roles or situations. You use this insight to match people to
assignments, decide whom to hire or whom to promote, and make the tough people calls
necessary to sustain a quality pipeline of talent on your team and in your organization.
Page 2 of 14

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:
Dealing with Trouble
One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is challenging the status quo, dealing with
dilemmas, and handling conflict with others. Leaders that fail to do this effectively risk a
divided team, a resentful staff, and a culture of mistrust.
Take the long view – Giving negative feedback is uncomfortable in the moment, but
withholding such feedback can be a disservice in the long-term. Honest feedback opens
lines of communication and opens the door for development and improvement over time.
•
Commit to transparency – Everyone should be held to the same standards of behavior,
and processes for receiving feedback and addressing problems should be uniform across
the team. Make sure everyone is clear on what the standards and practices are and try to
keep rules consistent over time.
•
Build trust – Consistency, honesty, and respect are essential ingredients to building trust.
Feedback should be given consistently, in private, and whenever possible, in person.
Remove anger and generalizations from your message (i.e., “always,” “never”). Point out
specific behaviors that need changing and collaborate on a shared plan for improvement.
•
Acting with Honor and Character
Let’s face it, we’ve all found ourselves contemplating the low road at one time or another. Part
of acting with integrity is knowing yourself and knowing the kinds of situations that tempt you
away from doing the right thing.
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Acting with Honor and Character: Blind Spots (Cont'd)
Increase self-awareness – In any given situation, take a close look at what’s motivating
you. The more you have to gain from a particular path of action, the more vigilant you
should be about the quality of your decision. Stay on the lookout for emotionally driven
behavior, and if you’re feeling confused about the right action to take, seek counsel from
someone you trust.
•
Avoid double standards – Let fairness be your guide. This means holding yourself and
others accountable for maintaining a culture of honesty and integrity. Making exceptions for
yourself, or anyone else, will undermine your credibility and erode trust in the organization
as a whole.
•
Be a good steward – Good stewardship is about acting in a way that protects the long-
term success of an organization. If your organization is encouraging bad behavior, working
to turn those forces around is part of your role as a protector.
•
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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:
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.
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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.
Doesn't Relate Well to Others
Everyone knows someone who has enjoyed unbridled career success, despite their less-than-
winning interpersonal skills. Those exceptional people are out there, but they are exceptions
indeed. Far more often than not, people who lack openness, flexibility, graciousness, and
social sensitivity tend not to advance as quickly in their careers as people who do possess
those skills. If you find yourself cutting people off in mid-sentence, reacting defensively when
your ideas are challenged, pulling rank instead of negotiating, or losing patience with people
who differ from you, there’s a good chance that you’re not relating to others as effectively as
you could be. Improving in this area will be essential to your success, and not doing so is likely
to slow or stall your career progress.
Open up to feedback – Negative feedback, upsetting as it may be, is also incredibly
valuable information. And the person who gave you that honest feedback has done you a
favor. Practice active listening, thanking the source for his or her thoughts, and
summarizing what you heard. This will increase the likelihood that that person will come to
you with similar concerns in the future.
•
Demonstrate humility – Ironically, as people become more self-assured, they also tend to
let go of their need to be “right” and allow for more healthy debate and flexibility in their
thinking. If you catch yourself digging in your heels or shutting down people who disagree
•
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Doesn't Relate Well to Others: Problem Areas (Cont'd)
with you, challenge yourself to slow down, take a breath, and really consider other ways of
looking at the issue.
Foster collegiality – The people who work with you may not be your friends, and you may
not even like them very much. But they most certainly are your colleagues, and because
they also serve your organization, you have a very important goal in common. Try to foster
professional respect for your colleagues, even if true admiration or friendship is unlikely.
•
Self-Centered
Who can argue with ambitiousness and self-esteem? No one. You have to believe in yourself
and promote yourself to get ahead in this world. But in the absence of real self-awareness,
your efforts at self-promotion could be backfiring on you. Bringing self-awareness into the mix
means paying close attention to your strengths and your weaknesses, opening yourself up to
lessons and insights from others, and sharing wins with everyone who contributed along the
way. A little humility can help you tone down the potential negative effects of healthy self-
confidence. Letting go of your need to impress others will have the paradoxical effect of
increasing your overall likability. Holding on to a self-centered approach with others can tax
your relationships and ultimately slow or stall your career progress.
Trace the source of your success – It’s easy, in the wake of a big success, to recall the
ingenious contributions you brought to the table. But the simple reality is that practically
nothing gets accomplished in a vacuum. Think back on all the doors that were opened,
thoughts shared, and even extra grunt work done that helped push that ball toward the
goal. Then hand out the thank-yous.
•
Work on your brand – Who are you to the people around you? Who are you in your
organization? You might be charismatic and bright and talented and assertive, but unless
you have the real support of others, your personal brand may be suffering. Try adding
“good listener, facilitator, collaborator, and encourager” to your repertoire.
•
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Self-Centered: Problem Areas (Cont'd)
Team build – Teams form around a sense of shared vision, effort, risk, and reward. People
connect to efforts they feel personally invested and involved in. When someone on the
team is overdriving or dominating the effort, the fabric of the team begins to fray. Hang
back, draw people out, and let the synergy begin.
•
Doesn't Inspire or Build Talent
One of the toughest career transitions you’ll ever face is making the switch from individual
contributor to leader. When you’re used to relying entirely on yourself, it can be a shock to find
yourself at the mercy of a team. Anyone in a new leadership role struggles with how to
relinquish control, trust others, inspire people to bring their best, build a sense of team
cohesion, identify individual strengths, and grow leadership capabilities in others. If you
struggle in these areas, welcome to the club. But if you want to be a leader, it’s essential that
you learn how to inspire and grow the people on your team by providing the right balance of
direction, coaching, and support. You will see improvements in this area as you begin to give
up some control and depend upon others. Not doing so will likely slow or stall your career
progress.
Be a leader – Contrary to what many people believe, emerging as a leader is not about
dominating, outshining, and beating others to the punch. Great leaders are people who
know how to elicit outstanding work from their team and help develop leadership
capabilities in others. Great leaders listen closely to their team, cue into individual
strengths, and step aside so others can practice taking the lead.
•
Keep it safe – Healthy debate is part of any strong team, but triangulation, favoritism,
trash-talking, or sabotage is not. If you’re leading a team, you’re also helping to set the
tone for what’s acceptable. Allowing for bad behavior makes the team unsafe and
unhealthy. It’s all right to be the downer sometimes, set limits, and referee so that people
can relax and connect and do their best work.
•
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Doesn't Inspire or Build Talent: Problem Areas (Cont'd)
Delegate to develop – Delegation is not only about leveraging your team and increasing
efficiency, it’s also about developing the members of your team. Bringing them closer to
tough decision making, complex problem solving, and personal investment means you’re
not overburdened, and they’re stretching and growing on the job.
•
Doesn't Deliver Results
One of the most fundamental insights we’ve gleaned from years of researching career success
and failure is that no one is immune to the age-old pressure of getting stuff done. The most
successful individual contributors all the way up to the most successful CEOs share one
important trait in common: they deliver quality results on time. Do they deliver perfect results?
Nope. But they are mindful of their commitments, keep their word, and follow through. Their
secret to success is knowing how to separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves,
recognizing when a solution is “good enough,” and getting the ball over the goal line on time. If
you find yourself offering long-winded excuses as to why you missed a deadline, or choosing
to do something perfectly rather than promptly, you likely need to improve in your ability to
deliver results. If you take responsibility for your work, communicate your commitments, and
follow through, you will be on your way to rebuilding trust and credibility. Not doing so is likely
to slow or stall your career progress.
Show perfection the door – One of the primary reasons people fail to deliver results on
time is that they’re overly invested in delivering a perfect product. Fear of failure, obsessing
over the details, and fixating on doing things “right” are other signs of perfectionism. The
irony is that perfectionism will cost you much more in the long run than delivering a less-
than-stellar but good enough product. Take a breath, go for the B+, and turn it in on time.
•
Take it frame by frame – Large projects can be daunting, and their distant deadlines can
interfere with motivation. Break projects down into smaller parts and set weekly goals for
yourself. Then, team with others to bring fresh energy and ideas to the table throughout the
•
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Doesn't Deliver Results: Problem Areas (Cont'd)
project. Having your project on other people’s radar can help keep you and your team
accountable to the goals you set.
Internalize your locus of control – Owning your ability to influence outcomes
communicates confidence. Others are naturally drawn to people who take ownership of
their successes and failures, avoid a passive stance, and believe in their ability to affect
change. The difference between “I influence the situation” and “The situation influences
me” is subtle but significant and will help you gain a sense of power and effectiveness in
your job.
•
Page 10 of 14

Korn/Ferry Insights
Here’s how you compare to others:
Creating the New and Different
Creating the New and Different is correlated with strong performance at the manager and
executive levels. Most people’s skill level in Creating the New and Different is low, and it is
harder to develop than most leadership skills. For these reasons, it is a good idea to focus on
developing this skill as early as possible in your career. Your ability to generate breakthroughs
will be noticed, appreciated, and sought after because it is the source of competitive
advantage that companies seek.
Relating Skills
Relating Skills are particularly important at the individual contributor level. Most people’s skill in
this area is high, and it is moderately difficult to develop. Leaders who are skilled in this area
are also likely to be skilled in Managing Diverse Relationships and Being Open and Receptive.
While the presence of these interpersonal skills may not be enough to get you promoted, the
absence of these skills can stymie your progression up the leadership ladder.
Being Organizationally Savvy
Being Organizationally Savvy is moderately important across all leadership levels. It is a rare
skill at the individual contributor level, but leaders steadily improve as they rise to the manager
and executive levels. Slow but steady improvement is laudable, given that this is one of the
hardest leadership skills to develop. Your ability to navigate organizational mazes to get things
done can mean the difference between stalled initiatives and moving things forward.
Caring About Others
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Caring About Others: Korn/Ferry Insights (Cont'd)
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.
Making Tough People Calls
Making Tough People Calls is important at the manager and executive levels, but few people
have this skill, regardless of leadership level. Making Tough People Calls requires keen
observational skills, the ability to assess accurately, and the courage to make the decision to
hire, fire, or promote. For these reasons, Making Tough People Calls is moderately difficult to
develop. People who are skilled at Making Tough People Calls are often also good at Dealing
with Trouble.
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 improves 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
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Dealing with Trouble: Korn/Ferry Insights (Cont'd)
that by the time you lead and manage others, you are prepared to handle tough, controversial
situations.
Acting with Honor and Character
Acting with Honor and Character is ranked highest in importance compared to all other
leadership skills. It is the foundation upon which all other leadership skills are built. Most
people are highly skilled in Acting with Honor and Character. It is moderately difficult to
develop. Often a good place to start developing this leadership quality is to reflect on and
articulate your values.
Doesn't Relate Well to Others
Doesn’t Relate Well to Others is a staller that can slow your career progress. Doesn’t Relate
Well to Others is somewhat likely to be a problem across all levels of leadership; however, it is
somewhat more common at the executive level. While it is less harmful than other stallers, it is
a factor that can lead to flame-out at the manager and executive levels. Many leaders
underestimate this problem to some degree. Defensiveness, inflexibility, being too private or
self-reliant can derail your career or cause it to prematurely plateau.
Self-Centered
Self-Centered is a staller that can slow your career progress. Compared to other stallers, it is
less likely to be a problem for most people. It is somewhat harmful to success, and it is a
known derailer, particularly at the manager level. Being too ambitious, arrogant, or
untrustworthy will be perceived negatively and can derail your career or cause it to
prematurely plateau.
Doesn't Inspire or Build Talent
Doesn’t Inspire or Build Talent is a staller that can slow your career progress. Compared to
other stallers, Doesn’t Inspire or Build Talent is the most likely to be a problem, and it is more
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Doesn't Inspire or Build Talent: Korn/Ferry Insights (Cont'd)
harmful to success. Many leaders underestimate this problem to some degree. This area is a
known derailer, especially at the manager and executive levels. The inability to select,
develop, and empower talent will choke your ability to get results and lead a healthy,
productive team.
Doesn't Deliver Results
Doesn’t Deliver Results is a staller that can slow your career progress. Compared to other
stallers, Doesn’t Deliver Results is least likely to be a problem, but it is most harmful to
success. It is a known derailer, especially at the individual contributor and executive levels.
Being disorganized, wasting resources, and being unproductive will result in a work product
that does not meet expectations or exceeds budgets and deadlines.
Page 14 of 14

Mohammad akhtar prospective_assessment[1]

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Mohammad akhtar prospective_assessment[1]