Something borrowed, something true, a look back on the old, and a hint of new.

Self Assessments, The Old & The New

“Something borrowed, something true, a lookback on something old, and a hint of new."

In the 80s, every teen magazine had quizzes and horoscopes on everything from style guides to relationships to types of jobs we’d have when we grew up. I took every quiz from my teal painted bedroom hoping for answers on what was next. The sky was the limit but sometimes, a little direction helped guide me to what is in my future.

Today, pop-up quizzes range from imposter syndrome blockages to fashion to what boundaries we need on every device. And yes, I still take them when I feel called.

A former HR executive pal mentioned, over a summer dinner, that “a rise in self assessments both paid for by the company and employees alike, are everyone’s attempt to personalize a performance plan. In a downsizing environment, assessments can help distinguish associates looking to take initiative on their own careers and not wait to be laid off or get pay reduction. Ultimately, it’s all just data to use to prove your career worth.”

Quizzes feed our need to belong to a group of like minded humans. The working world loves tests and quizzes to round out teams with a mix of people to ensure success for sales roles.  

The quizzes at work range from work styles, communication methods, team dynamics, negotiations ideas and managerial types. 

The OG Assessments—a certified practitioner is required

Myers Briggs, a heavily used organizational tool, was my entry point to how I work. I was specifically told to take it as a woman at work, not at home. The Myers Briggs, created in the 1940s by health care workers in WW2 is only talked about if you worked in the 90s. As an ENTJ, my leadership style is classified as extroverted, intuitive, thinking, judging as one of the 16 combinations. My style is “frank, decisive, able to assume leadership readily. Quickly sees illogical and inefficient procedures and policies, solves organizational problems.” This test lacks a true scaling that helps you live in the human world filled with gray areas. The Myers Briggs boxes us in rather than showing us a way forward in our careers.

My DISC assessment sits in my closet with a pile of other workbooks, failing to give me real direction in it’s simplicity. DISC, a behavioral self-assessment tool, helps people understand themselves and others by categorizing them into four traits: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. This test, based on emotional and behavioral theories, was first published in 1928 to wrap several questions around behavioral style, tendencies, needs, preferred environment, and behavior.  It’s simple and sometimes conversation provoking but also very work-biased in it’s analysis.

A complex personal deep dive into your style (and all of your teammates’ styles) is the Leadership Circle. It is both a self assessment and personal behavioral examination. You can do this on your own but evaluating the comments about yourself from friends at work can be so tough. Like a tree’s leaves that show themselves proudly and the roots what festers under the surface causing potential derailers. I love this despite it’s price point. If you are really ready to level up, the LC is the test for you to run to avoid massive blind spots everyone notices but you.

Honorable mention: Strength Finder, Enneagram, Company run 360 practices.

New new new

To honor our mental viability, quizzes can reduce imposter syndrome by reminding us what is true. You are good at a lot of things and bring these structures to the team you lead. There is a new tool, Human Design (HD), which is complex window into your patterns. Perhaps the most shocking info is that it can easily help you in the workplace.

My retreat guests in 2024 were treated to a deep dive into the 4 HD profiles: Manifesting Generator, Generator, Reflector, Projector.

The Human Design wraps together aspects of two types of science: ancient methods of Astrology, the Chinese I’Ching, the Chakras and The Tree of Life tradition; and the contemporary disciplines of Quantum Mechanics, Astronomy, Genetics, and Biochemistry. 

Hannah, @_journeytowell and founder of Journey to Well, works with business owners and individuals to “tap into how your unique energy moves through this world.”

Working with clients in career transitions or career uplevels, human design is a great way to look at shift.  Hannah encourages you to specifically look at your Human Design profile. Reading about your unique personality may inspire ideas on how to pursue certain career paths.

Hannah’s viewpoint is refreshing and open minded rather than the old school boxed in approaches that spit out after answering 300 questions. “Human Design isn't a tool to put you in a box, rather one to invite more flow & alignment in business and life. As we take time to better understand ourselves, we expand our capacity to show up” at work. 

If you are in your mid career and want a shift,  I love how Hannah frames using HD as a tool. “Nothing changes if nothing changes, right? Learning human design was such a permission slip for me. Learning my unique design & how I'm created to move through this world has provided clarity, confidence and assurance that I'm not "broken", "messed up" or "incompetent" - I may just be different than the person next to me. At our core, whether it's a boss breaking our ego, a career shift, we all want to feel enough. HD is a mirror that invites us to accept even the pieces of us that we have pushed to the shadows or hidden from the world.

Regardless of where you are in the career shift, using any assessment can help unravel part of feeling stuck!