What are the top 5 tests psychometric tests to choose from? I was recently asked to write an article on this. Obviously, I'm biased. My journey to seek a personality test that was relevant for our modern era led me to create Wealth Dynamics (and the corporate version, Talent Dynamics), so no guesses for which of the 5 is my favourite :-) But I have posted this article as it gives some insight into where all psychometric tests come from...
Psychometric and personality tests help you put the right people in the right jobs. You can increase productivity by getting staff to focus at their strengths and you can increase your own performance by using the leadership and learning styles that suit you and your team.
Before we get into the best tests to take, it’s worth looking at the reason WHY so many people use psychometric tests. Here’s our top 10 reasons:
The TOP 10 REASONS you should use psychometric tests
Here are the top ten reasons why businesses and employees take over 80 million psychometric and personality tests every year:
- Increase performance with the right people in the right place
- Build team work through better a respect of differences
- Train leaders in their optimum leadership style
- Increase sales by tailoring communication styles
- Increase employee retention by keeping staff in flow
- Effective recuitment, selecting the right personality fit
- Fit training to learning styles
- Avoid placing staff in their area of weakness
- Design performance measures to suit each person’s strengths
- Increased confidence and sense of identity for everyone in the team
The BIG FAILURE with psychometric tests
The problem is, there are many tests to choose from, and many have become out-of-date or less relevant in today’s fast-changing markets. You can waste a lot of time with the wrong test, getting wrapped up in jargon or struggling to apply it to your business model or industry.
That’s why we’ve decided to make things simple with our summary of the top tests.
The TOP 5 TESTS for you to choose from
Here is our view of the top five tests today, and how they compare:
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Launched in 1962, this old classic has been around for close to 50 years. Taking the test results in one of 16 types with titles like “ESTJ” and “INFP”. These refer to four polarities (such as extroversion / introversion and thinking / feeling). The test is used to assess preferences without easy links to strategies or role models, so really require an expert to interpret the results and translate it into effective action.
DISC profile: Launched in 1928, this system is simpler, and more intuitive. DISC refers to the four behaviour types the test assesses: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. It is more focused at behaviours than preferences, but has the same Jungian roots as MBTI, and there are correlations to the two. Teams find DISC easier to grasp and explain back than MBTI, but both systems lack clear strategies for success, or tailored tools for specific industries or modern challenges.
Strength Finder: A more modern test created by Gallup and championed by Marcus Buckingham, Strength Finder focuses at your strengths rather than focusing on preferences or behaviours. The test identifies your top 5 strengths out of a possible 34. Accompanied with a relevant modern philosophy (focus at your strengths and you will be happier and more productive for it), this test is more prescriptive on proactive strategy than MBTI and DISC, but lacks an intuitive model that team members can transfer (Few can remember all 34 strengths, let alone how they relate to each other). It also does not identify top weaknesses, in either individuals or teams.
Wealth Dynamics: Created eight years ago by Roger James Hamilton, a social entrepreneur and founder of XL Nation, Wealth Dynamics has rapidly grown into the most widely adopted profiling systems for entrepreneurs and business owners around the world. The corporate version, Talent Dynamics, is now being implemented by companies and organisations to build trust and flow in their teams. The reason for the success of this system is that it links both your strengths and weaknesses to your preferences, and then gives you clear role models and strategies to follow. It takes the very best of MBTI, DISC and Strength Finder, and delivers to you a system that is intuitive, relevant and easy to explain to others.
Five-Factor Model (Big Five): This last of the five is not an established test like the other four, but it is the acknowledged system by which the behavioural sciences industry and psychologists assess all psychometric tests. It identifies the five factors that make up our personality and that all tests seek to measure. These are: Openness (are you more curious or cautious?); Conscientiousness (are you more organized or careless?); Extraversion (are you more outgoing or reserved?); Agreeableness (are you more friendly or cold); and Neuroticism (are you more sensitive or secure?). Ensure the system you choose does a good job at measuring all five of these elements.
Do all psychometric tests have the same roots?
A trait of modern man is that we like to take credit for new inventions, but psychometric tests go back 5,000 years. Today’s entire psychometric testing industry is based on the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and his book Psychological Types published in 1921. Jung was the understudy of Sigmund Freud until he broke off with his own theories of psychology. If you have ever heard of the concept of archetypes, synchronicity or the collective unconscious, these are all terms popularized by Carl Jung (as are the Jungian psychometry terms of introvert / extrovert, and sensory / intuitive).
Where did Jung’s information come from? In 1920, a year before he published ‘Psychological Types”, Carl Jung was the first in the west to publish the ancient Chinese text, the I Ching (The book of Changes, said by the Chinese to be the oldest book of humanity, written in 3,000 BC). Richard Wilhelm, who brought the text back from China, explained to Jung the intricacies of the Chinese five elements which are the basis of Chinese Taoist philosophy and the nature of all things (WATER grows WOOD that fuels FIRE that settles to EARTH which mines METAL that flows back to WATER).
These five elements relate to the five factors in the established Five-Factor Model. The structure of the five elements and the ‘Yin’ / ‘Yang’ model of the I Ching Philosophy are the underpinnings for all modern psychometric testing. The Wealth Dynamics system is the only one of the modern systems that goes right back to the roots of where modern psychometric testing comes from, to the primary purpose that the ancient Chinese had within the I Ching.
This primary purpose is for us to find our flow. When we are connected to our flow, we are following our personal path of least resistance, when things come naturally and synchronicity occurs. This is a far deeper notion than simply having preferences, behaviours or even strengths. At the core of all mastery, we know that when we tune into the world, the world also tunes in to us. When an entire team gets into flow – by synchronizing everyone’s flow into one harmony – magic occurs.
Watch the video on the seven truths of Wealth Dynamics:
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3 comments:
Brilliant post Roger. Really sums up the best east-west forms of understanding human preferred experience and flow.
- www.elphiecoyle.com
also,
Check out ipersonic.com for a 4 question, 2 answers each Myers Briggs test.
mypersonality.info for a comprehensive one
and similarminds.com for a range of all tests.
Except for the best test I've found of course, the Wealth Dynamics one, buy that one here: http://wdprofiletest.com/?a_aid=5eec20da
;)
- www.elphiecoyle.com
The only one you left out that I actually think is the best though is the Kolbe A Index and for some people combined with the Kolbe MO
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