“The Truth is out there.” –The X Files
We’re all probably looking for the Truth in some version or form, seeking the bottom-line, top-level, last word on subjects we care about. We want to understand, to know with certainty, the meaning and nuance of leadership, our relationships, about our skills and talents. We look for this certainty because we want to make the “right choices” and take the “right actions.” But that certainty often leads to blindness because it mistakes certainty for correctness.
In seeking the Truth, we often find more effective targets in creating grounded opinions. In this effort, we often find that assessments can be a good thing. An assessment adds data points for our consideration. Depending on how valid and reliable an assessment is in measuring its stated domain, it enables a (more) trustworthy perspective and understanding. In turn, this allows us to make more informed decisions.
Importantly, assessments don’t offer the Truth; rather, they offer the client (and coach) a lens through which to view the measured area of interest. The client has the personal responsibility to assess the data and interpretations, discuss with their coach, reflect on and make sense of what the data mean to them, the draw their conclusions and make their choices accordingly. Assessments can act as effective guides to action when weighed carefully.
Part of “assessing the assessment” is to remember that each is designed to focus on a particular domain of interest – values, personality, intelligence or leadership, for example. There is underlying theory and narrative, and often extensive research, to support the construction of the assessment. From a psychometric perspective, the more rigorous the process of demonstrating the predictive relationship between items and core constructs, often indicated by the correlation coefficient and degree of statistical significance, the greater the variance that is accounted for by the assessment.
This issue helps us look at assessments—it’s a bit too much of a stretch to say we are assessing the use of assessment, so let’s say instead we offer a survey of assessment work in coaching. Articles range from their history of assessments, the degree of statistical support for the claims offered, the domain of interest, and their relevance to coaches, clients and their concerns.
In this issue, we are grateful to have a number of new contributors.
Dr. Kim Davis, educational leader and author of Can We Talk? Conversations about Mental Health and Behaviors in School, shares her perspective on why using assessments can be a wise choice by coaches and her preferred choice of instrument to use.
Kim Davis: Coaching for Success
Dr. Johan Naudé, former master trainer and coaching lead for CCL and current CEO of The Table Mountain Consulting Group, offers his perspective about the use of online, self-report and 360 assessments in leadership coaching.
Johan Naude: Online Assessments in Leadership Coaching
Dr. Gary Low, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and Dr. Rick Hammett, contributing faculty at Walden University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership, share the history and rationale of their SCALE assessment, in use for four decades. They also connect this positive assessment instrument to emotional intelligence (EI) as a learning framework and an EI-centric model for professional coaching.
Gary Low: Grounding Professional Coaching Practice
Dr. Alan Graham, President of ACP Consultants and author of Lemonade: The Leader Guide to Resilience at Work, discuses the Youth Resilience Assessment, a strengths-based approach for adolescents and college students. This assessment, with pilot study data shared, is still being researched and already showing promising results for these populations.
Alan Graham: Identifying Resilience Attributes
Dr. Laura Mendelow, Founder and CEO of Mendelow Consulting Group, and her colleagues describe a newly created assessment instrument for leadership, one that includes aspects of polarity thinking and self-determination theory (SDT). If offers a richer and more accurate understanding of underlying personal and interpersonal dynamics.
Laura Mendelow: Dynamic Leadership
You have a lot of food for thought in these excellent articles. Be sure to chew slowly and savor the experience. Enjoy.
Bill Carrier/ Co-Editor
John Lazar/Guest Editor
William Bergquist/Co-Editor