Strengthscope® and me!

Using psychometrics and personality profiles at work

I’ve been working in HR for 25 years. I was lucky at the start of my HR career to work for an amazing,forward-thinking, progressive, organisation within an equally fantastic HR team. 

Early on I was given many chances to learn new skills including qualifying to use a variety of psychometric tools and personality profilers. And I used them all!

As the years went on, I started to lose interest in the novelty of these tools as none of them seemed to have any lasting positive impacts on those that went through the assessments. 

There would be an initial moment of self-awareness, a small commitment for a change of some sort and then within a few months it would be as if the person had never really gained any additional insights to improve their lives at work.

Another downside to these tools was also a huge ability for people and teams to misinterpret their results. Employees would say things like: ‘I can’t talk to her, she’s a RED and I’m a YELLOW!’ or ‘I can’t plan and organise because I’m the spontaneous type’. If you’ve ever been through some of these assessments you’ll know what I’m talking about.

My intro to Strengthscope®

Then, back in 2010, I was introduced to Strengthscope®. This was a tool based in positive psychology that tapped into what really gave people energy at work and what drained them. My mind was blown!

My own Strengthscope® profile gave me insights that I had never had before. It gave me a level of awareness that helped me join so many unexplained dots. There were times in my career where I’d had feedback that I just didn’t understand, and now Strengthscope® helped me make sense of it all. 

I understood why, despite being very capable at maths as a teenager, I was never going to train as an accountant (despite the job recommendation from my careers teacher at school!). I also understood why it was so satisfying to me to see people achieve their potential .

Using Strengthscope® with others

I started using Strengthscope® with individuals and teams with amazing results. I saw people start to make sense of themselves at work. They understood their barriers to success and how to constructively overcome difficulties when working with colleagues. I saw people re-evaluate their roles and careers, often realising that they had been pigeon-holed because they were ‘good at’ something rather than really getting energised by their responsibilities. 

What was more amazing was that the positive impacts gained from Strengthscope® were long-lasting. These weren’t novelty insights, these actually struck enough of a note with people to make them sit up and listen and act accordingly.

In my own life and career, my Strengthscope® profile has been my north star. It has guided my career choices and given me the courage to remove myself from roles that I wasn’t well suited to. It has given me a more useful language with which to work with, and coach, managers and leaders.

Of all the work I do as an HR consultant, supporting individuals and team’s growth using Strengthscope® is definitely my number one activity.

If you’d like to hear more about Strengthscope® and how I can support you, your team, and organisation, contact me at alex@alexkotsos.com

N.B. Image courtesy of Nick Fewings on Unsplash