There is more to administering a personality test than simply handing out a questionnaire and saying “go.” Getting value from a test requires thought and preparation beforehand, and understanding of how to use the results afterward. Here are some dos and don’ts to consider:

DO write a personality description for the job before arranging for testing. Identifying an ideal personality will help you to determine which test you should be using and what traits you should be measuring, says Stephen Friedman, executive coach and professor of organizational behavior at York University in Toronto. “You need a reason to test for personality,” Friedman says, “and to measure [the results] against certain criteria.”

DO ensure you discuss the results as a tool for change. When administering a test, it’s important to have a discussion with your team about how you can apply its results in practice, says Gary Bernier, a facilitator of several personality systems and founder of Soft Skills Expert Inc. in Toronto. “Too often, people get their results,” Bernier says, “and then go back to work the next day and communicate in the same way as before.”

DO discuss how the results can help with your advisory practice. For example, if there is a conflict between a process-oriented person and a quick starter, you must ensure they understand each other’s way of working and help them figure out what steps they can take to resolve that gap.

DO use the results to help you see what you can change about yourself. Too often, we think it’s the other people who have to change, says Friedman. “It has to be about the adjustment you make to [deal with] their personalities,” he says, “not changes you expect others to make for you.”

For example, if you find that your spontaneous-action orange personality is interfering with your assistant’s process-oriented gold persona, don’t assume your assistant needs to loosen up. Try to see what you can do to accommodate his or her need for process. It could be as simple as emailing an assignment instead of casually telling your assistant what
he or she needs to do.

DON’T assume candidates will always behave the same way. “Although people can be categorized [by tests], they can also be dynamic,” Friedman says. “We don’t want to use tests as another yardstick we judge others by.”

So, if your assistant is a blue (emotional), don’t assume he or she will always act on emotion alone.

DON’T use tests as a way to point out how someone needs to change. A personality assessment should be used to help a person get deeper insight into his or her orientation toward problem-solving and communication. It’s up to that person, Friedman says, to figure out how to use that information.

Asking people to change their personality type, he adds, is “like asking them to change their eye colour.”

—OLIVIA GLAUBERZON