My first sessions with Dan focused on an introduction to the coaching process and the results of my attribute assessment. It also marked the end of my passive participation in this process, as I now have homework(!) and Dan's expectation is that my discussion drives our sessions from here on out. Luckily, I haven't often been short of things to say. Insightful things? That's another story.
I''m always fascinated with the results of personal assessments I've taken over my career. Why don't they have this stuff in high school? Mine might have saved me a trip to the emergency room by indicating I had no business trying to pole vault. Some simple bullet points about participating in sports that are land-based, explore activities that engage your mind and don't, whatever you do, talk about girls you like with seniors who think it's fun to watch a sophomore squirm ... invaluable. But I digress.
This assessment consisted of two exercises of matching statements based on my agreement or values. Pretty painless, as far as assessments go. I think it took all of ten minutes and I didn't spend a lot of time second-guessing. That makes me believe that the results are a truer indication of who I really am.
As Dan mentioned, I scored higher (if that's the right terminology, probably not) in the areas of big picture thinking and human interaction with the company/process/system. The reason I've always enjoyed these assessments is that I invariably agree with the results, based on my self-perception. Not only that, but I also tend to think that the areas I score high on are the areas that everyone would want to score high on. This seems to point to a high level of self-esteem and, sure enough, this assessment indicates that's true.
On the flip side, I tend to stall out in the details and action steps if I don't understand the big picture or feel the human side of the equation hasn't been adequately addressed. I've always been envious of people who were ultra-productive, the people who always seemed to churn out large volumes of work. I get exhausted just watching these people. Based on my findings, I get a clue as to why I've never seen myself as one of those people.
The only area of the results that gave me pause were the characteristic statements made about my type of person, based on the assessment. The Empathy section, for instance, included statements like "Understanding of others but not as trusting" and "Willing to manipulate others to achieve goals". What the what?!?! That doesn't sound good. Dan explained the terms in positive terms but I'm still a little dubious. Can I retake that part?
All in all, I'm happy to get the process moving and using the results to frame the way our sessions will go makes sense to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some homework to do...
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