Unlock Your Potential Through Psychometrics

The Importance Of Self Awareness In The PDP Process

Emma Tolley, psychometric assessment expert within Lead Talent, shares her  unique insight into the importance of “Self-awareness” and how this can be your superpower to navigate your career development and be more effective in your Personal Development Planning (PDP) process.

“Awareness is a key ingredient in success. If you have it, teach it, if you lack it, seek it.”

— Michael Kitson

By simply optimising a psychometric personality assessment, which is first and foremost a tool for greater self-awareness, this certainly supports you in finding a clearer understanding of yourself.

How?

A psychometric assessment reveals stable personality traits that have an influence on your behaviour, providing an objective insight into your natural preferences, strengths and weaknesses, emotional triggers, of which we may have little or no awareness.

So, what is self-awareness?

“Self-awareness is knowing who you really are as a person!  But you know who you are, no-one knows you better than you do! Right?

Well, the reality is that we often fail to clearly see and understand the motivations behind our actions, or the real root causes behind certain emotions. Most people spend the majority of their lives reacting, letting their emotions and instinct guide them without much critical thought.

The psychological theory of self-awareness suggests that when we have a level of self-awareness that allows us to clearly observe and identify our emotional and instinctive responses, we have the ability to control them. You’ll move from constantly reacting in life, to actively planning and shaping your life.

The information we learn about ourselves from the results of a psychometric assessment will be an eye opener and a first step towards better self-knowledge. A person who knows their strengths, preferences, weakness and blind spots, will naturally be more adept at perceiving their motivations, identifying their values, understanding other people’s behaviours and managing everyday situations.

Top line benefits to self-awareness which can be revealed from psychometric assessments:

1. Self knowledge is a Superpower –  exploit your strengths.
2. Reveal skills gaps – cope with your weaknesses.
3. Develop strategies to bring you closer to your goals.
4. Align your career pursuits, who you are, where you want to go and how you deliver value.
5. Identify the ideal next steps in your career.
6. Select from various career options.
7. Understand what sets you apart from others – enhancing your personal brand.
8. Tell your compelling story and demonstrate confidence.
9. Connect and collaborate effectively with others daily and throughout your career journey.
10. Know your future potential.

Once you have completed a psychometric assessment you will have a better understanding of yourself and can use this information to create a  more effective Personal Development Plan. (PDP).

PDP benefits of self awareness:

Self-awareness is a crucial element in supporting PDP’s. It involves having a clear understanding of your own thoughts, emotions, strengths, weaknesses, values and goals. When you possess self-awareness, you can make informed decisions about your personal development and growth, as well as by taking appropriate actions to achieve your objectives, not just completing a tick box exercise at your mid year review.

It’s a fact that organisations who include psychometric assessments in their review process are seeing a significant saving in recruitment costs of up to 20%, via improved retention. It’s proven to increase employee engagement, job satisfaction and create development opportunities, and it’s a critical component of the mid year review process, empowering your people to fulfil their ambitions and realise their potential.

The most effective PDP process should start with a quick, online psychometric assessment and the potential benefits are endless for both the individual including:

1. Cultivate self-reflection.
2. Inform adjustments to your PDP.
3. Build self confidence.
4. Increased contribution – when you know yourself, you know your strengths.
5. Professional growth – when you know yourself, you also know the areas you wish to develop.
6. Ability to influence your reputation – self-awareness makes it easier to understand how others see you.
7. Greater job satisfaction – By focusing on what makes you feel happy and valued, you can find roles that are most satisfying.
8. Understanding your specific talents and areas of expertise can help you find the opportunities where you can shine.

In summary, self awareness is a fundamental aspect of PDP’s as it helps you understand yourself better and navigate the path of growth more effectively to support you in achieving your desired outcomes and those of the organisation you work for.

If you would like to organise an exploratory call to discuss how psychometric assessments can support your organisation’s PDP process contact me by email: emma.tolley@lead-talent.co.uk or give me a call on 07703 464690.

To find out more about the ‘Importance of Personal Development Plans in YOUR business read our  blog written by Kelly Blank  People and Organisational Development expert on the link HERE.

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