I recently just went through a fascinating executive recruitment process.
I wasn’t looking – I still love what I’m doing with The Product Sherpa – but somehow, they found me and caught my attention.
It felt long (4+ months), although not unusual. It was a mixed bag of extremely slow and intense times (about 15 interviews in total), and it surely was comprehensive (including advanced behavioral tests).
The search was for a General Manager role leading all the P&L aspects of a $250M business in technology. In other words, a strong match with my experience.
I ended up being one of the two finalists. Eventually, the other guy got the job. I wish him well.
No sore feelings, no regrets. There was no lousy candidate at that stage, just a better match for one.
I was actually thankful as I realized the process helped me learn a few more important things about myself.
It happened all around the assessment they asked me to conduct.
At first, I thought no new test could surprise me or unveil my personality traits I didn’t know yet.
Like many of you, I’ve been through multiple personality tests in my life: the Myers Briggs, the Enneagram, the Four Colors, and even the DiSC test.
But this one was different and went beyond typical personality traits. It was an evolved executive version of the DiSC assessment… and it came with an “executive coach discussion.”
DiSC was initially developed during the 1920s by psychologist William Moulton Marston. At its core, it is a behavioral assessment tool designed to evaluate your dominant personality traits and communication preferences.
It categorizes individuals into four primary behavioral styles: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C).
The test measures various aspects such as assertiveness, sociability, patience, and attention to detail, providing insights into how you interact, make decisions, and respond to challenges.
This specific version focused on identifying my natural and adapted behaviors. But it also focused on my driving forces and their integration with my behaviors.
The test only takes twenty minutes online, and the results were immediate in the form of a comprehensive fifty-page report. That report is all pre-formatted and based on years of behavioral studies. It came pretty close to my self-perception.
Unsurprisingly to me, the results came as high on “Influence,” closely followed by “Dominance.” In other words, I’m characterized as a “Promoting Persuader, “an outgoing personality type who likes to challenge the status quo, create team alignment and frontally address challenges in high-paced dynamic environments.
More interestingly, the report also elaborated on what others could perceive as my strengths and weaknesses, which primary forces would typically energize or stress me—culminating in an assessment of where conflicts will most likely occur, what my ideal working environment is, and how it all comes together for me both as a manager and as the one being managed.
But my conversation with the “executive coach” was the most fascinating aspect. I expected we’d discuss the assessment results and that she’d poke holes at how aligned it was with my self-perception.
She didn’t even mention the assessment!
Instead, the executive coach – an ex-CEO herself – did what felt like a triangulation on the very same questions I had been through in the previous fourteen interviews: my understanding of the role, how I was uniquely positioned and skilled for it, how I’d approach my plan and what success would look like after a year.
All very classic, it seemed.
It was only after our conversation that I connected the dots and realized how she subtly put together for them my behaviors, driving forces, and leadership skills through her probing questions—nicely done!
So, what felt so positive for me in that whole process if I eventually didn’t get the job?
First, I enjoyed peeling the onion, trying to understand the nature of the business, its culture, and the challenges at hand as we progressed in assessing a mutual fit.
Second, although it felt like a long process, I came out with a solid respect for how they crossed the Is and dotted the Ts. Recruiting talent is a tough exercise, and although you never know until it’s too late if you made the right choice, the more you triangulate, the stronger the chances.
Finally, I got a renewed appreciation for these executive versions of behavioral assessments, especially when followed up by conversations with the right experts.
I’ll use this or a similar assessment in future executive searches and as part of team-building activities.
Oh, and one last thing…
There’s no bad or good profile out of these tests. It can help to familiarize yourself with similar ones beforehand. But don’t try to game the assessment.
Jump into every question being who you are.
Your intellectual honesty will save you potential headaches and mismatches down the line.