CAES WORK PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY EXAMPLE

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CAES

Results, Not Resumes

Work Personality Assessment Summary

Prepared for: Example As of: April 5, 2013

Intended Use: Support résumé and any other portfolio-related documents

Comparison Group Used: Managers / General Population

This report is the property of EXAMPLE and CAES. The information within is confidential and may be legally

privileged. Access to this report must be approved by EXAMPLE. CAES accepts no liability for any negative

impact or damage caused by this report.

It is highly recommended that CAES is contacted to verify the authenticity of this report and to provide further

explanation. Doing this will ensure that the work characteristics mentioned will match your specific requirements

for any hiring decisions, internal promotions, leadership development, or performance improvement.

Purpose

Superior performance will be sustained over time when the person involved has the required educational

background, technical skills, industry experience, and work personality characteristics. It is important for these

personality characteristics to fit with a person’s position, management group, team, and organizational culture.

It is crucial for the hiring manager to evaluate the match between EXAMPLE’s work characteristics and the pre-

determined objectives and requirements of the position under consideration. This will ensure that an appropriate

performance match is achieved, and will increase the opportunity for a positive work relationship.

This report will help the reader to understand the work personality attributes of EXAMPLE, and thus to assist in

possible employment decisions and management approaches. The results have been compiled through both

personal interviewing and written assessments. The findings, interpretations, and recommendations are based on

the opinions of the author, and are intended to assist EXAMPLE in his career development. The hiring company

assumes responsibility for their own actions and any decisions based on this information.

Problem Solving Capability

Different positions in an organization will require the ability to work with problems of varying complexities that

may span anywhere from one day to several years. As positions become more complex and managerial, different

time orientations (scope) are required. Cognitive scope refers to how a person handles information complexity.

The greater a person’s ability to handle information complexity, the greater will be his or her ability to think

ahead and work with more complex problems. And the ability to conceptualize and to envision multiple

possibilities greatly expands that person’s scope level.

EXAMPLE is transitioning in his cognitive capabilities. His ability to address increasingly complex and

interrelated problems, and then to be able to establish effective solutions within greater time horizons, positions

him to assume a senior managerial role. This enables him to contribute both as a strategic leader (and add value to

forward thinking, organization-wide initiatives), while at the same time to effectively manage current

departmental activities by ensuring operational best practices are developed, implemented and maintained. He is

comfortable managing multiple, independent, serial projects and can balance resources among a number of

departments or sub-units.

joining personality

with performance

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EXAMPLE’s cognitive scope and planning capability is within the 2 to 5 year range, and he is quite capable of

evaluating the effective use of human resources and technologies within this time frame. He will be comfortable

with 3 year budget based projects.

His desire to consistently ‘do things right’ will support his eagerness to establish standardized procedures that will

ensure effective work practices, systems and overall productivity. But once accomplished, EXAMPLE will also

seek out contingencies, logical innovation and alternative paths, both in upgraded technologies and in personnel

development schemes, which will contribute to evolutionary change.

EXAMPLE’s dominant thinking preference is abstract sequential, (abstract thinking is more typical of people in

the upper managerial ranks) while his secondary preference is concrete sequential, and this combination mirrors

his current ‘cognitive shift’. What this means is that EXAMPLE will typically rely on a step-by-step, procedural

approach whether thinking in abstract, ‘big picture’ terms or when focusing on daily realities and details. So

EXAMPLE will be realistic, practical, logical and well organized in both his evaluation of current operational

processes and activities, as well as in his evaluation of new ideas, different theories and potential changes to

existing operational procedures.

Concentration & Attention Scales

Superior performance is dependent on the ability of the individual to concentrate and make good decisions, or

take appropriate action, while dealing with the stress involved at that point in time. Knowing that each individual

has a dominant concentration style, identifying their style, and comparing it to the typical stress tolerance

requirements of the position and environment, will increase the likelihood of superior performance. More

importantly, as stress levels increase a properly matched concentration style will enable the person to better

handle any increased demands.

EXAMPLE’s scored very high on all three concentration preferences, compared to both the general population

and to the Managerial norm group. His dominant concentration preference is to focus on details and to take

action, secondary is his analytical and conceptual abilities, and his third preference is his awareness of people and

the environment. (Note: although his weakest trait, his environmental awareness is superior to most managers).

Also significant is his ability to shift his concentration easily in order to adapt to changing requirements and to

pay attention to the right things at the right times. He is rarely prone to distractions (when distraction does occur,

it will come from internal thoughts and feelings rather than external influences), and so EXAMPLE’s profile

indicates that he has a strong ability to avoid concentration errors even when under significant stress.

Motivation

High motivation and superior performance go hand in hand. But it is not enough to simply be “motivated”. The

person’s motivation must be matched to, and supported by, the motivational characteristics of the immediate work

environment, the team members, the manager and the overall organizational objectives and culture. So here we

are interested in first determining the motivational characteristics that are available in the work environment and

then determining the relative match with the individual’s personal motivational requirements.

Like most achievement-oriented people, EXAMPLE needs a challenging, dynamic and fast-paced environment.

His career progression reflects his desire to experience success and he is motivated when achievement is

encouraged, recognized, and rewarded. EXAMPLE defines success through both the accomplishment of his own

personal goals and via the development (and success) of the people around him. His strong team orientation

fosters his understanding that team success equates to personal success for everyone involved.

People like EXAMPLE are typically motivated towards goals. His motivational process begins by his first

defining the goal, in accumulating whatever information is needed to accomplish the goal and, once satisfied that

he has enough of the right information, he will then quickly move forward and complete the appropriate tasks. As

opposed to people who are motivated to ‘rush in’ too quickly, and miss gathering relevant background details, or

those who take too long to get going, by over-analyzing too much information, EXAMPLE’s balanced

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motivational approach will reduce the likelihood of poor decisions or errors of omission, while still getting things

done right in a timely manner.

In line with his thinking preferences, EXAMPLE will sustain his motivation when he can function in a more

procedural environment as compared to a more loosely structured working world. Whether planning or doing, he

prefers to have a path to follow, which becomes a point of reference to return to when he embarks on less

structured creative thinking and in generating new ideas. While EXAMPLE will primarily draw his motivational

support by receiving input and feedback from his manager, peers, team and external clientele, he will also rely on

his internal values and opinions in certain situations. This desire for external input is congruent with his need for

active communication and strong interpersonal relationships.

While motivated by success, and ongoing personal development, EXAMPLE will be demotivated when there is

significant lack of structure (procedures), unprofessional behaviours or a lack of organizational direction.

EXAMPLE believes in having rules, and that all organizational members should follow them,

Productivity Traits

Superior performers develop consistent, reliable work productivity traits. These traits are rooted in their “work

ethic”, and are often defined as the values that they hold pertaining to work. For superior performance to be

sustained over time it is important that the person’s work values be in alignment with those required by the

position, department and the organization as a whole. When aligned, the individual is confident and comfortable

that their efforts and approach to work are consistent to what is required and they will naturally incorporate

learned successful approaches into their daily work activities.

EXAMPLE displays above average performance characteristics as compared to other managers and the general

population. He likes to take control, has high energy, a strong, conscientious work ethic, and enjoys being

productive. He is goal-oriented, dedicated and he accomplishes through hard work. He is very much a ‘multi-

tasker’ who likes to have a lot on the go both professionally and personally. His ability to handle a number of

detailed-oriented, and complex tasks simultaneously, is congruent with his higher cognitive capability and his

ability to envision solutions to problems over longer time horizons. His organizational capabilities, and

procedural motivation, help him to organize and manage those numerous details that he prefers to pay close

attention to, and enables him to make sure that they are included in his plans.

EXAMPLE has superior tenacity (focus on task completion), he is resourceful in finding solutions and he will

follow through on any request made of him. Not quite a complete ‘perfectionist’, he tends toward it, and this

supports his dedication to getting things done. EXAMPLE likes to do things the right way from the beginning,

(quality over quantity or speed) and while he hates to make mistakes, he does learn from errors made and is

unlikely to repeat them. He learns quickly. His high need to multi-task will require that, to be most effective, he

be given the autonomy to control, organize and prioritize his workload. But once given direction toward a goal,

EXAMPLE will want to assume personal responsibility to achieve it, so the delegator can be confident that

EXAMPLE will complete any task given.

EXAMPLE has an above average ability to perform under pressure. Combined with his significant capability to

control his behavior, EXAMPLE will rarely (if ever) ‘lose his cool’ in high stress situations. His stress response is

anger and frustration (as opposed to anxiety and worry), but he will internalize significant stress, so people will

not be aware of this reaction when it occurs.

In more relaxed situations, EXAMPLE is very good at creating an environment around him that will support his

decision making style. And again, based in his motivational preferences, EXAMPLE will proactively make a

decision once he has had the time to collect and consider all relevant information. He is strong at evaluating

alternatives, deciding and implementing decisions made. While always focused on quality, EXAMPLE will make

effective decisions a little faster than the average business manager, but since he is not a big risk taker, he will

carefully consider and evaluate all of the details involved in any risk.

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That said, with his ability to perform under pressure, and his flexibility, I would expect that he is capable of

making very fast decisions in high stress situations. In these instances, because of his high self-confidence,

EXAMPLE will trust his experience, judgment and personal values when he needs to make decisions quickly.

And he will use established procedural ‘checklists’, based on sound technical training, to reduce decision

complexity and ensure proper choices.

Like all self-confident people, EXAMPLE should remember to check decisions made, as compared to the original

objective, in order to evaluate its effectiveness and to continue to learn from the process.

Communication Skills

The ability to effectively get their message across to other people and to understand the other person’s point of

view is a common characteristic of superior performers. We can determine a person's dominant expressiveness

style, and match that with what would be required of their respective position. More importantly, we can ascertain

their comfort with the expression of ideas, their ability to understand and adapt to the communication style of the

recipient, and their acceptance with having their thought processes challenged. We can also identify each person’s

dominant style for receiving communication input, for adapting to alternative forms of input while maintaining

appropriate concentration, and whether their learning style is visual, auditory or kinesthetically based. Finally, we

can evaluate true aptitude for written and verbal communication as per the requirements of their position.

EXAMPLE has exceptional communication skills, is highly verbal, is able to engage most people in lively

conversation, and he can write effectively. He is comfortable in the limelight, and is not intimidated by people (or

their life-position), and his extroverted nature indicates that he will often take the lead in conversations. He will

be quite comfortable in helping ‘laypeople’ understand technical details, but while still serious about his work, he

does not take himself too seriously. His ability to relax people (but such means as appropriately injecting humour

into a conversation) will help him to ‘disarm’ negativity, to build relationships, and to gain people’s support for

his work objectives.

EXAMPLE’s preferred communication input (and learning preference) is through visual means, so he will prefer

to use visual inputs (writing, pictures and graphs) as his dominant learning source. He processes information in

serial terms (step-by-step), and he prefers to communicate in auditory terms (speaking). And while he understands

his own communication strengths and preferences, more importantly, he is aware of the need to adapt his

communication delivery to best meet the requirements of the other person in order to effectively get his message

across. EXAMPLE will use his environmental / people awareness to determine the right way to communicate

with an individual when he is explaining his position, presenting his ideas or fostering support – and thus gain

‘buy-in’ and collaboration. He will readily share his ideas with his managers, team, peers, external personnel and

the public.

Equally important, EXAMPLE knows when to listen. So it should not be surprising that his dominant

communication style is supportive in nature. Because he actively hears what people say, he will easily interpret

and respond to other people’s needs and wants. And, he will readily implement valuable suggestions that are

made to him from management, staff, customers and peers - especially when they support his ability to achieve

his goals. At the same time, when under significant stress, most people with his high level of control, self-

confidence and competitiveness, may have a tendency to over-rely on their own perceptions at the expense of

hearing valuable external advice. EXAMPLE’s supportive communicative style should moderate the impact of

this.

When required, EXAMPLE is appropriately confrontational in his communication. This means that, while he can

easily maintain control of his thoughts and feelings, he will step forward and confront staff members should they

try to take advantage of him or of the organization.

EXAMPLE has a balanced ‘push and pull’ influencing approach. When needed, he can be persuasive, assertive

and he will ‘fall back’ to referencing established rules and standards. At other times he will influence people by

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creating a shared vision, building consensus and employing joint decision-making. Again, his flexibility to focus

on the right things at the right times, and his adaptability, enable him to choose the best approach depending on

the situation.

Interpersonal Skills

Human relations are a critical component of successful performance as nobody operates within a vacuum.

Whether internal or external to the organization, on a peer to peer basis or an employee – manager interaction,

everybody has numerous interpersonal interactions daily. Superior performers are adept at creating and

maintaining strong relationships, and via these relationships they subsequently encourage collaboration, support

for their ideas and commitment to performance. People are more likely to agree with, and follow, someone who

they respect and like. Top performers naturally use their interpersonal skills to make this connection with those

around them.

EXAMPLE has a very extroverted personality type, and prefers an active and open work environment. He needs

ongoing involvement with people, both internal and external to the organization, and his high level of

‘agreeableness’ indicates that he can easily put people at ease. He values building and sustaining relationships at

all organizational levels, he understands the need to create relationships in order to gain support for his objectives,

and he knows the value of win-win negotiations. As a strong team player and motivator, EXAMPLE will use his

supportive communication style (and ability as a role model) to influence team behavior, to encourage input from

all sources, and to involve people in collaborative decision-making.

In situations in where there is not enough time for discussion or negotiation, EXAMPLE will readily assume

straightforward authority and take the lead. And while this approach may sometimes be intimidating to some, he

should be able to moderate people’s reactions via his ‘people skills’ and by direct communication regarding any

apparent issues. As well, EXAMPLE’s environmental awareness and flexibility help him to evaluate the potential

volatility of situations, to position himself ‘diplomatically’, to keep a ‘low profile’ when necessary, and to back

out of ‘unwinnable political fights’.

Emotional Stability

An often neglected element involved in performance assessment is an individual’s level of (or lack of) emotional

stability. Most people have suitable levels of stability to cope with their daily stress loads. However when stress

levels are accelerated less stable people will tend to be emotionally reactive and vulnerable. This can emerge as

anger, anxiety or depression, and will obviously affect their performance, problem solving and concentration

levels, as well as have a negative impact on the people that they interact with. Often in a bad mood, they are more

likely to interpret ordinary situations as negative and have difficulty thinking clearly and making appropriate

decisions in a reasonable period of time. Their emotionally stable counterparts will tend to be less emotionally

reactive, have a more positive outlook and can make calm, logical decisions in highly stressful situations.

EXAMPLE’s overall emotional stability score is typical as compared to the general population. He will sustain

calmness under stress, and will maintain emotional stability in his work environment – and he likes to present a

calm persona in public. As mentioned, EXAMPLE’s significant ability to control his behavioural impulses will

ensure that he will very rarely (never?) display any inappropriate behavior or reveal his stress response when

under pressure. He does not inappropriately seek out attention, is not particularly self-focused, he shows above-

average concern for others, and he takes pride in his ability to emphasize in order to create and sustain

interpersonal relationships.

Ethics & Integrity

Hiring managers are interested in hiring people who are trustworthy and share the organization's ethical values

regardless of the position that they will occupy. Talented or not, one would question why anyone would

knowingly hire a dishonest person in the first place, better yet maintain their employment knowing that they were

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untrustworthy. There is comfort in knowing that superior performers will tend to score high on integrity and

ethics evaluations.

EXAMPLE’s ethics and integrity evaluation shows higher levels than both the general population and his

managerial comparison group. He strongly believes in rules and structure, he is most comfortable when standard

procedures and guidelines are in place, and he expects that all organizational members, from top to bottom, will

follow the rules. EXAMPLE respects authority, and will want to earn respect from his staff. But he does not have

a need to prove his own superiority, he will not try to take advantage or exploit others, nor does he show any

inflated sense of entitlement.

Management Approach

In addition to his solid technical capability and industry experience, EXAMPLE’s managerial approach is also a

reflection of his combined personality-based preferences. It should not be surprising that he will take a detail-

oriented and organized approach to most of his managerial tasks. His planning, problem solving and decision-

making will be based on quality rather than speed. His achievement motivation, supported by his determination to

perform effectively, will motivate him to make thoughtful decisions and avoid making common managerial

mistakes.

He employs a people-oriented management style, wherein he will use his supportive communicative skills to

motivate people, manage conflict and build the strength of his team.

The concept of ‘team’ is important to EXAMPLE. An exceptional team player himself, he fully understands team

dynamics, he likes to openly share ideas with team members, and he is knows the value of mutual support and

collaborative effort. EXAMPLE is committed to ongoing overall team development, and he will be eager to

actively participate in the establishment of a developmental climate for his people. EXAMPLE scored noticeably

higher than his managerial comparative group in his team-related abilities regarding; the ability to articulate his

vision, provide feedback, manage team conflict, assign member roles, and to develop individual members. As

well, he will not fall into the too common trap of being intimated by a talented staff member. He understands the

value of surrounding himself, and developing, the right people.

EXAMPLE is very capable of initiating and leading change (and innovation). He will be most comfortable with

evolving change, rather than revolutionary change, or change for change’s sake. Quite good at identifying the

need for change, he will be frustrated when he identifies a need and yet does not have the opportunity to

participate in solving the problem. Very strong at planning change, EXAMPLE will also be capable at inspiring

innovative thinking in his people (assisted by his own abstract thinking preference), in supporting ‘innovation

leaders’, in managing resistance to change (via communication and support) and in implementing new initiatives.

EXAMPLE will be able to take this even further should he build the systems to support change and innovation

into his operational plans and procedures.

Leadership

EXAMPLE has demonstrated leadership skills that he continues to build upon. Like most leaders, he scored

highly in the core traits that we see as being critical to effective leadership; desire for control, self-confidence,

multi-tasking capability, extroversion, idea exchange, supporting people and decisiveness, and as well in many

supportive personality traits.

Based in his self-confidence, EXAMPLE is eager to take control of situations. His preference to ‘lead by

example’, to maintain a calm ‘emotionally intelligent’ persona under stressful situations, to do what he says he

will do, and to consistently follow up on his commitments will all draw the attention and support of followers.

Using his strong communication skills to clearly articulate his vision and to define his expectations, he will be

able to stimulate people’s ‘buy in’ and motivate them to take action. EXAMPLE has an appropriate level of

competitiveness, and will not ‘turn people off’, by taking competition too far. He will tend to encourage team

competitiveness, and this strong team orientation and supportive management style will build and sustain the

commitment of his people over time. From a developmental standpoint, he will be able to build even greater

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support as he identifies training needs for his staff, assigns training-related tasks and then subsequently delegates

appropriate activities to those who are more capable.

EXAMPLE is very capable at balancing leadership and management – which is an essential ingredient at the

more senior organizational levels. On the management side, he is strong in developing the structures needed for

organizational best practices and in reinforcing appropriate performance. While on the leadership side, he is very

capable at communicating the specific details pertaining to organizational direction, in inspiring others to follow

them, and in developing key multi-level support relationships in order to push forward and get things done.

EXAMPLE also scored significantly high in his capability to function as a transformational leader. Here we

evaluate the presence of an individual’s personal leadership characteristics, how they actually behave as a leader

and how capable they are at building a supportive culture in which their leadership activities will be successful.

The most effective leaders, like EXAMPLE, will score high on each scale. So not only do they ‘have what it

takes’, they actually use what they have, and they build a supportive environment to sustain what they do.

EXAMPLE’s strengths in this specific assessment, (which are congruent with other results) can be seen in his

ability to evaluate organizational performance, to provide input into higher level organizational direction

decisions, to subsequently set congruent transformational departmental or unit goals, to decisively communicate

the direction that senior management wants everyone to go, and then to confidently provide clear and consistent

leadership.

EXAMPLE’s Management Response Needs

To sustain high motivation and performance, EXAMPLE will perform best with a Manager who:

Strategically defines the ultimate organizational direction

Presents a clear vision on goals to be achieved within specific time frames

Identifies performance guidelines for direct subordinates

Then provides autonomy

Believes in the team concept

Displays strong team facilitation skills

Is open to suggestion and staff input

Encourages idea exchange and innovation

Uses an open and active communication style

Inspires and leads by example

Mentors and helps develop his people

Educates on mistakes made

Gives regular performance feedback

Gives appropriate support and appreciation

Summary / Performance Facilitation

EXAMPLE has certainly found his ‘calling’ in his career in XX. While technically knowledgeable and skilled, he

is just as much a people person, and he continues to thrive on the active involvement that goes with working in a

service oriented environment. He has enjoyed both the technical aspects of his career and the opportunities that

are available for him to interact with people, to help others (internally and externally), and to be involved with

multi-level collaboration.

As evidenced in this report, EXAMPLE is a highly capable manager with proven leadership skills. These above

average characteristics are supported by his significant technical knowledge, cognitive capability, concentration

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skills, motivation, productivity attributes, communication skills and his ability to build strong interpersonal

relationships.

Like all career-oriented people, EXAMPLE will continue to seek out greater challenges and developmental

opportunities. The current transitioning of his cognitive capabilities will facilitate EXAMPLE’s interest in

resolving the higher complexity, greater scope, issues that come with a more senior managerial role. Combined

with his balance of technical capability, managerial abilities, and his leadership skills, EXAMPLE is well

positioned to assume more responsibility and higher level problem solving challenges.

Like everyone, there is always room for growth and improvement. As can be seen in this report, EXAMPLE’s

combined high achievement and success orientation, his high self-confidence, desire for control and desire to

lead, his significant skill at multi-tasking, his attention to detail and his eagerness to take action, in combination,

may cause him to take on too much of a workload – otherwise known as over-committing. This can be common

experience of ‘over-achievers’.

Should over-commitment begin to occur, the easy remedy would be for EXAMPLE to step back, evaluate, and

prioritize his workload, and then to delegate some of those specific detail oriented tasks and activities that would

be more suited to subordinate personnel. Doing so will provide EXAMPLE with more time to focus his efforts on

larger scope analytical, environmental and people-related activities, while at the same time he will be creating

developmental opportunities for his staff.

Jim Gilchrist B.E.S.

It is highly recommended that CAES is contacted to verify the authenticity of this report and to provide further

explanation. This will ensure that the work characteristics mentioned will match your specific requirements for

any hiring decisions, internal promotions, leadership development, or performance improvement.