Building Teams That Work Smarter, Agile and Engaged using the Science of Modern Psychometrics

Have you ever wondered how challenging it is to lead a group of different characters? And at the same time distinguish your presence inside your business as leadership rather than management?

Using the science of psychometric assessments in conjunction with our organisational psychology expertise you can capitalise on team factors that enhance productivity and lay out the cues for your team to work smarter, agile and engaged.

What Bounds a Team? But More Than That, What Makes it so Valuable for Leadership?

Cooperation and coordination are essential! OK, but let's leave no stone unturned because an effective team has several components in place. There is a good balance of skills, abilities, interests and values. Goals and objectives are clear for every member and mutually agreed. Meetings are productive and staff communicate in a clear and concise manner; and on time.

People help each other. They listen and foster a climate of trust, psychological safety and mutual support. Members don't hesitate to address issues openly and when conflictual situations emerge there is a willingness to overcome them constructively. Senior management and team leaders inspire confidence and trust plus individuals are given opportunities to develop new skills and gain notable experience in their roles.

Considering all of the above, what would be the key elements that bounds a team together?

Linda A. Hill (2011), professor at Harvard Business School, suggests that a collective work approach and mutual commitment are key characteristics. When members are committed to a common purpose and challenging goals related to that purpose they are more likely to produce innovative and productive outcomes that exceed the simple sum of individual efforts.

Is your team committed to a shared compelling and worthwhile purpose?

Does your team share a set of values and beliefs about what they expect of each other and how they treat each other?

Reflect on these questions for a moment. Then ask your staff to give it some thought. It will help you better understand your team and what more you must do to get the best out of your people.

How to Harmonise Your Tribe Into a Real Team Bounded by a Genuine Sense of “WE”?

Team development is an important aspect of your job description if you are a team leader or an experienced manager. As a leader, you need to unite your team around goals and adapt to rapidly changing work-circumstances. Furthermore, you need to preserve team spirit and optimism when things are not going as planned. By the same token, one of the greatest strengths of an effective leader resides in how he blends talents into a performing unit.

Do you have experience recognising patterns and similarities among team members so you can better care for their talents?

For example, a few of your team members tend to think in plain and simple terms when performing their job. Co-workers might perceive them as down-to-earth, practical and conservative. What if they have a preference for living in the moment and doing what feels good now? Or what if their work tends to be careless and disorganised?

• Are you aware of how that impacts the social dynamics of your team?
• How confident are you when delegating tasks?
• Can you choose the right training methods to suit their needs?

Individually outstanding employees may still be ineffective if there is not a good balance of team roles. Therefore, finding the right balance between different ways of learning that suit everyone can be a tussle.

Bring the Science of Organisational Psychology into the Workplace to Diagnose and Make Positive Changes

As Organisational Psychologists we focus on studying and understanding human behaviour in the workplace. We study personality, attitudes and behaviour and frequently conduct leadership training sessions. We zoom in at how organisational structures, social norms, management styles, role expectations influence how people behave at work. Our mission is to improve individual performance and well-being of employees. Additionally, we help team leaders, managers, head of units to have an in-depth understanding of their teams and match members to roles they are likely to perform well.

How Do We Increase Your Team's Effectiveness and Create Happier Employees Using Psychometric Assessments?

Knowing how to match strong personalities in working groups and recognising patterns and similarities among staff is critical for achieving fantastic team-based results. Employees actually work more harmonious, dynamic and feel empowered when management caters to their individuality.

For that reason, modern psychometrics present a great advantage. Moving rapidly into the digital realm they are versatile and easy to integrate into any HR department. Over 75 per cent of the Times Top 100 companies in the UK are using psychometric testing to gain an improved complete assessment of candidates and hopefully to secure the best fit for the role.

Psychometric tests measure intelligence, critical reasoning, numerical, abstract and verbal reasoning, motivation, occupational interests, values and personality. If used exhaustively, these instruments can prove very useful in providing management with direction on career advancement for current staff. In addition, they allow recruiters and business leaders to learn about an employee’s character and skills and reach a widespread understanding of an individual's personality and abilities.

Psychometric tools for teams allow you to screen potential new employees to assess their fit within your team, empowering you to make the right hiring decisions. You get hold of helpful insights which enables you to discover how to work with each team member in the most harmonious and progressive manner.

HR Professionals’ Beliefs About and Knowledge of Assessment Techniques and Psychometric Tests in the United Kingdom

A study conducted by Mr Adrian Furnham from the Department of Psychology at the University College London attempted to look at HR practitioners beliefs about, knowledge and use of both psychometric power (ability) and preference (personality) tests. It was a survey conducted on a large British population of HR test users.

We used a web-based data visualisation and infographics platform called Infogram to summarise the findings. Below are the top 5 personality tests known, used and found useful in development of employees by HR practitioners, according to Mr Furnham's survey.

How can we, The Inner View, help you?

We are so excited to have partnered up with Great People Inside. They provide us with an assessment platform which helps organisations to recruit the best talent available and develop people to their full potential.

We make use of their digitally powered assessment tools and work with 61 fully validated psychometric dimensions to measure personality, interests and cognitive abilities. After, we generate and explore individual, management and coaching reports. To all of that, we add our passion and organisational psychology expertise and provide you with the best possible results tailored to your requirements.

We're available for new projects so click below and find out more about what we do.

Executive Recruitment | Volume Recruitment | Recruitment and Onboarding | Team Creation Team Development | Leadership Development | Career Development | Self-Development

We love to be inspired! For that reason, we are curious to find out your thoughts on the topic. Leave your comments below, engage with us and visit www.the-innerview.com to find out more about our portfolio of services.

About the Author

Cosmin Sofron is the founder of The Inner Vyou Ltd and along with Andreea Ibanescu and David Szabo focus on providing businesses with personality, ability and behavioural assessments, evidence-based HR consulting and development that allows for actionable insights and momentum for improvement.