Some logic for you. If transition is a fancy name for change and a key element of being able to make effective change is the ability to make choices, how do we determine what the choices are and even more importantly how do we assess and judge those choices? I believe that one of the vital elements, indeed the very bedrock of being able to make effective choices is self awareness.  Whilst there are endless definitions of Self Awareness; it could be seen as guiding you to capitalise on your strengths while raising your awareness to your capability to change and develop.  We all like to think that we are self aware, emotionally intelligent human beings, but it is often useful to have someone hold up a mirror for us so that we can have a really good look – whilst not always a comfortable experience it is vital one.

The reality is that many employers now use personality assessment tools – and there a huge array, so knowing what they say about you might be seen as being to your advantage.  There are two criticisms that I often hear of such tools, firstly is that they are just tools and can be manipulated and secondly that they are too subjective on how you feel/perform in the work environment which is unhelpful when you are seeking to fundamentally change environment.  Whilst no tool is perfect, I think that they can fulfil a real and valuable function and this is recognised by service leavers; almost all those I have spoken with wish that they had been put through some form of assessment and then had a meaningful follow up.

I have been looking for a tool that we at OA Scotland might use, as part of that journey I came across the Judgment Index.  A 15 minute on line assessment was the easy bit – the clever bit about the Judgment Index methodology is that it is about how you view a certain set of criteria and so it is completely divorced from either a military or a civilian job setting.  The reality of the follow up was the scary bit – one of those moments when I was being told things about myself that I knew but didn’t tell anyone else – you know those moments!!

OA Scotland is hoping to offer an individual Judgment index assessment as part of its package from April 2010.  In the interim if you feel that you would benefit from an assessment then please visit the Judgement Index website to find out more.