Leadership assessment tools can prove useful when it comes to developing your employees' managerial skills. These assessments are often used to help managers determine their strengths and weaknesses and, thus, improve upon them. Tests can also be used when it's time to promote an employee to a supervisory position, as choosing the right candidate is key.

Some of these tests are meant just for the employee, so he or she can use the information to help themselves. Others are meant to be intercepted by superiors so training can be implemented. Either way, using leadership assessments can help you and your managers by:

1. Allowing managers to improve upon their leadership skills. Assessment tests will pinpoint areas in which the manager may be lacking.

2. Promoting introspection. A leadership self-assessment can give an employee something to think about and help him or her come up with ways to maximize their skills.

3. Helping your HR department locate employees with potential. Leadership assessment questions can be tailored to create a test to assist in choosing the right employees for leadership positions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Give existing managers periodic leadership assessments

There are quite a few assessments that are intended to help managers identify their strong points as well as areas they can improve upon. Some of these tests are called 360 leadership assessments, meaning that they evaluate every aspect involved in management, giving a 360 degree view. Many of these tests can be taken online, after which a report is generated for managers (and their bosses) to review. The findings of the report can be used for improving upon the management style of your supervisors.

I recommend: Leadership Assessments offers a 360 degree test that managers can take to see how they can improve. Check out the variety of assessments available at the Center for Creative Leadership.

Consider using a leadership self assessment as part of a workshop

If your company ever holds workshops to teach managers new skills, incorporating a leadership assessment into the program may be a good idea. By taking self assessments that are solely for introspection, managers may be more comfortable and be more honest with their answers. The workshop can address different aspects of the test (without asking employees to reveal their answers) to help foster group discussion. That way, less experienced managers can learn from the insight of more senior employees.

I recommend: Use the Jung personality test at HumanMetrics to give your managers insight into their basic personality traits. This will help them use these traits to their advantage and be more effective leaders. Chart Your Course International provides a free leadership self assessment that may prove useful for your company.

Promote the best by using leadership assessment tools

In most cases, it is more cost effective to promote from within. Existing workers are already familiar with the company's values as well as the dynamics of the workplace. Assessing the leadership qualities of internal candidates will help you identify their strengths and weaknesses, and if you find an employee that seems promising, training can help him or her develop in areas that may be lacking.

I recommend: Use the leadership articles at Mind Tools to develop an in-house training program for employees wanting to become leaders. This set of articles also includes a leadership motivation assessment to help you decide who is worthy of the investment of the time and money that training requires. Optimal Thinking offers a program that uses the 360 assessment to optimize training programs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The human factor can still come into play even if you choose to use leadership assessment tests. When promoting an employee to a managerial position, it's important that members of your HR department do their own assessments to decide if a candidate is right for the job. Tests via computer or paper and pen are still useful, but relying on one's own judgment should still come into play.

Leadership assessment tests were developed to give managers a comprehensive look at their management style. Leadership assessment tools rate consensus-building abilities and interpersonal skills, strategic thinking and project execution.

Leadership assessments are not to be confused with standard employee evaluations, which are used to determine an employee's pay and status within a company. Instead, the goal of leadership assessment tools is to focus a manager's attention on areas for improvement so that she or he can develop strategies to improve and get the most out of executive coaching.

Leadership assessment tests run the gamut from costly, customizable programs that incorporate feedback from numerous sources to free, self-administered questionnaires that take under 20 minutes to complete. For a small to medium-sized business, a simple leadership assessment can be very effective, provided the results are used effectively. It can:

1. Prompt management to be more self-aware.
2. Help coordinate management efforts.
3. Develop talent for expanded leadership roles.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Invest in a 360-degree feedback leadership asessment package

The 360-feedback leadership assessment tools are designed to give management a comprehensive view of their competencies and weaknesses. It combines feedback from superiors, team members and customers. It also includes leadership self assessment. This is the most effective solution for corporations that have a large management team and complex business model.

I recommend: The Leadership Circle provides 360-degree feedback, and even provides certification on how to use the system. The leadership assessment test is customizable and administered entirely online. For more information, fill out a contact form at Leadership Circle's website.

Guide your management team to the tools they need for success

Once you have the results of your leadership assessments, it's time to get your team focused on improvement. You can hire an executive coach, but there are also a lot of excellent resources online.

I recommend: Mind Tools provides hundreds of informational modules that your employees can download and pursue whenever they have the time. Each one takes about an hour to complete and is categorized under a different skillset. The subscription fees are modest.

Find a no-nonsense leadership asessment tool

Most growing businesses don't have the time or money to invest in an exhaustive leadership assessment tool, nor is it necessary. There are plenty of basic tests online that allow your HR department to purchase and start evaluating in a matter of minutes.

I recommend: MySkillsProfile offers a list of leadership assessment tests that can be purchased for leadership self-assessment or an entire management team. Once completed online, the results can be sent to the employee, the HR department, or both. The corporate packages offer volume discounts.

Use a free leadership assessment test

If you're a small business or a manager who wants to find a leadership self-assessment test, a free test can be an objective starting point for growth. Remember, it's what you do with the information that counts.

I recommend: Robert Gordon University offers this page with a list of assessment tools for free.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't worry about finding the fanciest leadership assessment test. Most tests worth their salt are based on tried-and-true psychological evaluations, so don't get too caught up in choosing the 'best' one.
• •  Look at sample feedback before purchasing a test. Sometimes, the result is a written profile, sometimes it is a laundry list that looks like a bar graph. Choose the feedback that you can use effectively.
• •  Always choose a test that can be administered online. In this day and age, there is no reason to suffer through a cumbersome pencil-and-paper leadership assessment.

Leadership assessment is about measuring leadership skills. It is beneficial for businesses, especially in today's economy, to choose an applicant or employee with the abilities to fulfill job requirements. Leadership assessment provides an objective measure for choosing the best candidate for a job.

Utilizing leadership assessment tools can increase business profits. By placing an employee in a position that takes advantage of their natural competence and ability, the result equals success for everyone. Take time to understand what assessments tools are available to increase the success of your business. Regarding tools for leadership assessments for beginners, see the following:

1. Understand leadership assessment questions with a basic knowledge of leadership, skills and results.

2. Take a leadership self-assessment test to gain experience and knowledge about the process.

3. Perform a leadership assessment test to put the application into practice.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Answer your questions about leadership assessment tests

Understand the basics of leadership assessments before you delve into performing leadership assessments. There are several types of assessments depending on your business' style of management and corporate beliefs. Most leader assessments clue the employer into strengths and weaknesses of employees, which assists in employee placement.

I recommend: The Free Management Library provides an overview of leadership itself with links to exploring competencies, theories and styles of leadership. Getting down to assessment basics, the SelfHelpBible.com explains why leadership assessment is helpful. To see how a leadership style assessment reveals information about someone, see hrtools.

Discover your leadership skills with leadership assessment tools

Now that you have a firm understanding of leadership assessment basics and know the benefits of assessments, explore self-assessment tools. Before testing employees or applicants, take the time to use self-assessment tools so that you experience the testing process and gain knowledge of your own strengths and weaknesses. There are a number of self-assessment tests available and some are free leadership self-assessment tests.

I recommend: PiB.net provides a self-assessment tool for identifying how you perceive yourself as a leader. Leadership Self-Assessment Activity provides an assessment test you score yourself. The Trusted Leader, a book written to help improve trust in the work place, provides a self-assessment test online. Leadership-And-Motivation-Training.com has in-depth self-assessment tools at your disposal.

Practice administering leadership assessment tests

Just as the self-assessment tests revealed important points regarding your leadership skills, so will employee/applicant test results. These tools improve the workplace by offering more appropriate job placements. The results of the tests tell you what areas of training employees may need to strengthen their skills. Take advantage of free leadership tests when practicing test administration.

I recommend: Find the leadership style of employees with a free leadership assessment test from Your Leadership Legacy. For a leadership skills assessment test that measures four major skill areas, check out myskillsprofile. TalentSIM offers a demo to test employee leader skills through a simulated experience.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Seek leadership assessment certification to increase your knowledge, skills and credibility.

Human resource professionals know better than to believe that leadership is an elusive quality one must be born with. In fact, these professionals could probably list a dozen or so traits and competencies that constitute effective leadership. Most willing employees would be able to master these traits with study and practice. Here is an overview of concepts and terms that describe the most common leadership assessments:

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Assessment instruments

Assessment instruments are objective tests that human resources professionals use to determine whether an individual possesses qualities or skills considered necessary for effective leadership.

I recommend: Go to Leadership Assessments to learn about a common assessment instrument known as the 360 Acumen Workstyles Assessment. This test is typical of leadership assessment instruments because it identifies specific traits and then quantifies results from testing on individuals to determine their strengths and weaknesses in order to determine their capacity for good leadership.

Jung Typology Test

This test has been a standard of human resources managers who believe that effective leaders possess certain inherent qualities.

I recommend: Go to Human Metrics to view a sample Jung Typology Test. Reading these questions will give you an idea of the behaviors and personal inclinations that some professionals believe indicate an individual's capacity for leadership.

Innovative leadership assessment

The innovative leadership assessment tool scores individuals on certain skills and their ability to perform certain business procedures.

I recommend: At Chart Your Course International you can read about the competencies that HR professionals today are focusing on as they rate an individual's capacity for effective leadership.

Leadership motivation test

One of the unwritten rules for effective leadership is that successful leaders are motivated. The leadership motivation test is designed to help individuals decide whether they truly want to lead.

I recommend: Mind Tools explains the theory behind a leadership motivation test. You'll learn what points to consider as you contemplate whether to pursue a leadership role. The site also allows you to take a practice leadership motivation test.

Optimal Thinking 360 Assessment

The Optimal Thinking 360 Assessment allows potential leaders to understand their particular style of thinking and their work performance levels.

I recommend: Optimal Thinking discusses how thought patterns and working styles of non-managerial employees can be used to rate these employees' propensity for leadership. Find out what kind of employees are considered the best people to take this assessment.

Assertiveness quiz

The assertiveness quiz has become more popular in recent years since assertiveness, as opposed to aggressiveness, is considered a crucial quality a good leader should possess.

I recommend: Go to Leadership and Motivation Training to take a practice assertiveness quiz. Taking the quiz will help you better understand how the positive quality of assertiveness differs from the negative qualities of aggressiveness and passiveness.