Formal Testing for Giftedness

One might hope that there exists some magic to quickly and accurately identify your unique giftings. But one would hope in vain. In the real world, no such thing exists.

Yes, there are tools available which can be helpful. Helpful in a rough-and-ready sense, but not determinative.

Why not determinative? Because just like an “off the rack” suit, these were designed with the average in mind. And you’re not average. You are unique, and so are your giftings. Nobody else on the planet has quite the same blend of talents and aptitudes as you do. So a one-size-fits-all test only goes so far.

Nearly everyone has spent an afternoon with an expert who administers the Briggs & Stratton or the Higgs Boson or some such test on everyone in the firm. Or a conference breakout where everyone gets to choose amongst a bunch of options which eventually parcel you off into the purple, orange, black or white corner of the room. Lots of fun, but you go home wondering why you got labeled as a “sensitive intellectual with a side order of numericity”.

While these exercises are a wonderful way to have a laugh and get to know your co-workers better, and while they may leave management with a vague sense they’re fine-tuning the workforce, they fall somewhere between parlour games and science. Of some utility, but only one tool in the toolbox.

So, by now you must be saying, “OK, Norm, you’re telling us that self-assessment can be deceptive, and formal testing is a bit rough around the edges. So, bright guy, what’s the answer?”

To that question, I regret to say, there is no snappy answer. But that’s life, isn’t it? Fortunately, and like many things, solutions can be found in a judicious mix of techniques, of which formal testing and self-analysis are important. Just not by themselves.

In the next few weeks we’ll look at the strengths and weaknesses of self-analysis, as well as the insights of friends, colleagues, and family. We’ll then pull all that together with an approach which in a sense reverse-engineers the Alignment Principle.

Stay tuned!