Is It Worth It To Pay For An Assessment To Help You With Self-Awareness And Decision Making?
Written by: Stacie Carroll, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
There are so many personality assessments out there, so how do you know if it is worth spending the money to take one of these assessments, and should you spend the money to have a certified coach or debriefer go through your results with you?
First, investing in yourself is never a bad decision. Consider what will happen if you do not invest in yourself? Nothing, you will stay in the same place you are now. What could happen if you do invest in yourself? You could gain self-awareness that allows you to make some big improvements in your life, help you better relate to others, or helps you make a big life decision with confidence. Whatever your reason, investing in yourself is always worth it.
Buying the assessment and reading the results on your own. (sub header)
The organizations that research and manage the various assessments often provide informational resources, data, and tips to go along with your results. This information is helpful to a degree. You may find out something you didn’t know about yourself and a way forward you didn’t see before.
The problem is that often people are left with more questions than answers. What exactly do these results mean for me as a unique individual? What do I do now with these results? Not all the results sound like they fit me, now what?
While you do get some useful information out of purchasing an assessment and reading through the results on your own, you do not reap the full benefits of understanding what a well-researched assessment result means for you.
Buying the assessment and paying for a coach or consultant to debrief your results. (sub header)
This option is more expensive than just paying for the assessment. Depending on the type and length of coaching or debriefing, the cost can vary. Remember though, investing in yourself is never a bad decision.
Working with a coach or consultant who is certified to help you fully understand what your assessment results mean to you is for many people, priceless. The coach will take you through not only the products you receive after you take the assessment but often have additional products for you to go along with their coaching. The coach or consultant is trained to understand the nuances of the assessment, meaning they act almost as a personalized interpreter, capable of explaining not only what the assessment result means but how that applies to you as an individual. Certified coaches and consultants can then help you understand how you can productively use this information going forward.
Individuals have discovered fields of work they never even thought of that fit exactly what they need to be fulfilled and excited about. Others have discovered talents they didn’t realize they had and used those talents to increase their income or reach goals. Some have gained a deeper understanding of how they are wired and better ways to deal with their stress. People even have become better at relating to others.
This deeper level of understanding is not possible without the help of a certified coach or consultant. So, when deciding how to invest in yourself determine if you are looking for a surface-level understanding or a deeper level understanding and what your ideal outcome is for this investment.
If you are interested in well-researched strength-based assessments that can help you or your team here are some suggestions.
Are you interested in being coached on your results? Inquire here.
Stacie Carroll, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Stacie is an executive leadership coach with 17 years of experience leading in high pressure, male-dominated environments. Stacie takes her leadership experience coupled with her education in engineering and applies this expertise to her coaching. She helps leaders and organizations become more successful and competitive through proven leadership development and thriving organizational cultures. Stacie is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) advocate who helps leaders to start cultural conversations around DEIB and to forge pathways toward an organization’s DEIB goals. Lastly, she is a certified strengths coach helping individuals and teams understand the genius of who they truly are. Her mission: To create leaders and organizations who are self-aware, strong yet empathetic and have positive, productive and inclusive cultures.
