The year was 2012. 

Those who know me now might find it surprising that I was not confident at that point in my life. I was 12 years into my career in the agency/corporate world of marketing.  

I was told I was good at what I did – yet everyday felt like another day where I had to start all over, prove myself and my worth in the role.

And heaven help me when I’d have to transition into a new role or company – they’ll see right away that I’m not meant to be here! (imposter syndrome much??).

In my quest to remedy that feeling I ran through the gauntlet of assessments made available to me. I was hungry for them. I took everything thrown my way and tried to digest it and make sense of it…make sense of me.

✔ “What Color Is Your Parachute?”

✔ Myers-Briggs

✔ Enneagram

✔ StrengthsFinder

Enneagram resonated with me the most.

Myers-Briggs was ok because I shared ENFJ with a celebrity crush. 

StrengthsFinder actually did more harm than good.

In my top five there were a couple that resonated. But my number 2… Intellection…nope!

There’s a deep explanation of what Intellection is and how you employ it as well as things to look at so that you don’t underuse or overuse it. Yet all I saw was intellect and I didn’t consider myself smart even when I saw proof showing otherwise. I don’t blame that belief on anything or anyone outside of myself. I’ve had wonderful support my entire life but there was something in me that wasn’t confident in my intelligence.

The result created conflict within me and I doubted myself even more. I really delved into what I believed would prove to others (and myself) that I wasn’t an imposter and I was valuable through the detail, execution and operations work even though I have the natural ability to look at things from different perspectives and provide thoughtful, logical insight. No wonder I burned out quickly.

For the longest time because of this dissonance and not feeling fulfilled in the work I put my energy into, when someone says “assessments” or “labels someone” – and especially since I’ve developed my self-awareness with coaching – it made me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit. 

So how can you approach assessments to ensure you’re getting the most out of them?

As Lori, Amy Curler and I discuss in the latest BBI episode, “A Cautionary Tale of Assessments,” you can ask yourself:

➡️ Have you built a solid foundation before taking assessments? 

➡️ Are you able to discern the results of your assessment?

➡️ Do you have the capacity to practically apply the results?

➡️ Do you have the confidence to challenge the results if they don’t resonate with you?

➡️ Do you know how to maintain your energy and continue to show up and perform your best and be your best after you’ve gotten the results?

➡️ Do you take personal responsibility to have solid communications around the assessment?

If you’re not sure about some of the above questions, it’s a great time to reach out to your organization’s Learning & Development department, a mentor, trusted friend or a professional development coach.

So you move from 🤢 or 🤔 to 😁.