Development Goals

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch 

The purpose of goal setting, in addition to delivering business results, is to assist people in improving and enhancing their skills and competencies through workplace learning and development initiatives. As a result, it contributes substantially to the development of managerial goals as well as to the overall development of a manager. Managers devote most of their time to helping their employees and teams achieve their goals. This shifts the focus from individual goal achievement to organizational goals. 

A majority of organizations state that they do not do a good job in developing leaders. Taking a step back, let us consider why goal setting is relevant to managers and how we can put these plans into action. 

The goal of becoming a good leader is too vague. Pick small skills and goals that you would like to develop and create a SMART objective around them. Having a clear understanding of your goals and objectives is a great way to stay focused and connected. It will provide clarity to the team as well, which will in turn help them to reach their long-term goals. It is important to surround yourself with individuals who have different perspectives from your own, so that you can learn from them and gain some experience. You should be aware of your team’s strengths and weaknesses, and work on addressing your blind spots in order to make them work for you. 

Once you have completed the goal setting process, you should focus on areas where you can improve. Here are some of the goals which will help managers improve their overall productivity and help them become better leaders: 

Improving communication skills will facilitate a team’s overall development. Be sure that managers are clear and concise in both their verbal and non-verbal communication. 

Developing coaching and mentoring skills is an effective method of identifying the strengths and weaknesses that your employees possess. Establish measurable and achievable goals for your employees, such as improved performance. 

Increasing productivity is one of the most important goals for any manager. Make sure that you and your team set productivity goals that will benefit the organization as a whole. 

Great leaders and managers are always willing to collaborate with others. They do not allow any personal issues to interfere with their work. They appreciate the importance of collaboration on a daily basis. 

Leading and managing change is a vital skill for managers and leaders. To motivate and prepare managers for any upcoming change within the organization, it is fundamental to set change management goals. 

Many managers are uncomfortable with leadership skills. First-time managers are not the only ones who face problems in managing the team, delegating work, providing effective feedback to employees, and resolving conflict. You should make sure that your goals are attainable and can be adjusted as necessary in order to achieve them. 

The objectives of each organization are unique. Toward the end of the day, make sure you are working together with your group to identify and achieve objectives that will serve the organization in the long term.  

SMART GOALS 

Goal Setting is a crucial aspect in every task. Goal setting is omnipresent in the sense, we set goals in our personal and professional life. Goals can be as simple as waking up at 7:00 in the morning or as complex as accomplishing something 5 years down the line. With the understanding that the world has become a highly competitive place, and everyone urges about what is next, goal setting becomes an integral aspect. 

Given the importance and the role goal setting plays in this fast-paced world, it is even more crucial for a manager. The reason being they not just need to work on goals for themselves but also set goals for their team members and guide them move in that direction. 

Let’s start with understanding what goal setting is. It is a step-by-step process of moving towards a target that one wishes to achieve. Goal setting as mentioned is a complex act, though the definition seems much simpler. Setting a goal is not difficult but measuring the pain and sacrifices that come at each step and deciding whether you still want to pursue the goal is crucial. So, in short, goal setting not only pertains to deciding the goal but analyzing the price one is willing to pay. 

As said managers need to set goals for oneself as well for the team and teammates. So, there are certain essential things to focus when engaging in the goal setting process. 

It is essential to frame goals that are in line with the company’s overall objectives. If the team members are oriented about how they impact the company’s overall objectives, it is proven they’ll be more focused and tend to contribute better. 

Instead of keeping the goal setting process as a one-way road, it is better to make it two way. As in, involve the individuals while setting their goals. The managers might have a certain set of goals in mind, but it is always good to ask the individual and plan the goals accordingly. This way they’ll be more committed and perform better. 

As known, set SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed. So, when a goal is set based on SMART goals, it becomes more realistic, visible, and quantifiable. This helps for both the managers and the individual to analyze their performance and optimize. 

Being managers, it is also essential to keep in mind to set coherent goals for employees of the same level. In the case of setting goals that are way too different from each other for individuals with similar responsibilities give rise to unnecessary issues in the team. 

Praising and appreciating top performers is as crucial as pointing out their mistakes. Rewards boost the employees and accelerate them to perform better. It might also make the other team members change gears and enhance their performance. In case their efforts go unnoticed there is a chance the employee loses their motivation, which is not a very good sign for the team. 

Managers shouldn’t think their work ends with setting the goals for the team. It is crucial to constantly work with the team in their goal setting process and create an action plan. Goal setting for managers is a continuous process where they need to constantly work with their team and boost them to reach the goals. 

APTITUDE TESTS FOR MANAGERS 

Managers are crucial to the success of any organization. This requires them to handle many tasks efficiently. Their performance has a direct impact on the productivity of the organization. Hiring a manager who can increase the productivity of the business and manage the team effectively is very important. As part of the assessment of a candidate who has applied for a managerial position, he/she should take a psychometric test to gain an understanding of what he/she can offer the organization. Additionally, psychometric tests will assist in making an informed decision concerning whether to assign someone to a managerial role. Tests such as personality tests, reasoning tests, verbal reasoning tests, numerical reasoning tests, and others are useful to assess the skill set of a potential managerial candidate. 

Managers, in general, should have good numerical reasoning, good verbal skills (communication skills) and the ability to simplify complicated situations logically. The above-mentioned psychometric tests may assist in evaluating those aspects of the candidate. In essence, these tests assess an individual’s ability to perform a variety of tasks (that is, test their abilities in various fields). 

1. Numerical Reasoning – The objective of the numerical reasoning test is to determine a candidate’s ability to understand, interpret, and manipulate numbers. Testing questions are composed of numerical information, which is represented by graphs, charts, tables, etc. Typically, candidates are required to comprehend a pattern, interpret its meaning, and then select a response. Since managers are expected to analyze reports containing numbers, this capability will facilitate a better analysis of the data. 
2. Test of Verbal Reasoning – This test is designed to determine the candidate’s ability to comprehend and interpret verbal and written material. This will primarily test the ability of the candidate to interpret a passage, assess whether statements from the passage are true or false, etc. The purpose of this test is to determine whether one can correctly interpret the information. For managers, this is crucial since they are required to analyze data from various reports. 
3. Logical Reasoning Test – The objective of this test is to assess the candidate’s ability to understand different patterns, trends, etc. In addition, it is to investigate how abstract information is interpreted. Generally, this kind of test involves patterns, designs, sequences of images, series, etc. Tests such as these are used when the organization intends to hire someone with the ability to solve problems effectively, understand the connections between patterns and elements, and respond appropriately to new situations. Tests like these are used to evaluate candidates for positions in leadership and management. 
4. Critical Thinking Tests – The objective of the test is to assess the candidate’s ability to think critically and interpret the information. This test emphasizes analyzing, reasoning, and interpreting information. This type of test usually contains arguments and assumptions. Candidates must identify assumptions, infer meaning, and provide information. Typically, this test is taken by individuals who are applying for managerial positions. 

Listed above are several general aptitude/psychometric tests which can be used to assess the skills of a candidate for a managerial position. You are welcome to contact us if you are looking for these types of assessments.  

PSYCHOMETRICS FOR MANAGERS 

Managing people is one of the most challenging aspects of management and leadership roles. There is only one thing we wish people or employees would come with an operating manual to manage them more effectively. As a result of the differences and complexities amongst individuals, every operating manual would have been unique. Thus, there would be hundreds of thousands of operating manuals available, each unique to the individual. Things would have been much simpler even then. 

Unfortunately, there is no such operating manual, and people are not machines. As such, managers must learn the key skills of people management so that they can keep their employees motivated, develop them, and drive their performance. Personnel management is one of the key differences between an Individual Contributor and a People Manager. It is perhaps the most crucial competency. At the end of the day, as the saying goes, “People leave managers, not companies.”. 

Within this context, assessing managerial potential and people management skills is of utmost importance. Therefore, psychometric tests for managers have tremendous value. Most organizations place a high priority on developing their managers, since they are responsible for recruiting, retaining, and inspiring the company’s assets. The following are some of the most critical people management competencies that should be assessed in managers. 

List of People Management Competencies 

Affiliation: Managers should be approachable so that doubts can be clarified on time and productivity is not affected. To be affiliated, one must be warm and friendly rather than distant and solitary. 

Trust: This is the most important aspect of building a successful team. Especially if the trust is vulnerability-based trust, where each team member is able to express themselves honestly. Managers must also freely trust fellow employees if they wish to develop trust within the team. The practice of holding back tasks and completing them on their own indicates that managers do not trust their employees. Building trust can be achieved by giving away a task, providing structure, allowing the employee to speak up, and providing feedback. 

Assertiveness and Control: These capabilities may or may not be separate competencies. In any case, too much people’s orientation may also be detrimental to productivity, so practicing assertiveness and control becomes vital. The manager must act when necessary and should not leave others to act independently. It is the manager who ultimately is responsible for the completion of each task. 

Tactical: This is an extremely important people management competency that can be assessed using a psychometric test. Managers should be tactful and diplomatic in their communications with others and should be able to adjust their behavior based on the person with whom they are interacting. Managers who are tactical are straightforward and transparent when required and avoid disclosing too much information at other times. 

Delegation: Managers are responsible for the productivity of their teams. Therefore, delegation is a competency that managers need to possess. Managers must be able to delegate effectively to develop their team members and to accomplish tasks. 

Developing people: Managers are also called upon to act in the capacity of a coach or mentor from time to time. They need to take the time to support the people in reaching their full potential and becoming more efficient. To deliver value to the organization, managers are required to play to their individual strengths as well as create holistic teams. 

These were some of the critical people management competencies that psychometric tests can be used to determine. Additionally, these tests can help us evaluate various other managerial competencies to arrive at hiring and development decisions for managers. 

The Central Test Personality Inventory – Revised (CTPI-R) is one such psychometric test for managers.