Assessments

 

“Measure Responsibility, Not Self Interest” is not only an admonition but the finding of a Murphy Leadership-American Management Association Study Conducted first in 1985 and replicated in 1997 and in the Run Toward the Roar 2007-2010 study led by Dr. Murphy  and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the State University of NY and Aliant University. Too often, surveys and assessments are designed with intrinsic biases that distort the results in a direction that favors the interests of a particular constituency or backs a client into an unfavorable position. All leaders need to be mindful that “what you measure is what you stand for” in the eyes of those taking the survey or assessment you request them to take. Assessments are among the most powerful tools a leader can use. In an economy hungry for guidance that can be trusted, assessments can have the appearance of objectivity even though they are not scientifically proven to measure a subject with professional neutrality and rigor.

Index I : The Cultural Inventory II : The Roar Readiness Leadership Inventory III : LEADERSHIP TALENT ALIGNMENT & SUCCESSION PLANNING with  the Leadership Work Mapping™ Assessment.   Roar Readiness Mini Survey

Murphy Leadership recognizes these issues and the responsibility to provide clients with assessments that are verifiable, reliable and proven to be without bias and design distortion. That is why we have aligned ourselves with some of the most recognized research institutions in the world and been awarded such major research awards as the Helen Yerger Award from the Healthcare Financial Management Association of America, the American Management Association’s Meritorious Research Award and the Brigham Quality Leadership Research Award, among others. We are deeply committed to making your survey and assessment a professionally valuable and personally rewarding experience, one that provides the insight and guidance essential to making clear decisions in an otherwise complex world. Backing this commitment is one of the largest leadership, cultural and work activity databases in the industry. The following are some examples of Survey and Assessment Tools that can be adapted and applied to fit your specific needs.

I : The Cultural Inventory

The Leadership Practices Cultural Inventory™ is a unique and powerful instrument that guides, inspires and focuses organizations on the priorities that drive success. Developed and refined over 20 years with over 2 million subjects, the Inventory keys into the factors that create a “magnet of responsibility” for the whole organization. It provides a map of opportunities for improvement in service, innovation and leadership, opportunities that affirm and build confidence and responsibility.

By contrast with the “nay say” tendencies of so many surveys, the Leadership Practices Cultural Inventory™ brings the team together in a common cause of responsibility and stewardship. It keys into and supports your mission, vision and values - the very issues that attract and retain talent. It empowers those who want to achieve with the information and insight they need to take action and assume even higher levels of responsibility.

The Leadership Practices Cultural Inventory™ can be implemented from the whole corporate system to the individual department and team, or to any level in between. It provides a foundation for any process of self-examination, change and transformation. As many CEO’s have said: The Leadership Practices Cultural Inventory communicated the priorities I had been trying to in a way that only self-discovery can accomplish.”

II : The Roar Readiness Leadership Inventory

The Roar Readiness Leadership Inventory™ is a vital tool for self-discovery and personal career planning. Developed through research with over 27,000 leaders, it helps individuals assess their development on the key characteristics essential for career – and life – success. In an efficient and supportive format, it takes individuals through a process of self-discovery where strengths become the things to build on and weaknesses become feedback for growth. It incorporates a unique evidence based Roar Risk and Opportunities Planning Guide™ that translates the insights from the self-assessment into a pragmatic blueprint for action. The Guide provides reinforcement of individual self worth and the optimism that comes from commitment to a concrete course of personal leadership improvement.

The Roar Master Executive Leadership Inventory™ can be utilized as a stand-alone tool. However, it is especially valuable as part of the Executive IQ Coaching System™ or as part of a seminar where each individual takes the RDLI as part of a team developmental learning experience. When completed in the context of a leadership seminar, the results are provided individually and in aggregate for team learning.

III : LEADERSHIP TALENT ALIGNMENT & SUCCESSION PLANNING with  the Leadership Work Mapping™ Assessment.

Are the Right Leaders in the Right Place at the Right Time, at the right Cost and for the right Reason? For Now? For the Future?

15% of your people drive 95% of your organization’s success. These are your high responsibility leaders. Do you know who they are and what they do? What they could do? And, what they won’t be able to do if they’re gone or not replaced?

Leadership Work Mapping™ answers these questions and more. Utilized as part of a comprehensive interviewing and self-assessment process, RLM provides you with a picture of how well your leaders are aligned to fulfill the organization’s mission both now and in the future. Alignment and gap analyses point to specific actions required to both stay on course and adapt to the future. Discuss how this process can help your organization protect and develop the Talent Capital it needs to flourish.

 

Roar Readiness Mini Survey

From Murphy Leadership and the upcoming book Run Toward the Roar: How Exceptional Leaders Build the Courage to Win by Emmett C. Murphy, PhD

Introduction: The following items are selected from the comprehensive Roar Readiness Assessment for Organizations developed by Murphy Leadership through its research of 982 business, healthcare, public service and governmental organizations during the period 2007-2010. Roar Readiness refers to one’s capacity to address the challenge of the Lion’s Roar in business and professional life. This mini assessment may provide you insights into your and your organization’s need to build the capacity for courage and the willingness to engage the challenges of a new and markedly different economy.

Directions: Score each of the following on a score of 1-7. Total your individual scores and average them. Then, read the interpretation below.

open/download this Mini Survey as PDF

 

In my organization...		Score (1-7)
1	Associates across all levels are involved in assessing risk and opportunity.	__________
2	High level performers are deeply engaged in change.	__________
3	When the organization is under stress, individuals regularly step forward to take on new responsibilities.	__________
4	When change hits, leaders spend 60% plus of their time directly in the front-lines.	__________
5	Individuals feel safe taking vital information directly to a C-Level Leader.	__________
6	60% plus of associates own personal responsibility for the survival and success of the organization.	__________
7	Teams are focused on highest priority survival and success issues.	__________
8	The Right People are in the Right Place, doing the Right Work to deliver high quality performance.	__________
9	Leaders believe their futures are aligned with the organization’s future.	__________
10	Leaders have the skills and courage necessary to engage risk and opportunity head on.	__________
	Total Score	__________
	Average Score	__________

Interpretation

Each of the above items is derived from research of how leaders have generated the skills and courage to succeed in the face of powerful and asymmetric forces of change. These leaders have established a new generation of organizational best practices for generating and sustaining profitability, customer and brand loyalty and, most significantly, the personal ownership and courage to step forward to achieve both.

In this context, an average score of 5, 6 or 7 for the above Roar Readiness Mini Assessment reveals an above average readiness to generate the courage and ownership necessary to adapt to new realities and achieve sustainable success. Obviously, a score of 4 suggests borderline readiness, and scores of 3, 2 and 1 reveal significant levels of risk.

While this is a mini assessment, the indicators have far more than mini implications. Each is grounded in measurable research that are predictive of specific causes and outcomes. Our science on the dynamics and metrics of adaptation - the process by which we individually and collectively survive - is growing dramatically through Run Toward the Roar and other research and consulting efforts. We are making dramatic progress in how to help leaders target their efforts with non-invasive precision and impact. The results are strengthening of an individual’s and organization’s healthy tendencies and the building of new intellectual and emotional fitness and muscle. The result is courage, which is expressed in the stepping forward of individuals and teams to accept higher levels of ownership for the organization’s mission and success.

For more information on the research and the practices that translate it into action, please see our research and presentations, or call us for a collegial discussion.

Good luck. We wish you good fortune on your personal Run Toward the Roar.