The Top 5 Assessments for Building Your Team

Assessments can be a great way to teach team members about the commonalities and differences among their peers. When we work with others, it becomes quickly evident that we all have preferences and styles for how we work, think, communicate, and handle conflict. There are 5 great assessments that I recommend to help individuals and teams better understand style differences and leverage team diversity. Your choice of assessment will depend on your team’s specific need and who will be facilitating the feedback. Most assessments require a certified facilitator to administer and provide feedback, but there are some simpler assessment that do not require certification. One of these assessments is the Interpersonal Styles Assessment (ISA), which I developed and you can get on this website for free. Below, I provide information on the assessments I most recommend to managers. You can visit the website listed for each to get more information. 

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI):

Strengths:Depth of Information
Weakness: Complexity and time to process
Facilitator: Must be a professional, qualified administrator and facilitator
Debrief time: At least 2 hours
Where to purchase: cpp.com
Cost: $12 – basic paper self score, $24 – Online Step II (Recommended) per person

Interpersonal Styles Assessment (ISA):

Strengths: Affiliated with a well-researched model, workbook, Easy to understand and apply.
Weakness: Not intended to be an in-depth assessment
Facilitator: No certification required
Debrief time: 1 hour
Where to purchase:DrJasonJones.com
Cost: Free

Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (KTS-II):

Strengths: Affiliated with a well researched model, book, and extensive online resources.
Weakness: Complex, time to process
Facilitator: Not required, but highly recommended
Debrief time: At least 2 hours
Where to purchase: Keirsey.com
Cost: Free

DiSC:

Strengths: Affiliated with a well-researched model, used broadly, Easy to understand and apply.
Weakness: Not intended to be an in-depth assessment
Facilitator: No certification required but recommended
Debrief time: 1-2 hours
Where to purchase:  Corexcel.com
Cost: $21.50 per person

5 Dysfunctions Team Assessment:

Strengths: Affiliated with a popular model, book, and workbook.
Weakness: May cause more conflict initially, but the conflict is typically something that needs to be addressed for the team to move forward. Team insights rather than personal insights.
Facilitator: Someone familiar with the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team model and content. Strong facilitation recommended (Facilitator Guide available)
Debrief time: At least 2 hours
Where to purchase: TheTableGroup.com
Cost: $34.50 per person, $225 Facilitator’s Guide.