I am about to administer the Kolbe A to the Veritas Board of Trustees so I thought it was a good time for a quick blog about it.
When I first heard of Kolbe, I was extremely dismissive. Having participated in and been trained in numerous assessment tools, I thought “been there, done that” when it came to the Kolbe. A friend told me it was different. Clients urged me consider it as a tool. But I balked… until a client said, “I’ll pay for you to get certified with me” (at a cost of a few thousand dollars). I agreed. If nothing else, my client and I would spend a few days together moving our project forward. If the Kolbe was a “win”, all the better.
So I read the materials on the plane to Arizona and became intrigued. Unlike the Meyers Briggs, DISC, and many others, the Kolbe is NOT a personality test (or any other “affective” measurement). It measures something completely different. It measures how you will approach striving or doing. It measures how you take action or what you will do. The term for this is “conation” and thus the Kolbe is a conative (from the Latin conatus) assessment that is both valid and reliable. More than that, I have consistently introduced it to organizations and people that say it is the best assessment tool they have experienced. For many, the impact has been significant, even life-changing. I encourage you to find out more by clicking the link on my sidebar. Better yet, take the Kolbe A and begin to discover the “power of instinct”.
A quick overview: basically the Kolbe measures your instincts – or more accurately how you will instinctively take action, do, strive, or - in relation to these four areas:
- Data or Information - Fact Finder
- Systems and Processes – Follow-Through
- Risks, The Unknown - Quickstart
- Implements, Tangibles, or Tools – Implementer
Although the names sound a bit cheesy at first, in time you will come to embrace them and what they say about you. When you take the test, you will be assigned a number on a scale from 1-10 in each area. A “1″ is not better or worse than a “10″ – just different. The combination of the four is called your MO (modus operandi). I am an unashamed 3394 – that’s my Kolbe MO. Take the Kolbe A today. Then comment and tell me your MO.
(Side note: My wife, Kim, just walked by the computer and said the Kolbe is “revolutionary”)
If you take the test, you will receive an on-line interpretation. But if you’d like to know more, please contact me. I’d be glad to help.
I’m a 2577. Kolbe has helped me understand myself. It is amazing! Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the Kolbe index for myself and in helping understand and appreciate those around me. I especially love the insight we gained about our children when they took it! Wow!