In career coaching the need for robust coaching tools grounded in personality insights cannot be overstated. Running a coaching practice or business requires using these tools to understand client needs and focus on specific niches.
The foundation of the best insights is trait theory which was established in the early 20th century – but now recognised for its value in understanding human behaviour and potential. This theory underpins the Big Five personality theory. A robust measure seen as a collection of relatively stable traits that have a significant impact on an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviour. By using these tools in coaching practices Coaches can deepen their connection with their clients, address their pain points and have developmental conversations that are meaningful and transformative.
Deepening Coaching Relationships with Objective Insights and Coaching Tools
Personality assessments as coaching tools can be a key part of deepening coaching relationships by bringing objectivity into the conversation. These tools provide an outside in perspective that can validate both the coach’s and the coachee’s views. This means that the coaching conversations are based on measurable traits – rather than subjective interpretation. This objectivity builds trust and credibility so both parties can navigate personal development with a shared neutral framework.
Bringing an objective data driven personality profile into the coaching relationship helps to shine a light on parts of a coachee’s personality that may otherwise remain hidden or unspoken. Coaches can then address issues with more precision, focussing on specific traits and behaviours that can be developed to suit the clients context. This focused approach saves time and maximises the impact of the coaching process so every conversation is meaningful and directed towards measurable growth.
Knowing how to use these coaching tools in your practice is key to achieving client outcomes, life satisfaction and personal or professional development.
Plus personality assessments can make the entire coaching business and process more tangible for the coachee. Often people struggle to articulate their strengths and watch areas when their strengths are overplayed and conversations are vague or unproductive. A robust assessment tool provides a concrete basis from which both coach and coachee can explore and understand the subtleties of personality traits. This clarity enables the coachee to be more engaged in their development journey and take ownership and accountability.
Also using an objective tool can bridge the communication gap. Misunderstandings or misinterpretations can often derail coaching conversations especially when talking about sensitive topics such as emotional intelligence, personality and behaviour. An assessment tool acts as a neutral voice providing a common language and framework to talk about these topics. This shared understanding minimises the risk of miscommunication so both parties are aligned on outcomes and expectations.
Plus using these insights in coaching can enable a more targeted approach to development. Instead of using generic solutions coaches can use the detailed data from personality assessments to create customised plans that fit the coachee’s unique traits and needs. This tailored approach makes the coaching more relevant and more effective. Driving both short and long term development.
Overall using objective personality insights can transform coaching relationships making them more impactful, meaningful and goal focused.
Outside In Coaching Process
One of the biggest benefits of using personality assessments in coaching is that it enables people to see themselves through a different lens. This shift in perspective can be eye opening. And reveal insights that may have remained hidden in self reflection, help clients identify behaviours, beliefs and areas of life that with focus can really shine. People often operate within their self perception which can be limited by their own biases, blind spots and habits. An objective personality assessment can be a mirror to the self, reflecting parts of their personality that wouldn’t be visible to them otherwise.
When a coachee sees the results of the personality assessment such as Facet5, they get to step out of their usual thinking and look at themselves through a new lens. This can be a moment of great insight as people often are surprised by certain traits or tendencies they didn’t know they had. These revelations can be powerful and lead to greater self awareness and a more subtle understanding of their own behaviours and drivers.
This new perspective can also show how others see the individual giving a double benefit. Understanding self perception and external perception can bridge the gap between intention and impact so coachees can understand their self image with how they are perceived by peers, colleagues and leaders. This alignment can help with more effective interpersonal interactions and social dynamics within teams and organisations.
Plus seeing oneself from an outside in perspective encourages personal growth by challenging existing beliefs and forcing introspection. It can break complacency and make people question their assumptions and explore areas of development they may not have thought of before. It is this self reflection that is key to a growth mindset. And the foundation of personal and professional development.
In coaching terms this broad perspective can be a game changer. It opens up more meaningful and targeted interventions so coaches can design solutions that are bespoke to the coachee’s psychological profile. This alignment adds richness to the already effective coaching practice and amplifies the potential for long-term growth.
Understanding Preferences and Preferred Ways of Working for Personal and Professional Development
Bringing personality assessments into your coaching practice helps uncover an individual’s preferences and preferred ways of working. By digging into the detail of personality traits these tools give us valuable insights to help tailor our coaching solutions to the coachee’s unique needs. This personalised approach can make the coaching more effective.
When a coachee’s preferences are known it’s easier to align effective coaching techniques with their natural way of being. For example some people thrive in structured environments where tasks are clear and timelines are set, others in more flexible environments where they can solve problems creatively. A thorough personality assessment can identify these preferences so coaches can create an environment that optimises performance and satisfaction.
Preferred ways of working also extends to interpersonal interactions. Personality assessments can show how a coachee communicates, collaborates and responds to different social dynamics. For example someone with higher extraversion may excel in team projects and collaborative discussions, someone with more introversion may prefer solo tasks or one to one interactions. By recognising these tendencies coaches can facilitate team dynamics, improve communication strategies and overall workplace harmony.
Plus these insights can help with career planning and development. Knowing a coachee’s preferred ways of working allows for more informed decisions around job roles, responsibilities and career paths. This alignment means the coachee is not only in roles that play to their strengths but also in environments where they will succeed and feel fulfilled. This targeted approach can lead to higher job satisfaction and wellbeing, good for the individual and the organisation.
Understanding preferences can help with stress and work life balance. By aligning work tasks and environment to an individual’s strengths and preferred ways of working; coaches can reduce stressors that come from misaligned job roles or expectations. This alignment is a healthier more sustainable way of working and contributes to better mental health, and emotional well being.
Through the lens of personality coaches get a full picture of an individual’s preferences and working styles so they can design more effective bespoke, coaching programs and solutions.
Facilitating Comfort in Coaching Conversations About Behaviour and Personality
In coaching terms discussing behaviour and personality can be a tricky conversation during a coaching session. Using sophisticated tools like Facet5 can make these conversations much easier and create a comfortable and safe space for both coach and coachee. By providing a common language and structure these assessment tools make it easier and less confrontational to talk about personal traits and behaviour.
When a coachee sees their personality assessment results it provides a neutral platform to explore their characteristics. This neutrality helps to diffuse any defensiveness as the conversation is based on objective data not personal opinion. This creates a sense of safety and trust and allows the coachee to open up more in the conversation.
The structured nature of personality assessments provides clear starting points for these conversations. Coaches can use the results to guide the conversation in a specific way, addressing specific traits and behaviours systematically. This reduces ambiguity and ensures the conversation stays focused and goal oriented rather than vague or sensitive.
The shared language that comes from using a personality assessment like Facet5 is key to these conversations. Both coach and coachee can use the same language to talk about specific traits and behaviours, reducing the chance of misinterpretation. This common language makes it easier to articulate and address complex aspects of personality and behaviour.
Personality assessments can normalise the exploration of behaviour and personality in the coaching process. When these conversations are framed within the context of objective assessment they become a natural and expected part of the development journey. Normalising these conversations reduces the stigma and discomfort around looking at personal traits and makes the coaching experience more rich and effective.
Facet5 – Personality Focussed Coaching Tool for Your Coaching Business
For the last 35 years, Facet5 has taken reliable, trusted personality data and turned it into meaningful insights for coaching and personal development. A simple, yet robust, model of personality, we are recognised by The British Psychological Society, VPP, DNV.GL, The Association of Business Psychology and the European Test Publishers Group.
And because of this, we are the coaching tool of choice for many organisations – right across the globe. It’s our robustness and credibility that helps set us apart. Ensuring we are not only valid and reliable – but trusted.
As a coach, when using Facet5 in your coaching sessions, you can avoid the pitfalls of over-generalisation inherent in many type based tools, by offering a nuanced view of an individual’s unique personality profile.
As we say at Facet5, a personality – truly understood – provides an individual with a sense of their identity and the know-how to thrive in a changing business world.
Get in touch to see how Facet5 can help your coaching process. And see your coaching business thrive.