Imagine constantly being in “the zone” at work. We all go there sometimes. It’s being easy, almost natural, to maintain focus for long periods. You’re energized by your work, you get into a rythm and time flies by. You’re productive and fulfilled.
Everyone gets in the zone a little differently. Understanding what gets you in the zone is the goal of a profiling tool called The Kolbe A™ Index, which is used by companies hiring the best people.
The Kolbe A™ Index is different from other personality assessments because it measures on-the-job behaviors—not communication styles, social preferences or ways of perceiving. It’s designed to boost productivity and effectiveness rather than increase understanding of your personality.
What is Kolbe?
The Kolbe A Index is a diagnostic tool to discover your instincts for taking action—your modus operandi, or method of operating. It reveals your unique strengths and natural abilities in acting creatively to solve problems.
The idea behind Kolbe is that people have an innate “gut instinct” when they make decisions. Once you can identify these gut insticts, you’re able to capitalize on them, empowering you to make better decisions. When you have the freedom to lean into your natural problem-solving abilities, you’re able to become the most productive, stress-free version of yourself. The result is called your modus operandi, or method of operation. (Or MO, for short.)
Instincts fall into four MOs:
- Fact Finders: The instinct to probe. Fact finders excel at evaluating and deliberating.
- Follow-throughs: The instinct to pattern information. They excel at coordinating, planning and scheduling.
- Quick Starts: The instinct to innovate. Quick starts excel when originating, improvising and experimenting.
- Implementors: The instinct to handle space and tangibles. They excel when they can tackle tangible solutions, or build models or devices.
Once you understand your instinct for taking action, you can learn how to channel your energy into achieve your goals. Having the freedom to act on your MO improves your communication and leadership skills, and empowers you solve problems more effectively and efficiently.
Greater success with Kolbe
But does the Kolbe A Index work? Good question! Compared to other assessments (like the Meyers-Briggs Temperament Indicator®), the Kolbe Index is backed up by extensive research that supports its effectiveness in the workplace, with a remarkable ability to predict behavior 82 percent of the time.
The Kolbe A Index is one the official tools Bloom Growth uses because it’s such a powerful way to identify your abilities and increase your effectiveness. It’s also helpful to identify the right people for the right seat. Many companies use Kolbe in their hiring process.
How Bloom Growth uses Kolbe A Index
Bloom Growth uses Kolbe A Index during the hiring process. We want to know about a prospect’s work style, how they process information and how they will work with the other members of the team—which makes the Kolbe super useful!
Kolbe helps us answer questions like:
- Are they at their best when they’re using their hands?
- Will they need time to get a lay of the land?
- Do they have a high follow-through propensity?
- Are they fast out of the gate?
One thing to be aware of when you’re using Kolbe during hiring: We naturally tend to prefer people like ourselves, so it’s tempting to hire people that share our personal MOs. Strong teams have a variety of strengths—Quick Starts, Fact Finders, Implementors and Follow-throughs. Using the Kolbe A Index during the hiring process can help you build a multidimensional team with a variety of strengths.
Gain momentum with Kolbe and Bloom Growth
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