FAQs

  • I work with six different assessments, which each measure something different.

    DISC – measures observable behaviors; how you show up

    The Six Motivators – measures what drives you; your affinities

    The 12 Driving Forces – measures what energizes and what stresses you; affinities and aversions

    Acumen Capacity Index (ACI) – measures how clearly you think and make decisions; how you interpret and value people, tasks, and systems both internally and externally

    The Four Tendencies – measures your responses to internal and external expectations; how you handle expectations

    CliftonStrengths – measures your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving; your talents and strengths

    Read more about the difference between each assessment here.

  • No. This would be like using your weight on a scale to determine some other characteristic like your eye or hair color. Because each assessment measures something different, you cannot use the results of one to predict the results of another.

    However, there can be results from assessment to assessment that magnify one another.

    • TTI has integrated reports

    • All assessments are validated by both in-house neuroscience and independent research

    • A wealth of data; over 35 million assessments administered worldwide

    • TTI has distributed assessments in over 100 countries and 48 languages

    • Dedicated staff research to ensure the validity and reliability of assessments

    • They have excellent company support

    • TTI is the largest provider of the Acumen Capacity Index, which is not an easy science to tackle

  • There’s no single-best assessment. What are you trying to measure? If you want the best learning experience, you want a balance of things being measured, meaning not focusing on a single assessment. I recommend the Personal Brilliance DNA – a full suite of assessments that measure different aspects of your personality.

    Read more about how assessments should be used here.

  • No. But suppose you are feeling like you are having a professional identity crisis. In that case, these assessments can provide a different way of looking at your strengths, values, and perceptions. These measured results can enable you to identify what brings you fulfillment. If you are out of alignment with what drives you, you have to work in a way that is contrary to your driving forces results, you’re fighting against the work itself or the structure or culture of a company, then you’re going to find yourself thinking “this is work I’m not good at.”

    If the work you do does not draw on your motivators, you will probably feel like you’re not fulfilling your purpose. Are you using your strengths to get to your work? Does it match your motivators? Does it fit with your strengths? Feeling connected to the work you do as well as how you do it leads to a greater sense of professional satisfaction and personal fulfillment. Gaining self-awareness through assessments is like the roadmap to leading to professional satisfaction and personal fulfillment.

  • Each assessment has different purposes, so each comes with varying recommendations for when to take and retake them. Some you only need to take once, but others are useful to take more regularly.

    Here are the general recommendations for each:

    • The Four Tendencies – Generally, there is no real need to retake. If you feel a shift in your tendencies, retaking is a good idea.

    • CliftonStrengths – There is typically no strong reason for retaking it.

    • TTI Assessments (DISC, The Six Motivators, The 12 Driving Forces, ACI, and EQ) – Anyone with at least a 9th-grade reading level* can take these assessments

      • DISC, The Six Motivators, and 12 Driving Forces – Retake it yearly or every other year to monitor progress.

      • ACI and EQ – Retake them as regularly as you like to measure changes

    Read more about when you should take and retake assessments here.

  • No. Behaviors are only directly assessed through a DISC assessment. Even if you use DISC, you can’t predict whether a behavior is natural or adapted or where behavioral blends appear. DISC behaviors are more sophisticated than being able to assign a single letter to sum up a person. I strongly recommend against attempting to box people into assessment results.

  • No. The assessments used to identify your Personal Brilliance DNA doesn’t predict good relationship partners. I have seen couples with similar results that are happy and couples with vastly different results that are happy. If there’s anything predictive within these assessments, it’s in revealing potential points of tension.

    If you’ve already chosen a partner and want to strengthen your relationship, you can find some areas of disagreement to work on. These are good diagnostics because they may shorten the learning curve in identifying potential stressors.

  • No, it’s not predictive. You cannot predict strengths, but it’s sometimes possible to have a clue about tendencies. If you understand tendencies, you can observe someone over a long period to see patterns in how they manage expectations. If you’re really well versed in it, you can probably predict with better than 50%, but I still wouldn’t rely on that.

  • Yes, if you understand what the one assessment is measuring. But you should never take one assessment and think it is telling you everything.

  • Personal or work relationship, you will be more aware of your needs and have clues into the dhe primary area the assessments are helpful in is your own self-awareness. Whether it’s a pifferences between you and other people. With any clarity on self-awareness, as a result, it will lead to more clarity in your communication.

    Depending on where you are in your professional journey, these assessments can help troubleshoot what’s not going well and provide you with informed data about yourself. Professionally, it can give you insight into how you work and what kind of work situation might be best for you. It can also help employers figure out how to use people’s talents most effectively.

  • It’s helpful to have all the assessments – all the pieces to the puzzle. That being said, it can benefit coaches and consultants to use the Four Tendencies. There’s a real benefit in knowing the person you’re guiding as a coach/consultant. Understanding a client’s tendency can help you create a system of accountability that works for the individual (and it’s free!).

    Coaches and consultants can be certified in most assessments themselves through me, or I can work with clients directly to consult them about the assessments.

  • No. While there is a common DISC profile of entrepreneurs (D/I), this does not mean people with other profiles can’t be entrepreneurs or leaders.

  • No. However, there is a benefit in “softening the edges” if your behaviors, motivators, or driving forces are closer to the ends of the spectrum. By taking assessments, you can learn if you have certain overextensions that create challenges for you in communication. These assessments can also give you the perspective to reserve judgment about how others show up by understanding behaviors. Additionally, you should be aware of power dynamics. For example, if you are in a position of selling, the obligation to soften edges is on you, not the person you are selling to.

  • Strengths and motivators don’t usually change unless there’s a significant life event, but it's possible if you want to change your behavioral style. However, the more important question to ask is why you feel you need to change your style. No style is bad, and no behavior style needs to be changed; they just need to be understood. If you feel compelled to change your style, then you might need to explore the cause of that desire to change.

  • These assessments can help you gain self-awareness, which is the centerpiece of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness is where you start to get better at communicating with people, decrease tension in your relationships with others, increase effectiveness in your job, and become a better parent, partner, and friend. These assessments open the door so you can ask yourself: how do I use this knowledge to show up more effectively?

  • No. Neurodivergence is a catch-all term for people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason. This is very different from behaviors. Though neurodiversity can impact behaviors, there are no set behaviors that correlate to neurodiversity. Each neurodivergent person is a unique individual who shows up with a different behavioral profile.