Guest post by: Noel Gray helps people become more productive with speed reading (more on that later), and more creative. He can usually be found at grayhaven.co.uk
Squaring a Circle
I run creativity sessions, helping people to use creative, off the wall ways to gain new insights or potential solutions to difficult problems. I will always see the big picture and I tend to treat the details as irrelevant.
On the other hand, I am an analyst, I love getting deeper and deeper into a set of performance data, or researching the how and why a particular process is working, or not.
I do both well: I have a successful career in one and am building a second career in the other. I have often been intrigued then and a little mystified as to how this can be. Surely it should be one or the other. They seem diametrically opposite.
Enter the Highlands Ability Battery. I have high classification and concept organisation scores, this gives me the ability to see relationships between things, and then arrange things logically, and clearly communicate this logic.
Equally, on the generalist – specialist spectrum I am a high specialist. The report informed me that I have “A unique, individual way of looking at the world; and a different perspective on most things”. Further I will prefer to operate in a long-term timeframe. I do not need to immediately see the results of my work.
The analyst in me is now happy since it has a clearer understanding of how the detail side and the big picture view can co-exist so cheerfully. The creative part of me is still laughing at the comment that “You will not usually come up with the ‘regular’ response or express the majority view.” Very true, and the essence of a good creativity session.
Abilities rather than Preferences
tHAB as the Highlands Ability Battery is known is different. The common raft of personality tests, MBTI, NEO, Margerison-McCann, KAI and even Belbin all have one thing in common. They assess your preferences based on your answers to a set of questions.
tHAB assesses your innate abilities. This for me makes it an ideal adjunct to say MBTI. The two can work in parallel. Better yet combined with a 360° appraisal and a description of your current, or potential job’s activities it can form part of a powerful toolkit to enable you to improve your performance and find the best fit between yourself and your work.
What is the Highlands Ability Battery?
The underlying concept it that each of us is born with a set of talents, or abilities. These are in that sense innate; once we reach adolescence they cannot be changed or learnt, however they can be assessed and understood. I have always known that there were some things I can do well, they come easily. I can drive well –though navigating is a challenge. I love good food and wine, I cannot tell you though what is in the meal I have just had. It is good or not, but ask me if does it need more salt? I haven’t a clue. This makes me an ok cook at best, I will never enjoy it or be better than average at it.
Equally, I love giving talks and presentations. The more people the better. If there is no time to prepare – well so what, I love the challenge. I am sure we all know people though for whom even talking in a small meeting is a nightmare.
This for me is the single most important aspect of the Highlands. We can become aware of and understand our innate strengths and capabilities, and work to make the most of them. At the same time recognize and accept that some things we will only ever be at best average at. Well, so what, no one is good at everything, why should we try to be. Armed with this knowledge than we can minimize the stress in our working lives, perform better and gain greater satisfaction.
How it works
It is a set of nineteen discrete tests carried out on a computer, over a three hour period. The tests vary in length with an average of about nine minutes each. Once started each test needs to be completed. However a break can be taken between each one and for me after three or four tests I needed to stop and re-charge. It is a battery of tests in both senses of the word. It is tough, and though I am convinced it tests you to the point where you simply cannot do any more. Bizarrely, I found that my ability to estimate my success at any given test was appalling! This may be innate of course, but on some tests where I was convinced I had done badly, I received really high scores. I strongly suggest therefore that you forget the preceding test and just focus on the one at hand.
What You Get
At the end of the test my results were collated and assessed by Engauge, the affiliate company authorised to deliver the battery. I then received a two hour one-to-one debrief, with Hayley from Engauge. Naturally, it was tailored precisely to my needs: Hayley had a forty page report on my abilities and knew exactly the kind of feedback that I would need. I wanted the detail, the background, the meaning behind it all. I needed to talk about it and reflect on it. And of course the report is yours to keep. Another person, with a different set of abilities might say, “So, ok space me the detail of why; just tell me what I do now?”
Together the feedback and the report are a goldmine of useful insights into your abilities. They give you the results of each test compared to all the other people who have taken the test. For example one of the tests, Concept Organisation I scored 85%, meaning that 15% of people who had taken this test did better on this test. This is reassuring. Another term for concept organisation is analytical thinking, and I am currently employed as an analyst. To put this in perspective on another test I was at the 5th percentile!
In both cases the detailed commentary suggested ways that I could make the most of this knowledge, the opportunities and threats that come with both high and low scores. I had chosen to receive the Leadership Report and so the examples were in the context of a leadership role in business. There are other reports available too geared towards other environments.
How I Am Using It
I am at a point where I am changing my career. One career is coming to probably coming to a natural end and this gives me the opportunity to explore other areas. I know what preferences are, my MBTI type, etc. I now have a much deeper and broader awareness and understanding of my abilities at a fundamental level. I can now begin to assess future career paths based on this understanding. IF I take path A, then I whilst I may do well, I will be making relatively poor use of my innate abilities. This will have two consequences, I will have to work harder to achieve a given end, and probably endure greater stress because of it. Secondly, because I will not be making good use of what I am good at I am likely to feel frustrated.
The Driving Abilities
Crucially, the battery makes the assertion that some abilities are what it calls driving abilities. These are core to us, and used well will be powerful allies in our quests to do well; ignored or unfulfilled they can lead us to become frustrated and stressed.
I now know what these are, and can now much more easily see why in the past some roles have gone really well; whilst others, have gone less well!
Vandy told me that this was the most useful assessment she had ever taken. I wholeheartedly agree. A really worthwhile investment; in something really worthwhile: ourselves.
Article by Noel Gray
Noel Gray helps people become more productive with speed reading (more on that later), and more creative. He can usually be found at grayhaven.co.uk
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