I have recently embarked on the journey of becoming accredited on the PsyCap Potential™ assessment from Peoplewise, a tool that I cannot recommend enough. PsyCap Potential™ is a scientifically valid and reliable psychometric for predicting individual potential and future success. Peoplewise have utilised the tool in partnership with hundreds of private and public sector organisations around the world to help strengthen their employee selection and development practices, supporting businesses and people to develop, grow and realise their full potential. The user-friendly tool has specifically helped me identify how I compare to the top 12.5% of leaders, enabling me to explore strengths and development areas that I can focus on at work to help enable my success within today’s Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world.

In today’s VUCA landscape, change is constant, providing a challenging environment for leaders across organisations. With people and talent being central to organisational success, recruiting and selecting the best talent, including leadership capability continues to remain a critical task for businesses globally. The challenge for many has been how to identify leadership potential in the most predictive and reliable manner. Typically, when making decisions about filling leadership positions, organisations have relied on past performance to predict future performance. The challenge with this is that current performance does not always equal future potential, particularly when the future involves a more complex and challenging role in a VUCA world.

Measuring Potential

To help reduce the error that comes into any selection process, scientifically validated assessment tools are often successfully utilised across organisations. The question and challenge we are faced with today is what should we be assessing for when trying to determine an individual’s suitability to progress into a more complex role with greater autonomy, complexity and ambiguity? Although useful, it is argued that personality, ability and technical tests alone are not enough to truly predict leadership potential today. To truly assess leadership potential, it is argued that a greater focus should also be made on complex thinking abilities and internal resources a leader can draw upon in a more challenging role where they need to adapt.

Following extensive primary research (Peoplewise led research in collaboration with organisations and academic institutions) and secondary research (analysis of the research literature of psychological capabilities and potential), the Peoplewise model of Potential was developed, which includes the identification of five psychological capabilities that underpin future leadership success, regardless of the industry.

The PsyCap Potential™ psychometric was developed based on this model, to help predict leadership potential, and to help identify areas for development to support leaders’ progression.

How I have benefitted from using PsyCap Potential™

One of the key benefits of PsyCap Potential™ is that it takes a dual approach to measuring psychological capabilities, assessing cognitive ability and state-like personality, all in one single assessment. The state-like measures contained within the PsyCap Potential™ assessment were beneficial for me as these are all capabilities that I can continue to develop, as opposed to remaining largely static over time past the age of 25 to 30. This means that the tool has provided me with opportunity for targeted development interventions that I can utilise going forward. The tool also allowed me to delve into the psychological differentiators of successful leadership and discover what sets the top leaders apart from the rest.

A summary of PsyCap Potential™

• A single tool that supports identifying the right people that digs deeper, into potential as well as strengths and development needs
• A unique approach in the market as it is state-based, not trait-based like all the other tools.  Traits don’t change, states can be developed, meaning it opens up wider talent pools and helps you uncover hidden gems
• PsyCap Potential™ combines a mental agility assessment and personality assessment in one assessment experience.  This is the best and most robust prediction of performance and at unleashing people’s full potential at work
• PsyCap Potential™ is fair, unbiased and scientifically robust having been certified by the BPS
• The output is people data and easy to understand reports and insights into your people
• Working with your existing talent eco-system

Where to find out more?

For further details on the PsyCap Potential™ tool or to explore how Peoplewise can support your organisation, please reach out to the Peoplewise team us at sales@peoplewise.co.uk.

Written by Tommy Britton, Senior Business Psychologist at Peoplewise