Conative Screening: Using the Kolbe Index to Understand New Hires

Likewise, when new planners develop a process that they perceive you aren’t following, frustration can occur on their part. Keep in mind that processes are one of the key components in transitioning from a practice to a business that has intrinsic value to others. So if you are a little light on the processes and procedures, consider strengthening them as a fourth-quarter project.

Quickstart (QS) – Examines how likely a person is to take uncalculated risks.

Typically, financial planning firm owners are entrepreneurs who tend to be initiating QS, and are at their best when they are innovating, experimenting and improvising. These are terrific attributes to keep a firm running and growing, but I have also witnessed some stresses here.

From firm owners I hear something to the effect of “my employees are resisting change, are moving too slowly, cannot anticipate and don’t take initiative.” From the new planners I hear something like “my firm owner is changing things all the time, the deadlines are unrealistic and my boss is unpredictable.”

A healthy balance should be sought because an Initiating QS firm owner needs a respectful level of pushback from some of their Preventative QS employees as not all innovations or ideas are good ones. In the same way, a Preventative QS employee needs an Initiating QS firm owner to keep them from getting too comfortable professionally and to finally move forward with a decision.

Implementor (IM) – This is not to be misconstrued as a person who “can get the job done and get it implemented.” Instead it revolves around the instinct to construct a handcrafted solid solution (which may not be as applicable to financial planning as something like computer science, engineering, etc.).

The way to think about an Initiating IM individual is as someone who is more comfortable creating concrete solutions or prototypes versus a Preventative IM person who is more abstract and prefers to visualize and then move on to the next thing.

Most people in financial planning are in the Preventative and Accommodating areas of the Implementor action mode unless they happen to be changing careers from something where people used their hands and built things. If your new planner will be responsible for the firm’s computer and software equipment, and required to integrate various programs for a seamless back-office solution, look for Accommodating and Initiating IM individuals.

Remember that the Kolbe is measuring how someone prefers to take action, and is not to be misinterpreted as specifying that adaption cannot occur. Most everyone in some way, shape or form can adapt, but the ultimate goal is to use one’s conative energy in the most purposeful way. We administer the Kolbe to every one of the candidates and recruiting clients our firm meets. The index can be a useful tool as part of a comprehensive recruiting process to assist in placing people in positions where their innate talents can flourish.

— Read Win the Talent War by Aligning Values With Growth Objectives on ThinkAdvisor.