Leadership assessment tools provide deep insights into the work styles and personality dynamics that help individuals thrive in their careers. Also known as inventories, personality profiles, or personality tests, these tools vary in depth and scientific rigor, and when applied strategically, they can transform organizational performance.
For HR leaders navigating leadership development and succession challenges, assessments are invaluable. They deliver actionable insights that guide hiring, team effectiveness, leadership planning, and more. But the key to success is knowing which tools to use, how to interpret the results, and how to align them with your organization’s culture and goals.
In this post, you’ll learn why leadership assessment tools matter now, the types available, common misconceptions, mistakes to avoid, and practical ways to turn assessment insights into measurable business outcomes.
Why Leadership Assessment Tools Matter Now
Leadership assessment data offers your organization a clear advantage in driving change and growth. However, without expert interpretation, even the best data can lead to poor people decisions. With the help of skilled professionals who can apply the right mix of assessment tools, you can identify and develop talent more effectively.
Here are several scenarios where these tools make an impact:
Hybrid Work
Remote and hybrid teams need leaders who can build trust and maintain engagement across geographies. However, leading from afar comes with unique challenges, and many leaders struggle with it. It’s no wonder: Gallup research found that 70% of managers have not been trained in leading hybrid teams. Assessments help by surfacing who has the skills to lead dispersed teams and where targeted coaching will boost their performance.
Talent Mobility
With employees moving across roles and geographies, good data makes all the difference in helping to determine who should go where. Internal mobility programs boost retention and pipeline health, yet, according to LinkedIn research, only 33% of organizations have formal internal mobility programs, and just one in five employees feels confident about making an internal move. Assessments can tell you more about employees’ strengths and development needs, making it easier to place the right people in the right roles.
Succession Gaps
Leadership pipelines are under pressure as experienced leaders retire or move on to other roles. In fact, our research found that the #1 pain point among HR and L&D leaders is having too few leaders ready for the next level. Assessments address this challenge by revealing insights that help you:
- Proactively evaluate employees’ readiness for the next move
- Identify high-potential leaders
- Avoid disruptive talent shortages before they happen
Employee Engagement
When managers struggle, engagement falls, and the business feels it. But highly engaged teams achieve higher profitability, productivity, and sales, and far fewer negative outcomes, such as absenteeism. Leadership assessments, paired with the right development experiences, help managers create conditions for engagement that translate directly to results.
Missing Leadership Data
A lack of actionable data for development planning makes it harder to measure success and get buy-in from senior leadership. In a Gartner survey, 66% of HR leaders agreed it was difficult to demonstrate ROI for strategic workforce planning activities. Assessments solve this challenge by providing clear, evidence-based insights that guide coaching, training, and career progression.
Types of Leadership Assessment Tools
Leadership assessment tools come in different forms, and each one is designed to address specific organizational needs. They typically fall into the following categories:
Candidate Selection & Hiring Tools
These types of assessments help organizations make better hiring decisions by predicting a candidate’s job performance and cultural fit. Common selection tools include:
- Cognitive ability tests
- Personality assessments
- Situational judgment tests
Each provides objective data that helps reduce bias and improves the likelihood of selecting candidates who will succeed in their roles.
Employee Development Tools
Development-focused assessments identify strengths and areas for growth. Examples include 360-degree feedback surveys, emotional intelligence assessments, and behavioral inventories. Research supports the efficacy of these tools. A recent study found that 360-degree assessments are positively linked to better idea generation, higher innovation, and employees’ perception of fairness in the workplace.
Succession and High-Potential Identification Tools
These assessments are designed to identify future leaders and prepare them for critical roles. They evaluate individuals’ abilities and strengths to determine who has the potential to go to the next level. With this data, you can build more robust succession plans and avoid leadership gaps.
Team Diagnostics
Team and culture assessments measure critical factors such as group dynamics, communication patterns, and team alignment with organizational values. They help leaders understand how teams collaborate and where friction exists. Diagnosing these factors with the right assessment tools will help guide actions to improve team cohesion and performance.
Common Misconceptions About Leadership Assessment Tools
Leadership assessments are powerful when used correctly, but incorrect assumptions can limit their impact. Here are some of the most common misunderstandings:
“Providing an assessment is a good way to develop leaders.”
People are usually highly motivated to read a report that’s all about them. They are curious, intrigued and often pretty impressed at how the data aligns with their known personality traits. But the read out gives you information; it doesn’t tell you what to do with it. So the mistake here is to “dump and run.” In other words, don’t dump the data and run away. Follow up with coaching and an action plan.
“We can just use one tool for everything.”
No single assessment can address every leadership need. Candidate selection, employee development, and succession planning each require different tools. Additionally, leaders at distinct stages in their development may benefit from one type of assessment over others. Using one tool for all purposes often leads to incomplete or misleading data.
“Assessments label people.”
Assessments aren’t about putting individuals into rigid boxes. They provide insights into behaviors, preferences, and potential rather than fixed identities. When interpreted by experts, these tools help leaders grow rather than limit their opportunities.
“A 360-degree assessment is pretty much a personality assessment.”
These tools serve very different purposes. A 360-degree feedback survey gathers input from colleagues to highlight leadership behaviors, while personality assessments explore traits and preferences. Both are valuable, but they answer different questions.
“Anyone can interpret assessment results.”
Data without context can lead to lopsided decision-making. Certified professionals know which tools work best for specific environments and how to align results with your organization’s culture and goals. Their expertise turns raw data into actionable leadership development strategies.
“Once we have the assessment results, everything else will fall into place.”
Assessments are a starting point, not the finish line. They’re also not an all-in-one solution. Real impact comes from pairing assessment results with scalable development programs and organizational support.
6 Most Popular Leadership Assessment Tools in Business
Below is a concise overview of commonly used tools. We recommend selecting tools based on purpose (hiring vs. development vs. succession) and fit with your organization’s desired leadership competencies.
Birkman
“Great for executive development and team building.”
The Birkman assessment evaluates preferences in four areas: Motivation, Self-Perception, Social Perception, and Mindset. It reflects workplace social psychology and is known for reliability, with results that remain relatively stable over time.
What sets Birkman apart is its focus on motivational needs, in essence, the “why” behind behaviors vs. just observable traits. This insight helps leaders understand themselves and others more deeply, thus creating a foundation for stronger collaboration and decision-making. “Applying these insights can yield transformational results for leading others or working with peers,” says Marcia Mueller, Vice President of Global Leadership for IMPACT Group.
The tool is ideal for identifying strengths, development areas, and employee alignment with roles that match their interests and capabilities. It’s widely used in coaching and mentoring to guide career paths, whether someone wants to deepen expertise or move into leadership.
Research shows that three factors influence job performance and satisfaction: the characteristics of the individual, the characteristics of the situation, and the interaction between the two. Birkman provides visibility into these three dimensions, which helps leaders predict and manage their work style more effectively. Through its structured questions, participants gain clarity on their communication preferences, stress responses, and behavioral patterns.
Results should never be viewed as a complete representation of capability. Instead, they highlight broad tendencies that, when interpreted by a certified coach, can improve leadership effectiveness, strengthen interpersonal understanding, and pinpoint areas for growth. “This is a robust assessment tool, which, when debriefed by a certified coach, can be leveraged to improve leadership effectiveness, grow interpersonal understanding, highlight strengths to leverage, and identify areas for development or growth,” adds Mueller.
DiSC
“Perfect for helping people understand their impact on one another.”
The DiSC tool determines people’s behavioral differences to improve work productivity, teamwork, leadership, sales, and communication. It stands for:
D = Dominance
i = Influence
S = Steadiness
C = Conscientiousness
IMPACT Group career coach Katherine Burik, who is certified in DiSC, shares, “This assessment is built on the premise that there are four major behavioral types. We all have some of each type in our work style, although one type might be dominant.” She points out that there is no “best” style. Rather, it’s a path of discovery that helps us learn more about other people while also better understanding ourselves.
After completing a series of questions in DiSC, individuals receive a clear understanding of their personality and behavior, as well as insights about how they can work with people of other styles. “I like to use DiSC to help people understand the impact they have on one another. It has been my experience that most workplace conflict can be traced to assumptions made about behavioral style,” Burik states. “Therefore, I use DiSC training for conflict resolution, communications, understanding behavior, and preparing for promotion.”
The results from the DiSC leadership assessment present actionable steps that individuals can use to better understand each other. Burik prefers utilizing the information to help individuals determine the kind of work environment and culture they would feel most comfortable in. She shares, “This assessment is easy to use, based on a ton of research, and makes sense to people. Everyone I’ve trained in this assessment can see themselves somewhere in their results.” She believes it’s not an assessment for assessment’s sake. Years later, her former clients still remember and use the information to influence and build relationships with colleagues.
MBTI
“The greatest aspect of the MBTI is its versatility.”
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely recognized tool that helps individuals understand their personality type, preferences, and natural strengths. It remains one of the most commonly used assessments worldwide for improving self-awareness and team effectiveness.
Ever heard someone refer to themselves as an INFJ or an ESTP? These are two of the 16 possible MBTI designations. The assessment asks a series of questions to determine where individuals fall across these four major categories:
- Introversion or Extraversion (I or E)
- Sensing or Intuition (S or N)
- Thinking or Feeling (T or F)
- Judging or Perceiving (J or P)
Two options across four categories yield 16 possible personality types that the assessment identifies. One is not better than the other. Rather, they reveal more about each individual and how they respond, interact, and perceive the world.
“The MBTI is a well-established work style assessment with thorough scientific data to validate it. This is always good for detail-oriented individuals compared to recent popular assessments that have less substance in them,” says Cynthia Bucy, IMPACT Group career coach. “Some assessment nomenclature has a lot of judgment attached to it. However, the MBTI has less of that judgment tied to it.”
Digging into Preferred Career Paths with Leadership Assessment Tools
Bucy enjoys using the MBTI assessment with individuals who are open to new career paths. “The formal assessment generates top job titles and industries, as well as least preferred titles and industries, based on the individual’s results.” She uses those outputs to explore various career opportunities with the individual, while guiding them on ways to thoroughly research the career path and its long-term career outlook using tools like O*Net Online.
“This leadership assessment is great in assisting individuals with gaining a greater self-awareness, thereby self-actualizing their true ‘preferred’ self,” says IMPACT Group coach Mariam Tarantella. She is certified in MBTI and has coached many people during career transitions at IMPACT Group since 2015.
For individuals, Tarantella believes the assessment brings greater understanding of:
- Their professional and personal needs
- How they prefer to engage with others and their work
- The aspects of their professional setting that are most crucial for job satisfaction and career growth
Organizations benefit as well. Tarantella adds, “It assists in best understanding employee work styles and preferences to create the most productive environments and teams, ultimately leading to high workplace morale and camaraderie.”
She feels the MBTI leadership assessment tool can be used for many goals and life stages, beyond career and workplace, sharing, “Once people identify and truly understand their preferences, they can then bring that knowledge to enhance their work, relationships, interests, community, and personal characteristics.”
Strong Interest Inventory
“Guides a person to evaluate what career or careers are best for them.”
The Strong Interest Inventory is a work style assessment that focuses on career and leisure interests across six categories:
- Realistic
- Artistic
- Investigative
- Social
- Enterprising
- Conventional
As the name suggests, this tool helps individuals identify their interests using insights that can be invaluable when considering career paths. After completing a series of questions tied to these six areas, responses are broken down into 30 specific interest areas related to study, careers, and leisure activities. The assessment also reveals personal style preferences in five dimensions: work style, learning environment, team orientation, leadership style, and risk-taking.
The Strong Interest Inventory’s underlying principle is that the more our work aligns with our interests, the greater the likelihood of career satisfaction. The assessment can boost self-awareness in two ways. First, it may confirm what individuals already sense about their interests, which increases their confidence in pursuing certain career choices. Second, it can uncover interests they hadn’t considered before, which opens doors to new possibilities.
With this awareness, individuals often explore alternative career paths, which can be especially valuable in times of economic uncertainty or limited job availability.
CliftonStrengths
Formerly known as StrengthsFinder, CliftonStrengths assesses an individual’s natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving through the lens of positive psychology. Participants respond to 177 paired statements, each positioned on opposite ends of a continuum, to reveal dominant talent themes.
The results categorize those talents into 34 CliftonStrengths themes and highlight the individual’s top five strengths. Understanding these strengths provides a foundation for the employee’s development. It also allows career coaches to help employees transform their innate talents into practical strengths that drive work performance.
Hogan
The Hogan Personality Inventory is a widely used assessment that looks at how people typically perform day-to-day when they’re at their best, often referred to as the “bright side.” It also examines how individuals interact with others at work. At its core, the Hogan assessment seeks to answer three key questions:
- What a person does
- How they do it
- Why they do it
The insights generated in the Hogan assessment include leadership strengths and weaknesses, indicators of high potential, motivating factors, and predictions of workplace behavior. Because of its ability to reveal both performance drivers and derailers, Hogan is frequently used as a pre-hire tool and for leadership development initiatives.
Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Leadership Assessment Tool
Selecting the right leadership assessment tool is critical for success. Here are some common mistakes to avoid as you proceed:
Avoid choosing a tool without a development strategy
Leadership assessment tools are an excellent starting point, but they deliver more value when you follow a plan for what comes next. After all, once you assess a leader’s capabilities and approach to team management, you also need to share the results in a way that each leader finds valuable and actionable.
Post-assessment action plans should also include a robust development plan to help leaders reach their potential. This plan may include:
- Coaching
- Online training support
- Upskilling
- Job rotations and stretch assignments
- Mentorship
Don’t choose a tool by rolling out assessments without leadership alignment
If senior business and HR leaders aren’t aligned on why assessments are being used and how results will be applied, the effectiveness of any assessment tool can only go so far. Moreover, lack of buy-in can lead to skepticism and resistance, which undermines the credibility of your broader leadership development efforts.
Steer clear of over-surveying employees
Too many assessments can lead to fatigue and disengagement. Employees may start viewing assessments as a burden or check-the-box exercise rather than a development opportunity. To avoid this outcome, choose tools strategically and communicate their purpose clearly.
Don’t pick a tool that doesn’t map to organizational competencies
If an assessment doesn’t align with your organization’s leadership development framework or core competencies, the results will be less actionable. The best tools provide insights that connect directly to your business goals and culture.
How IMPACT Group Can Help
Choosing the right leadership assessment tool can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to. Our coaching experts at IMPACT Group can partner with you to simplify the process. We help you select tools that align with your leadership model, and turn assessment results into practical development experiences such as coaching, targeted learning, and real-world application. The result? Measurable improvements in engagement, performance, retention, and leadership pipeline strength.
Ready to explore the best options for your organization? For guidance on leadership assessment tools and scalable coaching support, book a call with us today.
