Personal Assessments

Each of these assessment inventories make use of the “Teleometric” design in the creation of each inventory. A series of brief case statements are presented that invite the inventory respondent to indicate the extent to which they think each of 6-8 responses to this case situation is characteristic of the way in which they would respond. They place their rating of each response on a scale from 1 (not characteristic) to 7 (highly characteristic).
Each response must be placed separately on the scale, with no overlaps. In this way, there is both a rating and ranking of each response. This inventory design requires the respondent to make careful discernments and yields rich insights that are not obtained through use of more traditional rating scales or simply ranking of preferences.
The distinctive Three Tier process of CPOA is engaged with each of these personal assessments: (1) self-assessment, (2) assessment by other people of respondent, and (3) organizational climate/culture in which respondent is operating.
These inventories have been used extensively in training and education programs, as well as consulting and coaching engagements. They are only now being made available for use by a more general training, coaching and consulting population. Following is a listing and brief description of each available personal assessment inventory.

PA 1. Interpersonal Preferences Inventory

The Interpersonal Preferences Inventory (IPI) is the most widely used of the CPOA instruments. Used for the past 30 years, IPI is based on the description originally provided by Karen Horney regarding the way people move toward other people, move away from other people, or move against other people especially under conditions of stress and anxiety.
IPI is distinctive in that it focuses on the shifts that occur when we confront opposition and adversity, as well as the ways in which our strengths can be overused or used inappropriately.
The four primary IPI preferences relate to the three primary colors (plus the rainbow that is a display of all three colors).
• Moving toward is portrayed by Blue,
• Moving away from is portrayed by Yellow and
• Moving against by Red.
Blended preferences are portrayed by purple (red and blue), green (blue and yellow) and orange (yellow and red). Complemented by several metaphors, the color-coded interpersonal preferences are easily remembered and readily engaged in training, coaching and consulting conversations about these preferences and their relationship to the style of leadership being displayed by the respondent. IPI is the most popular and frequently used of the CPOA inventories.
As noted, IPI yields an assessment of not only one’s interpersonal preferences when things are going well, but also when the respondent is encountering resistance and is feeling anxious. As in the case of the other CPOA inventories concerned with personal assessment, IPI is available not just as a self-assessment inventory, but also as an inventory completed by other people as they perceive the respondent’s interpersonal preferences. The third-tier assessment of the organization’s culture incorporates ratings of the overall preferences in the organization for each of the interpersonal behaviors.

PA 2. Interpersonal Needs Inventory

The Interpersonal Needs Inventory (INI) is based on the description originally provided by Will Schutz regarding the needs that members of a team bring to their work. This inventory assesses the extent to which three needs are present:
• inclusion,
• Control and
• Openness.
Assessments are also made regarding the extent to which those completing the inventory are proactive or reactive in their attempt to have each of these needs met in their team.
Unlike the inventory (FIRO_B) provided by Schutz, CPOA provides a second tier INI assessment instrument which invites other members of the team to identify the extent to which they think this person is seeking proactively or reactively to meet each of the three needs.
Both versions of the inventory are easily completed (using the Teleometric design) and are much less frustrating to complete than the Guttman scaling design used by Schutz. As in the case of IPI, the concepts contained in INI are incorporated in a third-tier organizational culture inventory.