Measuring beyond the obvious: How to choose the right personality assessment
Personality assessments are everywhere: from workplace team-building tools to online quizzes that sort you into Hogwarts houses.
But here’s the truth: some of the most popular and widely used personality tests are also the most criticized by psychologists and psychometric specialists. If you’re investing time and money into understanding human behavior, you need a tool that’s trustworthy and reliable. You need one that’s scientifically sound.
In this post, we’ll explore what makes a personality assessment trustworthy, what pitfalls to avoid, and why the right tool can transform how you understand yourself and others.
Why quality matters in personality assessments
Psychometrics (the science of measuring psychological phenomena) sets the standard for what makes an assessment credible. Two key principles define a high-quality tool:
Reliability: If you take the test multiple times under similar conditions, you should get consistent results.
Validity: The test should measure what it claims to measure. For example, observing smiles to measure happiness fails because people smile for many reasons—nervousness, discomfort, or politeness—not just happiness.
Without these qualities, an assessment is little more than entertainment. Think of the “Harry Potter House” quiz: fun, but not scientifically reliable or valid.
What to look for in a robust assessment
Here are the hallmarks of a scientifically grounded personality assessment:
1. Continuum, not categories
Personality isn’t binary. You’re not simply “introverted” or “extroverted.” High-quality assessments measure traits on a spectrum. For example, a scale from 1 to 99 for extroversion provides far more nuance than a yes/no label.
2. Multiple dimensions
Simplistic tools often lump unrelated behaviors into a single color or type. In contrast, robust assessments break personality into multiple dimensions. The Big Five Personality Model (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) has long been the gold standard - backed by modern science - because it captures complexity.
3. Resistance to manipulation
The best assessments are designed to minimize “gaming the system.” They make it hard for participants to answer in ways that artificially present themselves in a better light.
Why I chose the Birkman Method
After years of working with different tools, I keep coming back to the Birkman Method—and here’s why.
The Birkman goes beyond measuring surface-level behavior. It dives into:
Usual behavior: How you typically act
Underlying needs: The subconscious drivers that shape your behavior
Social perception: The lens through which you interpret others
This multidimensional approach matters because behavior is a function of both internal wiring and environment. Your personality is an interaction of your internal wiring with your environment. The Birkman helps you understand not just what you do, but why you do it—and how your subjective interpretations of others influence your reactions.
Think of Birkman as a multi-tool for human insight. Just like my bicycling multi-tool can fix a chain, adjust gears, and replace a tire, Birkman serves multiple purposes: personal development, team building, leadership coaching, talent alignment, and more.
A tool is only as good as its user
Here’s the catch: owning a multi-tool doesn’t make me a bike mechanic. Truthfully, I’m only able to use the screw driver on my multi-tool.
Similarly, taking a personality assessment doesn’t automatically unlock its full value. In fact, some leaders unintentionally “weaponize” personality assessments and can end up doing more harm than good. The second part of this series will focus on how to use an assessment effectively to avoid common pitfalls and maximize your investment.
Coming up next
Part 2 — Personality Assessments: Balancing Benefits and Risks
Whether you want to strengthen your leadership behaviors or help your organization follow through on its strategy, we can help. Contact Awaken Leadership Solutions to start your journey toward lasting change.