Assessment in Coaching - The Decision Tree 

How to Select the Right Assessment for Your Coaching Engagement 

Psychometric assessments can accelerate insight in coaching engagements. They provide structured language for behavioural patterns, motivations, and leadership dynamics that might otherwise take many sessions to surface. 

The challenge for coaches is not access to assessments. It is selecting the right instrument for the coaching objective, and using it appropriately within the wider coaching relationship. 

This guide provides a practical decision framework to help coaches determine: 

• Whether an assessment is needed 
• What type of assessment fits the coaching objective 
• Which tools are most defensible and useful in practice 

The goal is not to maximise assessment use. It is to ensure every tool used meaningfully contributes to the client’s development and organisational outcomes. 

Step 1: Clarify the Coaching Objective 

Before selecting any instrument, coaches should clarify the developmental question the coaching engagement is exploring. 

Typical objectives fall into several categories. 

Once the developmental question is clear, coaches can choose an assessment category aligned with that objective. 

Step 2: Determine the Type of Insight Needed 

Different assessments provide different forms of insight. 

Trait-based personality 

Measures relatively stable personality characteristics. 

Useful when exploring: 

• behavioural tendencies 
• derailment risks 
• motivational drivers 

Typical tools include: 

⭐ Hogan (HPI / HDS / MVPI) 
⭐ NEO Personality Inventory 
⭐ HEXACO 
⭐ OPQ (SHL) 
⭐ Saville Wave 
⭐ 16PF 
⭐ CPI 260 

These instruments are supported by the Five Factor Model of personality, one of the most extensively validated frameworks in psychology. 

Reference 
Goldberg, L. R. (1993) 

Multi-rater leadership feedback

Provides insight into how others experience the leader’s behaviour. 

Useful when exploring: 

• leadership effectiveness 
• influence and communication 
• stakeholder relationships 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ Hogan 360 
⭐ Korn Ferry 360 
⭐ SHL 360 
⭐ Life Styles Inventory (LSI-360) 

These are particularly valuable in coaching engagements linked to leadership development or organisational impact. 

Leadership capability frameworks 

Assess leadership behaviour against organisational or research-based leadership models. 

Useful when exploring: 

• leadership capability 
• leadership culture 
• organisational alignment 

Common tools include: 

⭐ Denison Leadership Development Survey 
⭐ Leadership Circle Profile 
⭐ Korn Ferry Leadership Architect 

Leadership Circle is particularly known for integrating leadership capability with reactive tendencies. 

Vertical development

Explores how leaders make meaning, rather than simply what behaviours they display. 

These tools are relevant when leaders must operate in high complexity environments. 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ Harthill Leadership Development Profile 
⭐ Global Leadership Profile (GLP) 

These draw on adult development research from scholars such as Robert Kegan, William Torbert, and Susanne Cook-Greuter. 

Reference 
Kegan, R. (1994) In Over Our Heads 

Emotional intelligence

Measures emotional perception, regulation, and social awareness. 

Useful when coaching focuses on: 

• interpersonal effectiveness 
• empathy 
• emotional self-regulation 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ MSCEIT 
⭐ ESCi (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory) 
⭐ EQ-i 2.0 

MSCEIT is notable as an ability-based measure, assessing emotional reasoning rather than self-report traits. 

Strengths and values

Focus on motivational drivers and natural strengths. 

Useful when coaching focuses on: 

• energy and engagement 
• role fit 
• career direction 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ CliftonStrengths 
⭐ VIA Character Strengths 

Career interests 

Useful in career transitions and career reflection coaching. 

Gold-standard tool: 

⭐ Strong Interest Inventory 

Team dynamics 

Focus on how individuals contribute to teams and collaborate with others. 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ Team Management Profile (TMP) 
⭐ Belbin Team Roles 
⭐ FIRO-B 

These tools can be particularly valuable in team coaching contexts. 

Resilience and wellbeing 

Useful when coaching addresses stress, performance pressure, or recovery capacity. 

Gold-standard tools include: 

⭐ MTQ48++ 
⭐ Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) 

Step 3: Consider Whether a 360 Should Precede Personality Testing 

In leadership coaching engagements, a useful sequence is often: 

• 360 feedback 
• Personality assessment 

360 data highlights observable leadership impact, while personality tools provide insight into drivers behind behaviour. 

Used together, they create a more complete picture. 

Step 4: Assess Governance and Ethical Requirements 

Professional coaching requires that assessments are used responsibly. 

Coaches should confirm: 

• They hold appropriate certification for the instrument 
• The tool has strong reliability and validity 
• Data is stored and handled appropriately 
• Results are interpreted within the client’s context 

Relevant professional standards include: 

ICF Code of Ethics

EMCC Global Code of Ethics

Step 5: Avoid Over-Reliance on Preference-Type Models 

Some widely used tools categorise individuals into types or preference profiles. 

Examples include: 

• MBTI 
• DiSC 
• Insights Discovery 
• Enneagram 
• Lumina Spark 
• HBDI 

These tools are popular because they are accessible and easy to interpret. 

However, they typically lack the psychometric strength of trait-based personality models. 

Common limitations include: 

• lower predictive validity 
• categorical typing that oversimplifies personality 
• inconsistent results across administrations 

Reference 
Pittenger, D. (2005) 

They can still be useful for facilitating team conversations or reflection, but coaches should avoid presenting them as precise psychological measures. 

Step 6: Integrate Assessment Data into the Coaching Process 

Assessments are most powerful when they are used as starting points for inquiry, not definitive answers. 

Effective practice includes: 

• linking results to real behavioural examples 
• exploring tensions and contradictions in the data 
• connecting insights to leadership context 
• translating insights into behavioural experiments 

Assessment feedback becomes most meaningful when it leads to observable shifts in behaviour. 

Final Perspective 

Professional coaching increasingly operates within complex organisational systems. Assessments can provide valuable structure, language, and insight within that environment. 

Their value, however, depends less on the tool itself and more on the coach’s judgement in selecting and interpreting it. 

The most effective coaches approach assessments as inputs into a broader developmental process, combining data, reflection, stakeholder feedback, and behavioural experimentation. 

When used thoughtfully, assessments help accelerate the one outcome coaching ultimately seeks to create deeper awareness leading to meaningful behavioural change.