Getting Leadership Right

Leadership is difficult, and usually the toughest part of the job is leading people. Leaders are often quite skilled at their respective technical and professional functions. However, the people aspects of their work cause leadership effectiveness to suffer. Most consultants do not like to openly deal with this reality. CDR Assessment Group, Inc. is different. Clients are told the unvarnished truth because CDR has developed scientific measures to assess the data. Data doesn’t lie or sugarcoat.

When Kimberly Leveridge, Ph.D. and Nancy Parsons founded CDR in 1998, leadership was broken – studies showed that 50-75 percent of leaders were ineffective. Volumes of current studies show that this trend continues today. When presenting to leader groups at conferences or workshops, Parsons asks, “How many exceptional leaders have you worked with over your career?” Most people are lucky to come up with just one. How is it possible for leadership effectiveness to be so unacceptable? It is because the way we “do” leadership has also not changed in any substantial way over the years. Selection, promotions, development and reward systems are on a repetitive loop. The semantics have improved, and investments have increased but the process has not changed much.

CDR deploys unique, scientifically validated assessments – the CDR 3-D Assessment Suite – for its clients. The CDR 3-D

Assessment Suite objectively measures and clearly identifies one’s capabilities, inherent risks and motivational needs, moving past the smoke and mirrors – and the charm factor. CDR equips companies to identify true talent and match their job roles and development activities based on each individual’s strengths, gifts, gaps, risks and needs.

The good news is that people embrace their own CDR results. They welcome the truth when they are given feedback – even about the “risks” that can derail their success. People don’t want consultants to blow smoke, nor do they want to end up in job roles in which they don’t fit. It is possible to turn the dismal leadership effectiveness around if organizations start deploying well-constructed and validated personality and motivational measures, along with good processes and accountability. Baseball great Bill Robinson once said, “A good hitting instructor is able to mold his teachings to the individual. If a guy stands on his head, you perfect that.” That is exactly what CDR Assessment Group does.

Nancy Parsons, President, CDR Assessment Group, Inc. and CDR-U, LLC, was awarded 2019 MEECO Int’l Thought Leader in Executive Coaching and is a #1 Amazon Bestselling Author.