FORESIGHT ADMINISTRATION GUIDE

Transcription

1 FORESIGHT ADMINISTRATION GUIDE Administering and Interpreting: THE SELIGMAN ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE QUESTIONNAIRE

2 Contents Page Notes For Administrator (Information Security and Legal Undertakings) 2 Directions For Administrators Administering the On-Line Administering the On-Site Obtaining Foresight s Test Reports The Tool and Interpretation of Reports Background Why Optimists are Successful Employees What does a Test Report Mean 6 Overall Score - Characteristics of the Test-Taker With a score of 5 With a score of 4 With a score of 3 With a score of 2 With a score of Reaction To Adversity Interpretation 14 Reaction To Success Interpretation 15 Learning & Development 16 Resilience / Optimism / Mental Toughness (Attitude) Training 1

3 Notes For Administrator The Seligman Attributional Style () is available for use in your organisation by agreement with Ford Training Group Ltd t/a Foresight Learning Systems. All materials are copyrighted and care must be taken to prevent unauthorised use or reproduction. Security and safe storage of any printed reports is important under legislation governing Privacy and Data Protection. Please ensure that any printed reports are stored securely at all times. Ford Training Group Ltd provides the for use in your enterprise on basis of legal undertakings pertaining to the correct use of the and the copyright provisions applying to its use. The report is the property of your enterprise and is not to be passed on to any candidate or other person for any reason in soft or hard copy format unless authorised by Foresight Once employed the successful candidate will have the normal rights to view their employment record that apply within your jurisdiction The is only one element in the employment assessment process. No candidate is to be advised that they are not being employed because they failed the. Nor are they to be advised that they are being employed because they passed the Foresight advises against offering candidates feedback on their report. If any candidate insists on feedback pertaining to their test, please contact us here at Foresight and we will arrange to provide feedback to that candidate. 2

4 Directions for Remote Administration of the Online Test 1. Send an with the on-line link to the person you want to take the a) There is no login or password requirement. The date field acts as our control element b) The test works on any device that a test-taker might choose to use e.g. PC, Tablet, Mobile, etc. 2. Ask the person taking the to: a) complete the as soon as possible it will take 15 to 20 minutes i. All the instructions are on the webpage with the test b) Advise you by immediately they have completed the c) Contact us here at Foresight if they have any difficulties with completion of the while on-line Tel: or E: services@foresight.co.nz 3. Send an to us here at Foresight ( services@foresight.co.nz ) with: a) The names of the people you are testing every time you ask someone to take the test. That means we can track completion of the test and advise you b) The title of the job that the candidate applied for c) The name of the recruiter we are to send the reports to d) The address of the recruiter we are to send the reports to 4. Feedback on the report: a) Contact us here at Foresight if you want to discuss a report and the implications of the results and we will arrange a suitable time for a phone conversation. This is part of our service to True Blue Inc. 3

5 Directions for On-Site Administration of the Test 1. Sit the individual taking the test down in a quiet location where they can complete the test uninterrupted (the test takes minutes). 2. Open web page on any device using the link provided 3. Prepare the person taking the in the following manner: Put the individual at ease by an introduction such as: (Name) as one part of our assessment processes, we ask everybody to answer a questionnaire. It has no time limit but will take about 15 minutes. There are a few key points to make. You need to use plenty of imagination when answering the questions. Some of the situations may be outside of your experience so use your imagination as to what it would be like for you. Make sure each section is completed. Answer all the questions. After you use the Submit button at the end of the test a new page will open confirming that you have completed the test correctly When you have completed the questionnaire let me know. Do you have any questions? 4. It is very important to emphasise the use of imagination, as some people will not have experience in some of the situations presented in the questionnaire. 5. Provide the individual answering the questionnaire with a printed copy of the Guide to Taking the. While there is an example from the guide on the test web page it helps if they have the hard copy in front of them. 6. Once the individual clicks the Submit Questionnaire button, the completed questionnaire will be automatically sent to Foresight for scoring and report compilation. 4

6 To obtain Foresight s Test Reports 1. Soft copies of the Test Reports are sent by i.e. a) Sent to you from Foresight OR b) Sent to your firm's administrator from Foresight 2. Please ensure that Foresight has the correct addresses for the recruiters who are to receive specific test-takers reports Note Hiring decisions should only be made after Foresight s Test Report is read and taken into consideration. 5

7 Introduction The test is a management tool that identifies high potential individuals within your applicant/development pool. The purpose of this section is to explain how the works and describe what an test report means in terms of an individual s potential. For clarity's sake, this is presented in the following order: Test Background Information Why Optimists are Successful Employees What Does a Test Report Mean Background Information To understand how the test works, it is important to first understand that the questionnaire measures a person s optimism and their will to succeed. It has been proven through many hundreds of studies that optimistic attitude is critical to success. By identifying how an individual will respond to adversity, the test accurately predicts their probable success. Dr. Martin Seligman, Professor of Psychology, developed the at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Seligman has spent more than 40 years researching how people explain their failures and successes to themselves. His research has shown that people have a consistent way of interpreting the good and bad events that happen to them, what Seligman calls explanatory style. Someone with a pessimistic or negative, explanatory style interprets bad events--anything from losing an important account to arguing with their spouse--in the following terms: Permanent ( It s going to last forever ) Universal/Global ( It s going to undermine everything I do ) Internal ( I am a failure ) To make matters worse, pessimists characterise good events, such as completing an important project, as flukes that won t last. To a pessimist, the doom and gloom of failure is always lurking around the corner. Pessimists are often paralysed by the day-to-day adversity and frustration they encounter on the job. Their pessimism causes them to view all of life's hurdles as insurmountable. Optimists see the world very differently. Optimists don't punish themselves unrealistically for bad events, which they view as short-term setbacks or mistakes that can be corrected. Optimists are persistent. They won't give up when a task becomes difficult; the word "no" is not in an optimists' vocabulary. 6

8 In addition, an optimistic outlook becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - optimists believe they can accomplish anything, and frequently do. Pessimists, on the other hand, often give up prematurely - before finding the solutions necessary for success. Contrary to pessimists, optimists view setbacks in the following manner: Temporary ( The problem will pass away quickly ) Specific ( It won t undermine other things going on in life and work ) External ( There were a lot of factors contributing to this on-off setback ) Optimists believe that success is their birthright. Adversity is viewed as a challenge that can and will be overcome, not as an insurmountable barrier to success. Why Optimists Are Successful Employees Dr. Seligman s extensive research has proven that optimists are self-motivated, creative, decisive and persistent individuals willing to take the risks necessary to be successful. Optimists are successful because they have personality characteristics that provide a barrier to adversity. Some of these characteristics for particularly demanding roles, including change management are set out in the table below: Characteristic Persistent & Undaunted Resilient from Setbacks Energised by Defeat Immune to Rejection Motivated & Inspired by success Comment "Won't quit when progress is slow." Significant difficulties won t destroy motivation. Will work hardest when major obstacles have to be overcome." Won t stop until successful. Success serves to increase determination and drive." Furthermore, the I.Q., background, level of education, or previous experience of the individual does not matter - optimists simply outperform pessimists. In short, optimists have what it takes to be superstar employees. 7

9 What Does A Test Report Mean? After a test-taker completes the, Foresight computes their optimism score and tells you whether the individual falls into the bottom, second, third, fourth or top quintile of the research population. The results are reported in the following manner on a 1 to 5 scale. Overall Optimism Score Bottom 20% Average Top 20% (Low Optimism) (High Optimism) OVERALL OPTIMISM SCORE: The higher a respondent's test score (e.g., a 5" versus a 1", etc.), the more optimistic that person is and the more resilience and persistence they will apply in order to achieve their goals. Further details on the characteristics of individuals in each of the five quintiles are described on pages It is important to note that these descriptions are representative examples and actual test-takers will possess these characteristics to varying degrees. Reaction to Adversity and Success Scores These additional graphs show the results on each dimension measured by the. These are especially useful in identifying specific attitude competency training requirements. Reaction to Adversity: Permanent vs. Temporary Universal vs. Specific Internal vs. External Reaction to Success: Permanent vs. Temporary Universal vs. Specific Internal vs. External Further information on these dimensions is found on pages

10 Characteristics of Test-Takers with an Overall Optimism Score of 5 Individuals who score a 5 on the are very optimistic and resilient. They have an excellent ability to overcome setbacks and take advantage of successes. Following are characteristics of these individuals: Extremely focused. Will find solutions to the problem", not excuses. Willing to take risks necessary for success. Extremely driven, energetic, enthusiastic, and persistent. Setbacks will not discourage ultimate achievement of success. Extended setbacks will not dampen resourcefulness, creativity, and productivity. Highly competitive and assertive. Will not settle for second best. Extremely self-confident. Will not unrealistically blame themselves for failures. Off-the-job problems will not affect work performance. Revitalised and energised to seek additional opportunities after success. Motivation and drive increases significantly, following success. Successes are believed to be earned and deserved. They are thought to be a permanent and consistent part of life. Expects to succeed and ultimately will. Excellent candidate for success in situations that require perseverance and creativity in spite of the situation having high potential for failure. 9

11 Characteristics of Test-Takers with an Overall Optimism Score of 4 Individuals who score a 4 on the are optimistic and resilient. They have a good ability to overcome setbacks and take advantage of successes. Following are characteristics of these individuals: Quite focused. Often will find solutions to the problem", as opposed to excuses. Often willing to take risks necessary for success. Fairly driven, energetic, enthusiastic, and persistent. Setbacks should not discourage ultimate achievement of success. Extended setbacks should not dampen resourcefulness, creativity, and productivity. Fairly competitive and assertive. Usually will not settle for second best. Usually self-confident. Usually will not unrealistically blame themselves for failures. Off-the-job problems usually will not affect work performance. Usually revitalised and energised to seek additional opportunities after success. Motivation and drive usually increases following success. Successes are usually believed to be earned and deserved, and thought to be a permanent and consistent part of life. Good candidate for success in situations that require perseverance and creativity in spite of the situation having a high potential for failure. Usually expects to succeed and more often than not will. 10

12 Characteristics of Test-Takers with an Overall Optimism Score of 3 Individuals who score a 3 on the have an average level of optimism and resilience. They have average ability to overcome setbacks and take advantage of successes. Their ability to bounce back quickly from defeat and take advantage of success depends largely upon the significance and frequency of the failure or success. For example, the loss of either an important account or several minor accounts may cause them to become discouraged and bounce back slowly. After minor or infrequent defeats, they should bounce back quickly. Correspondingly, they will be revitalised and energised following success based upon the significance and frequency of the success. Following are characteristics of these individuals: Average focus. Some possibility of becoming discouraged and seeking excuses after major or frequent failures. Average drives, energy, enthusiasm, and persistence. Extended setbacks will possibly lessen resourcefulness, creativity, and productivity. Average degree of competitiveness and assertiveness. Average level of self-confidence. Some possibility of unrealistically blaming themselves for significant or frequent failures. Significant or frequent off-the-job problems should not affect work performance to a major degree. Average increase in motivation and drive following success. Significant or frequent successes are believed to be earned and deserved; while minor or infrequent successes may be thought to be based on luck or happenstance. Average candidate for success in situations that require perseverance and creativity in spite of the situation having high change of failure. 11

13 Characteristics of Test-Takers with an Overall Optimism Score of 2 Individuals who score a 2 on the are pessimistic. They have a less than average ability to overcome setbacks and take advantage of successes. Following are characteristics of these individuals: Below average focus. Will probably become discouraged and seek excuses after major or frequent failures. Below average drive, energy, enthusiasm and persistence. Extended setbacks will probably dampen resourcefulness, creativity, and productivity. Below average degree of competitiveness and assertiveness. Below average level of self-confidence. May unrealistically blame themselves for significant or frequent failures. Significant or frequent off-the-job problems may affect work performance. Little increase in motivation and drive following success. Significant or frequent successes are not strongly believed to be earned and deserved; while minor or infrequent successes will probably be thought to be based on luck or happenstance. Below average candidate for success in situations that require perseverance and creativity in spite of the situation having high chance of failure. 12

14 Characteristics of Test-Takers with an Overall Optimism Score of 1 Individuals who score a 1 on the are very pessimistic. They have well below average ability to overcome setbacks and take advantage of successes. Following are characteristics of these individuals: Little focus. Will look for excuses, rather than solutions to a problem Low drive, energy, enthusiasm and persistence. Setbacks will discourage individual from ultimate achievement of success. Extended setbacks will significantly dampen resourcefulness, creativity, and productivity. Usually not competitive or assertive. Low self-confidence. Unrealistically blame themselves for failures. Off-the-job problems will detrimentally affect work performance. Usually not revitalised and energised to seek additional opportunities after success. Motivation and drive will usually not increase following success. Successes are usually believed to be based on luck or happen chance, and are not thought to be a permanent and consistent part of life. Usually gives up before doing what is necessary for success. Well below average candidate for success in situations that require perseverance and creativity in spite of a high chance for failure. 13

15 Reaction to Adversity - Report Interpretation Permanence: This score measures whether the applicant believes setbacks have permanent or temporary causes whether adversity is perceived as unrelenting or short-lived. Individuals who believe setbacks have temporary causes are more likely to recover quickly from defeat than those who believe setbacks have permanent causes. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low optimism scores to expect setbacks to be temporary and will tend to take the actions necessary to overcome obstacles on the road to success. Those with high optimism scores are more likely to bounce back quickly following defeats, returning immediately to the task at hand with little, if any, decline in motivation. Pervasiveness: This score measures the extent to which the applicant catastrophizes setbacks whether setbacks are perceived as overwhelming disasters or as manageable hurdles that can be overcome. Individuals who believe setbacks have specific causes are more likely to experience an isolated effect from their failures, whereas those with universal causes will tend to allow their failures to undermine many areas of their life. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low scores to believe that the causes of setbacks have a limited impact and will not lead to failure in other areas of life. After experiencing defeat, the high optimism scorers are less likely to become discouraged -- failure in one situation is unlikely to diminish their motivation or effectiveness in other situations. Personalization: This score measures whether the applicant excessively blames himself or herself for failure, or blames external factors. Individuals who attribute setbacks to external causes are less likely to lose confidence after a setback than those with internal causes. Although people should take responsibility for their actions, some people take more responsibility for negative events than is justified. A score of 5 is the best score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are less likely than those with low scores to take rejection or failure too personally. Those with high optimism scores are less likely to dwell on or punish themselves over failures and will maintain confidence after setbacks. Overall Reaction to Adversity: This score combines the three Reactions to Adversity dimensions above. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low optimism scores to cope well with frequent stress and frustration and persevere in finding solutions to difficult problems. Following defeat, those with high optimism scores are less likely to become discouraged and they will maintain motivation. For high optimism scorers, adversity is perceived as a challenge that can and will be overcome rather than as an insurmountable obstacle to be avoided. Failure is seen as a stepping stone to success. 14

16 Reaction to Success - Report Interpretation Permanence: This score measures whether the applicant believes successes have permanent or temporary causes whether success will occur frequently or be short-lived. Individuals who believe their successes have permanent causes are more likely to be highly motivated for a long time following success than those who believe their successes have temporary causes. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low optimism scores to believe success can be attained repeatedly in the future and therefore they will typically take the actions necessary to achieve success. Those with high optimism scores will tend to be more highly motivated for a long time following success. Each success will likely spur them on to pursue more success. Pervasiveness: This score measures the extent to which the applicant generalises his successes. For individuals who believe their successes have universal causes, success is more likely to positively influence many areas of their life than for those with specific causes. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low scores to believe the causes of success impact more than just one particular area of their life. Success in one situation is therefore more likely to spill over into many areas of the high optimism scorer s life, increasing drive, and determination in other situations. Personalization: This score measures whether the applicant credits himself or herself for successes, or credits external factors. Individuals who attribute success to internal causes are more likely to gain confidence after success than those who attribute success to external causes. A score of 5 is the best score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low scores to believe they are responsible for their successes and will therefore tend to gain confidence following success. Overall Reaction to Success: This score combines the three Reaction to Success dimensions above. A score of 5 is the best optimism score for this dimension. Individuals with high optimism scores for this dimension are more likely than those with low optimism scores to be highly energized by success to pursue more success. For the high optimism scorers, success is more likely to breed success, as each accomplishment will increase motivation and enthusiasm. They will tend to seek out many challenges and opportunities for further success. 15

17 Development Training and Coaching Resilient Attitude Skill Building Learning Optimism Learning Mental Toughness It is possible to turn Pessimistic people into Optimists through coaching and training. Call us at Foresight about our specialised training in Attitude Change and Resilience Development, and our unique Emotional Intelligence (EQ) development resources. 16