Tessera Consulting offers you the chance to develop your skills using Benchmarks™, one of the world’s most effective multi-rater feedback tools, and two of the world’s most popular personality measures.

Self-awareness is one of the key factors of being a successful manager. The chances are, that if you are not able to give yourself an honest appraisal, you may not be able to reach your full potential. However, becoming self-aware is not an easy task, and sometimes a manager will need guidance in order to realise his/her development needs.

At Tessera, we use a particular style of management coaching that considers both current performance and potential. By using Benchmarks™ (a well-validated multi-rater feedback tool developed by the Centre for Creative Leadership®) we can get a snap-shot of how you are performing at work. By using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and Firo-B™, we can help you recognise your potential. These tools enable you to get feedback from your colleagues as well as from your personality assessment.

This management development programme is designed for senior/middle level executives. It is a one-to-one approach, specialising in addressing the particular needs of each manager. Confidentiality is assured at all times in order to foster an atmosphere of trust and openness. Participants are encouraged to show their development plans to their bosses only once this has been agreed by both the individual and the coach. The coaching process is usually carried out in a number of steps.

Step 1 – Data Gathering
The individual undergoing assessment meets with a Tessera consultant to talk broadly about their career to date, their expectations of the programme and the areas that they feel they need to develop the most. This one-to-one session also gives the consultant an opportunity to introduce the Benchmarks™, MBTI® and Firo-B™ questionnaires, which the client must take away with them for completion. In addition to this, if the company has aligned its personnel development processes behind a competency framework, this framework will need to be incorporated into the coaching sessions.

Step 2 – Feedback
Once Benchmarks™, MBTI® and Firo-B™ data has been collected (a process that usually takes about a month) they are scored and the client is invited to the Tessera offices to discuss the results. This session usually lasts between 2-3 hours and exploration of the main themes present in the data are discussed. The client is not encouraged to form a development plan in this session as a number of days will be needed for that individual to assimilate the feedback from the questionnaires. With permission, the session is taped for the participant to aid the assimilation process.

Step 3 – Setting A Plan
The client meets with the consultant a week later to discuss what he/she feels are the key messages present in the data. The client and consultant then work together to discuss a long-term development plan based on the areas that they both feel need the most attention. These plans are finalised, mapped onto a development plan template, and (if required) shown to the client’s immediate boss for verification and comment.

Step 4 – Follow Up (optional)
Some development plans are easier to implement than others so follow up discussions may, or may not, be needed. In most cases a phone call every few weeks is sufficient to help the individual stay focussed on his/her goals, however follow up meetings may also be warranted depending on the individual’s work commitments and the nature of the development plan. The success of a management coaching exercise can only really be assured if there is an obvious change in behaviour at some later stage. Consequently, if needed, a questionnaire can be designed and given to the individual’s colleagues after a six-month period to assess whether behavioural change has occurred.

Would You Like To Know More?
In addition to one-to-one management coaching, Tessera can also provide larger scale management development programmes that can help to identify training needs and long-term career goals.

If you would like to know more about Tessera’s approach to management development and coaching, please do no hesitate to contact: Amy Balderson (Click to email)