PDFDOC

Sample

Bill Accountant

Management - Narrative Report

Career Drives

Achievement - Primary

Scores indicate that Bill is very strongly achievement-oriented, and very conscious of getting the outcomes and results he wants. This drive for results is frequently supported by strong ambition, and a strong sense of self, and is found in many successful people. It may be particularly appropriate for those organisations requiring a firm performance and profit focus such as in sales-driven operations facing a hard market. SHADOW SIDE - Some people with similar scores may come across as too driving and forceful. They may be seen as too direct, and some may even be offensive if they are not getting the results wanted. In terms of leadership there is a risk that people with such high drives may be too task orientated and competitive. They may tend not to be sensitive enough to human issues unless they have emotional maturity, and well developed social and conflict handling skills.

Remuneration - Secondary

For various reasons, today's workforce is more concerned with remuneration issues than traditionally. However, in line with many managers, responses indicate that Bill is not most motivated by money. He obtains more satisfaction from other factors at work, and probably regards money and financial remuneration packages on the basis of a fair return for results achieved. The fairness of a remuneration package is more likely to be judged on the basis of relativity to others inside the organisation, and on the open job market, rather than the quantum of the package.

Ambition - Primary

Bill has strong personal ambition to do well which usually translates into trying hard to achieve personal and corporate goals within his organisation. People with scores similar to Bill generally have high expectations of themselves, and would stretch subordinates. Bill would be willing to accept challenges and would provide a motivating environment for others at work.

Independence - Secondary

Bill is not an independent sort of person, and probably prefers to do as he is instructed, and stay within existing boundaries. Whilst probably a very loyal person to the organisation, the requirements of many management roles needs someone who is willing to pioneer, think and even act independently and originally, and to sometimes force issues through. Unlikely to take a stand, particularly against authority figures.

Recognition - Secondary

Bill would like to be recognised for his work, and respected in the workplace. He would strive to maintain standards, and would generally subscribe to a quality ethic. The reputation of the organisation that he works for is likely to be important as there would be ego involvement which he would see as reflecting his personal values. SHADOW SIDE - Some people with similar scores may sometimes use organisation resources to advance personal ambitions.

Conflict Management Style

Assertive - Secondary

Bill is sensibly assertive, and likely to notice conflict in its early stages, and become involved as soon as there is a need, which helps ensure that situations don't escalate or deteriorate. He is likely to appear appropriately confident when dealing with confrontation. Bill may choose to let others solve their own problems based on their maturity and capability to do so.

Competitive - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill is probably fairly competitive, in line with many other managers. However, he would need to ensure that he is being competitive in appropriate situations, and with appropriate people. Mostly in an organisation setting it is more appropriate to be seeking a win/win outcome, rather than a personal victory.

Collaborative - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill appreciates the value of win/win outcomes, and usually tries to be collaborative in his dealings with others. This tends to generate goodwill and trust as well as optimising gains available.

Compromising - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill is generally willing to compromise, and this is increasingly appropriate in today's complex world where we frequently can't fulfil our own agenda, and have to be willing to 'give a little to gain a little.' Compromising is a useful technique in gaining internal cooperation and negotiating.

Coping

Security - Secondary

At this stage of life, responses indicate that Bill is overly security conscious compared with most managers. There can be many reasons for this, and these reasons should ideally be explored before decisions are made based on these comments. A high concern for security can lead to excessive submission to those above for fear of compromising job security or conditions. Corporate and personal risk-taking may be too cautious, leading also to lack of confidence from staff. Personal assertiveness can diminish through worry of challenging the status quo, and decision-making can become paralysed through fear of making mistakes.

Responsibility - Primary

Bill is likely to accept responsibility, exercising appropriate judgement in accepting workloads for himself and his direct reports. Bill should welcome a challenge and the opportunity to stretch himself and acquire new skills in the process. (He/she) should display an awareness of his own capabilities and could be expected to appraise task failure in a positive and objective manner.

Stress Resilience - Primary

Responses indicate that Bill seems to be coping with his job to the same degree as most managers, in that some stress is evident, but not enough to compromise performance. Bill probably gets adrenalin from challenges, and enjoys some pressure. In relationships with others, Bill would generally be relaxed and able to make time to listen to problems.

Sensitivity - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill is generally sensitive to the needs of others, and does not get upset easily. As such, he would tend to be a pleasant person to work with, and a good sounding board.

Leadership and Influence

Power - Primary

Bill generally understands that to get things done requires orders and instructions to be given. He is comfortable with being a leader and the exercising of legitimate power, and would normally be competent in dealing with discipline situations. SHADOW SIDE - May need to be careful to avoid relying on the power of the position to dictate to others.

Decisive - Primary

Responses indicate that Bill is slow to make decisions, and is likely to seek comprehensive data in order to ensure everything is correct. People with such scores may not differentiate sufficiently between accuracy and expediency for decision-making, and have a low sense of urgency. This can result in less personal productivity, excessive accumulation of work, and also be frustrating for subordinates that refer issues up for decision, then have to wait too long. May be correlated with security and the fear of making mistakes, or with excessive analysing and planning and the desire to have all information available.

Persuasive - Primary

Responses indicate that Bill probably enjoys good powers of persuasion, and would be willing to influence others to achieve the outcomes he needs to be successful as a manager. SHADOW SIDE - Because some people can be influential primarily for personal gain, other people frequently distrust motives until trust is established. There seems to be increasing suspicion regarding the use of persuasion amongst the lower levels of today's workforce.

Directive - Primary

Responses indicate that Bill would be confident leading from the front, and that he would generally be adequately directive to positively influence outcomes. This is usually a requirement for frontline managers to supervise operative staff, who are likely to have varying degrees of competence and commitment. Whilst such strong leadership should not often be required at senior management level, the capability to be willing to be directive under high levels of pressure from other managers, subordinates and outside forces is desirable. SHADOW SIDE - If used inappropriately or too frequently, leadership from the front can make others dependent rather than independent, and be seen as too domineering. This can stultify the growth and development of others, and create resentment and friction, especially if it seems that a person is acting out of excessive ambition or self-interest.

Delegating - Primary

There seems room for Bill to further practice delegating, which usually means that he probably has a higher workload than necessary. Additionally, not delegating as a leader may come across to others as a lack of trust, and fails to develop their competence or confidence. Learning how to 'lead from the rear' by delegating is a valuable skill for a manager to obtain the best commitment from others, whilst freeing a manager to do the more important tasks.

Coaching - Secondary

Bill would tend to use a coaching style of leadership when appropriate to develop the skills level and motivation of others. Bill would usually take the time to explain things to others without going into unnecessary detail or repeating things that they already know. Use of this style is more frequently appropriate as a frontline manager to develop trainees, and where employees need to develop competencies and commitment. This style should be used less frequently in middle management or senior management roles as a manager would be expected to be managing mature people with strong job commitment and knowledge. Whilst there is an increasing requirement for today's manager to be prepared to coach and mentor others, excessive use of a coaching style is inappropriate for day-to-day interaction with other people who know what they are doing.

People Orientation

Agreeable - Primary

In most modern environments it is becoming increasingly important for managers to be sensitive to the needs and concerns of others at work. Bill has a need for affiliation at work, and this should help him communicate with others, and empathise with subordinates who may have a higher social need. Bill only needs to remember to maintain respect by prioritising getting results ahead of being liked. SHADOW SIDE - May spend too much time socialising and talking about non-work issues, and sometimes place too much emphasis on relationships rather than on outcomes.

Teamwork - Secondary

The current workplace environment requires that managers actively facilitate teamwork, and Bill reports a willingness to forego his own agenda in support of team initiatives. He should appreciate team values such as trust, consultation and participation. Bill could be expected to support team initiatives, readily implementing teams in the pursuit of organisational goals. He should also be prepared to accept team roles other than leader. SHADOW SIDE - May need to ensure that team initiatives offer tangible benefits that appeal to more pragmatic team members.

Extraversion - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill would enjoy socialising to a degree, but would also need quiet time to think, and even be on his own. This ambivert quality is similar to many other managers, particularly at a senior level, who are able to establish relationships with a wide range of people for networking purposes, and also able to sit and concentrate in private. Likely to be open and approachable, and willing to listen to staff concerns. Would generally be aware of external factors likely to have a bearing on his area of operations.

Intimacy - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill generally strikes a balance between forming friendships at work and remaining objective about personnel issues. At management level, positive personal relationships can often accomplish much that may not have been possible through formal channels.

Strategic Orientation

Goalsetting - Secondary

Bill is aware of the value of having clearly defined goals, and this aids in determining priorities for issues and tasks. Having clear objectives is also motivating for sub-ordinates. SHADOW SIDE - Sometimes people with very high scores can be so absorbed with goals that they lose perspective and flexibility on other issues

Innovation - Primary

The current workplace is associated with an increasing pace of change and level of ambiguity and consequently, the need for innovation is becoming greater, particularly in dealing with situations not covered by procedures or rules. Bill highly values innovation, and could be expected to take a big picture view of operations, look to the future and if externally focused, he may be regarded as visionary. Bill is likely to gain satisfaction from research and development initiatives, although he may need to ensure that he weighs up the benefits of future possibilities against the requirement to respond to current realities. Persistence may be necessary to complete the tasks in which he is involved. He is very likely to bend the rules and take risks to achieve a worthwhile outcome. SHADOW SIDE - Bill may easily get bored, and jump from one task to another without fully reaping the returns on resources invested. He may benefit by collaborating with individuals who can develop and translate ideas into viable action plans. Individuals with comparable scores may overlook details they consider trivial, and may appear distracted. His thirst for change suggests that he may need to allow others sufficient time to deal with change.

Proactive - Primary

It is important for managers to plan ahead, to foresee problems, and to consider the alternatives and consequences of actions in advance. One of the important factors contributing to managerial success is a propensity to plan ahead, to foresee problems, and to consider the alternatives and consequences of actions in advance. Bill shares this viewpoint, and would tend to be a proactive manager who understands priorities, and is likely to make a strategic contribution.

Analysing - Primary

Today's organisations and their operating environments are becoming increasingly complex and it has become evident that managers need the intellectual capacity to deal with this. An indicator of this capability is a person's aptitude for solving problems and being analytical. Bill has a similar preference for problem solving and being analytical as many other managers. However, in terms of career development, it may be useful for Bill to recognise that the further up the management ladder he climbs, the greater the need to be more analytical in order to deal with complexity in a logical way.

Values

Altruism - Secondary

Bill is likely to demonstrate an appropriate level of care and concern for the welfare of others, whilst remaining objective when making strategic or high-level decisions. Individuals with scores in this range are likely to demonstrate an awareness of the people issues inherent in decisions, which should assist them to engender trust and respect. Bill could be expected to actively listen to his reports concerns, display an appropriate degree of empathy, as well as support his reports ongoing development. Shadow Side: Some individuals with comparable scores may appear insincere when listening to others concerns, particularly when under pressure or when seeking approval. Others may question his/her level of genuine interest as a result.

Trust - Secondary

Trust and openness has emerged as quite an important issue to many people in today's workforce. In relation to others, Bill has a normal score for this category. This is likely to mean that Bill regards trust and openness at work as important. Bill is likely to be generally willing to trust, but others may have to earn that trust first.

Loyalty - Secondary

Issues of loyalty seem to have increased for most managers and workers of today's workforce. In relation to others Bill has a high score for this category. This is likely to mean that issues of loyalty at work are very important to him, and he is likely to consider this factor when making decisions on other people. Bill is likely to become disillusioned if his sometimes idealistic ideals are not met.

Conforming - Secondary

Bill has a normal score for this category. This is likely to mean that he balances being pragmatic with conforming to the views of society.

Workplace Management

Conscientious - Secondary

Bill appears quite conscientious and should feel comfortable working within the constraints typically imposed by a large organisation. As such, he could be expected to adhere to guidelines and take direction from his superior. Whilst generally appropriate for supervisory positions, in the role of senior manager, Bill is likely to be more persistent in maintaining the status quo than in implementing reforms and better management. Individuals with comparable scores may resist change, particularly when these changes seem to go against their own interests.

Detail - Secondary

Responses indicate that Bill is a very details orientated person, and enjoys work requiring deep involvement and concentration. However, unless the role specifically calls for it, for example significant compliance duties, most managerial positions become more generalist rather than specialist, and require more broad level thinking. Excessive involvement with detail at management level can retard the decision making process as all levels of detail are analysed. Too much attention to detail is also a barrier to productivity, as energy and resources are spent in areas of minor consequence and little value to the organisation or customers. Bill probably needs to be more able to discern between important and unimportant detail, and shed less important detail to enable him to get on with more valuable tasks. May be excessively worried about making mistakes, especially if security needs are also high. Could be very uncomfortable letting go detail, and may over-check subordinates as a result.

Self Organisation - Secondary

Today's workplace requires managers to be more highly self-organised than in the past. Responses indicate that Bill tends to place a similar emphasis on self-organisation as other successful managers.

Unusual Answers Score

Unusually Low Answers - 'Primary'

Answers to the low scoring questions are in the normal range, and consistently agree with what most people choose.

Unusually High Answers - 'Primary'

Answers to a number of high scoring questions are in the normal range, and consistently agree with what most people choose.

Disclaimer
The Apollo Profile reports are compiled from the responses of the candidate compared with others, and is intended for use as a *guideline only* for career assessment and development purposes. Inaccuracies of description may unavoidably be present, and comments should always be verified from other sources. Users are cautioned to ensure that they comply with relevant laws and regulations. Further interpretations to those provided in the reports may only be made by an accredited interpreter in accordance with the Apollo Profile Interpreter’s Manual. Whilst care has been taken with the design and information contained in the Apollo Profile, the Apollonean Institute Pty. Ltd. deny any liability for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the use of the Apollo Profile.
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