Psychometrics have become a core component of high-quality leadership coaching for a simple reason: when they are well-designed and correctly interpreted, they give leaders a reliable, evidence-based mirror on how they show up at work.
Within leadership coaching programmes, psychometrics are not a one-off event but are deployed on multiple occasions to help leaders build an increasingly accurate picture of themselves and their inner workings. Carefully facilitated feedback enables them to explore their patterns of thinking, emotional triggers, and underlying needs and drivers – and when repeated over time, it provides clients with an opportunity to see clearly how they are developing and this can be hugely motivating.
Survey results are typically explored in confidential one-to-one sessions with a programme lead, creating a confidential space for reflection, while leaders are also encouraged to share key insights with peers in small learning groups so that individual awareness is reinforced through collective learning.
Sound psychometric tools go through rigorous testing for reliability (do they give consistent results over time?) and validity (do they measure what they claim to measure and does that relate to real outcomes such as performance or engagement?). Personality measures based on the Big Five framework, for example, show strong links with job performance and leadership effectiveness across many studies (Ones et al., 2007; Grover & Amit, 2024).
Some of the psychometrics that Centre for Teams use within their leadership programmes include:
WorkPlace Big Five Profile™ applies this research directly to organisational life, assessing five broad traits (e.g. Extraversion, Need for Stability, Conscientiousness) and their nuances in a work context. It has robust reliability and validity evidence and is widely used for leadership development, succession planning and team coaching. In coaching, it helps leaders connect patterns in their behaviour (e.g. comfort with risk, preference for structure) with the impact they have on others and on results.
FIRO-B® (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation–Behavior) focuses on interpersonal needs: Inclusion, Control and Affection, each measured as “expressed” and “wanted” behaviour. It has solid reliability data based on large norm groups and is widely used in leadership and team development. In coaching, FIRO-B helps leaders understand why some relationships feel easy and others feel strained, and what they can do differently to build trust and collaboration.
The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) assesses how people typically respond to conflict across five modes (competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating), based on the dimensions of assertiveness and cooperativeness. Developed with a strong emphasis on psychometric quality, the TKI remains one of the most widely used conflict tools in organisations and leadership programmes.
Used ethically and interpreted by qualified practitioners, these instruments complement – not replace – skilled coaching conversations, providing a research-based foundation for deeper self-awareness and more effective leadership.
References
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44(1), 1–26.
Hammer, A. L., & Schnell, E. R. (2000). FIRO-B® technical guide. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Howard, P. J. (2009). Professional manual for the WorkPlace Big Five Profile™ 4.0. Center for Applied Cognitive Studies.
Kang, W., Guzman, K. L., & Malvaso, A. (2023). Big Five personality traits in the workplace: Investigating personality differences between employees, supervisors, managers, and entrepreneurs. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 976022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.976022
Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., Viswesvaran, C., & Judge, T. A. (2007). In support of personality assessment in organizational settings. Personnel Psychology, 60(4), 995–1027.
Schutz, W. C. (1958). FIRO: A three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Thomas, K. W., & Kilmann, R. H. (1976). Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. Group & Organization Studies, 1(2), 249–251.