I’m a sucker for a good personality test. You too?

Maybe you’ve tried the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, the SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire, the Big Five, or the Enneagram – these are all great personality tests!

One of my recent favourites, though, is the Kolbe A Index personality assessment.

Here’s the official description of this test, from the Kolbe website:

“The Kolbe A Index (Instinct Test) is unique. It does not measure intelligence, personality or social style. It measures the instinctive ways you take action when you strive. Use your custom Kolbe A Index Results to be more productive, less stressed, and unlock joy at work or with your family.”

Sounds amazing, right?

Kolbe measures your instinctive way of doing things and the result is called your MO (method of operation). It is the only validated assessment that measures a person’s conative strengths. Knowing the instinctive ways that you take action helps you to gain greater understanding of your own human nature and begin the process of maximizing your potential.

The Kolbe A Index gives you a four-digit result. Each digit connects with one of the four “Action Modes,” which are the modern breakthrough in understanding and explaining conation. Kathy Kolbe, the creator of the test, had a key insight that everyone has a strength in how they operate in each of these Action Modes. Each person’s MO is their strength in that area.

The four areas are:

• Fact Finder: The instinctive need to probe and the way we gather and share information. Behaviour ranges from gathering detailed information and documenting strategies to simplifying and clarifying options. This Action Mode deals with detail and complexity, providing the perspective of the past. 
• Follow Thru: The instinctive need to pattern and the way we organize and design.
  Behaviour ranges from being systematic and structured to being adaptable and flexible. This Action Mode deals with structure and order and provides focus and continuity. 
• Quick Start: The instinctive need to improvise and the way we deal with risk and uncertainty.
  Behaviour ranges from driving change and innovation to stabilizing and preventing chaos. This Action Mode deals with originality and risk-taking and provides intuition and a sense of vision.
• Implementor: The instinctive need to demonstrate and the way we handle space and tangibles.
  Behaviour ranges from making things more concrete by building solutions to being more abstract by imagining a solution. This Action Mode deals with physical space and provides durability and a sense of the tangible.

The Kolbe A Index has 36 questions. Taking the test and understanding your results has the following benefits:

Here are my personal results from the Kolbe A Index:

As you can see, my score is 6-7-3-3. I’m most strong in the Action Modes of Fact Finder and Follow Thru. That means that I focus a lot on gathering detailed information and that I’m comfortable handling a lot of detail and complexity. I have an instinctive need to recognize and pinpoint patterns, and I use this in the way that I organize and design. I also take a systematic and structured approach to being adaptable and flexible. Through structure and order, I best achieve focus and continuity.

I’ve been able to apply these findings to my professional life as well as to my personal life, and the results have been very interesting. 

Taking this test isn’t free, but the results are highly worth it, in my opinion. Learn more here.

Have you taken the Kolbe A Index personality assessment? Are you considering it? Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, and let me know!