Now that Charley and the interns had developed the essential traits for the journey of becoming a difference maker, Charley wanted the interns to think about how they would assess themselves with respect to each trait. Again he wanted the interns to develop their own assessment system.
There were a number of suggestions but Kaylin’s idea got them excited. “Why don’t we follow a system like the martial arts? I’m developing my abilities in karate and we use different color belts on our uniforms to reflect our skill level.”
Following Kaylin’s lead, the interns developed the following assessments:
- Yellow Belt: Those who are aware of the importance of a trait but don’t have yet a strong confidence in the trait. At this level, the person is aware of the challenges they must work on.
- Orange Belt: Those who are at this level have a plan for developing the trait and have had some initial progress in accomplishing their plan.
- Blue Belt: Those who are at this level have achieved some modest success in achieving their plan and have begun to share their success journey with those at a lower level.
- Brown Belt: Those who are at this level have a strong evidence of success in the trait. They have begun to develop insights about the trait as it applies to making a difference.
- Black Belt: Those who are at this level are masters of the trait and become the guide for others who are moving up in the trait. They are the “owners” of the trait, but they must also be continuously advancing their own abilities with regard to the trait.
Charley was pleased but concerned about how the assessments would be done. His past experiences with similar efforts led to assessments which were off track. High achievers often evaluated themselves too low while those who were lower in achievements rated themselves too high. He mentioned this to the interns. Josh had an idea that was a major breakthrough: “Why don’t we practice our story framing skills by writing a narrative of how we think of ourselves for each trait. Then we can collectively decide where we think each of us fits in the assessment system.”
Charley continued to be amazed by how much he was learning from the interns. He would never have thought of an assessment system like this.
Charley concluded the discussion by saying: “I love your approach. Let me take responsibility for putting together the materials for our next discussion when we do the assessments. Let’s take the next day off so you will have the time to do your assessment stories.”
* * *
“Measure what you value instead of valuing only what you can measure.”– Andy Hargreaves (Speaker, Author)