Developing Self-Awareness: The Kolbe A™ Index

This is the third test in our ongoing mini-series on self-awareness. Today we’re looking at the Kolbe test and using it to learn a little more about ourselves. The Kolbe test is significantly different from the other tests so far and gives you a interesting look at yourself.

What is it?

The previous two tests were great indicators of aptitude. They give you a good understanding of what you’re good at and where your strengths lie. On the other hand, the Kolbe test tells you what you like to do. This is very different. Instead of learning what you’re best at it, the test tells you what you enjoy being best at.

Why did I choose it?

The Kolbe test was recommended to me by a close personal friend of mine. After looking into it further, the test quickly jumped to the top of my shortlist for this self-awareness series. On the one hand, I love that the test has been built on a foundation of almost one million test results. That’s a huge amount of data to help with the test’s accuracy.

But outside of simply being an accurate test, I really like the premise of the results. Instead of telling me my strengths (what the majority of tests claim to do) this test helps me understand my motivations. It’s not answering the “what am I good at” question; it’s answering the “what will I actually do” question or even the “why do I do” question.

If you’ve spent some time on the blog already, you likely know that understanding my “why” is a huge part of my life’s philosophy. I feel like this test can get you closer to understanding your True Purpose and helping you discover a clearer path to moving forward in your life.

That said, I do have some mixed feelings about the test.

What did I get?

Despite being a refreshing take on the personality tests, I found the Kolbe test a little disappointing. I found a lot of the questions vague, hard to answer, or just irrelevant. What’s more, I found that frequently none of the answers were applicable to how I felt.

Regardless, I pushed through and completed the test:

Kolbe gives you results based on what they call “Modes of Operation”. These are measures of how you work best when allowed freedom to operate

Next week, we’ll go deeper into the test and talk about what each area means and you can use your results to your advantage. For now, I suggest taking the test yourself and seeing where you fall on each spectrum.

What did you get? 

You can take the Kolbe test through their website. If you’ve taken it, let me know what you think of the test. If it’s been some time since you’ve taken it, how have the results changed the way you live your life? Send me an email, or write a comment below.