The Highlands Group Workshop

• Scope and Objectives of Workshop

• Defining Abilities– Personal Style– Driving Abilities– Specialized Abilities– Learning Channels

Abilities and the Individual

• Understand your own abilities

• Learn how you take in new information

• Understand how you communicate and solve problems

Abilities and the Group• Increase your understanding of the differences between

your abilities and the abilities of others in the group

• Leverage group talents by recognizing and utilizing ability differences and similarities

• Create a common language based on objective abilities

• Divided into 19 worksamples, each measuring a different ability or style

• Each worksample an objective, hands-on measure resulting in a percentile ranking

• Objective results more effective than self-report or 360 feedback

• Combination and interrelation of scores builds picture of the whole individual

• Distinguishes between natural abilities and skills

The Highlands Ability Battery — Gold Standard Among Assessment Tools

• Reliable and effective over twenty years and thousands of users

• Drawn from 75 years of continuous research beginning with Johnson O’Connor

The Highlands Ability Battery — Gold Standard Among Assessment Tools

History of the Highlands Ability Battery

• The Johnson O’Connor clinics and the development of objective worksamples

• The Paper & Pencil Test

History of the Highlands Ability Battery

• The Highlands CD Battery• 19 worksamples• 3-4 hours to complete• Bar Chart & Report• Technical Assistance

• Necessity of Interpretation and Feedback• Internet version now in production

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

Abilities in Perspective —The Whole Person

The Whole Person —Eight Contributing Factors

• Abilities• Skills• Interests• Personal Style• Family• Values• Goals• Career Development Cycle

Overview of Abilities

• Develop through infancy and mature enough to be measured by age 14

• Can be measured best through performance of worksamples

• Worksample results reveal strengths and challenges

• No one ability controls — what matters are the patterns and combinations

Overview of Abilities

• After maturity, remain essentially stable throughout life

• Different from skills - always there regardless of neglect or disuse

• Can lead to greater satisfaction when understood and utilized

The Combination of Elements Defining Personal Style

• Critical in assessing ideal work roles and environments

• Recognition in others leads to better team work

• Recognition in others leads to better communication skills

• The Personal Style Elements– Generalist - Specialist– Introvert - Extrovert– Time Frame Orientation

Working with Personal Style

Understanding Time Frame Orientation

• Illustrates that an ability is neither “good” nor “bad” but something to recognize and build on

• The time span within which an individual is most comfortable working

Understanding Time Frame Orientation

• A high score indicates that you are able to pursue goals with limited immediate benefits but long-term rewards

• A low score indicates that you find satisfaction in completing jobs that require immediate closure or fulfillment

Overview of the Driving Abilities

• Powerful enough to assert themselves at study and at work

• Require measurement and understanding• Form patterns which drive behavior and

response to others• Create frustration if ignored

– “Press points”

The Five Driving Abilities

• Classification — the ability to find a relationship among seemingly unrelated objects or information, to go from the specific to the more general

• Concept Organization — the ability to arrange available facts, data and concepts in the most logical relationships among them; to go from the general to the more specific

The Methodology of Problem Solving

The Five Driving Abilities

• Idea Productivity — the relative ability to create a flow of ideas; measures the quantity of ideas, not the quality

The Five Driving Abilities

• Spatial Relations Theory—the ability to conceptualize relationships among abstractions, principles and organizations; to understand how things work

• Spatial Relations Visualization—the relative ability to visualize and manipulate mentally three-dimensional objects in space, to think and solve problems in three dimensions; related to the need for tangible applications and results

Driving Ability Combinations

• Managerial Profile• Multi-Ability Profile• Structural Generalist

The Specialized Abilities —Musical Abilities

• Tonal Memory – the ability to remember tunes, tonal sequences and musical and linguistic content and patterns

• Rhythm Memory – the ability to remember rhythmic patterns and to learn through touch and movement

• Pitch Discrimination – the ability to recognize fine differences in pitch; indicates general sensory discrimination

The Specialized Abilities —Musical Abilities

• In some individuals, as in great composers, these can constitute another driving ability

• These abilities combine with other non-musical abilities to create ability patterns

The Specialized Abilities —Non-Musical Specialized Abilities

• Design Memory – the ability to visualize and recall charts, graphs and diagrams

• Observation – the ability to see and remember visual details and to detect changes and irregularities in an environment

The Specialized Abilities —Non-Musical Specialized Abilities

• Verbal Memory – the ability to learn and remember new words and to recall what you read

• Number Memory – the ability to recall facts and numbers and to use numbers to solve problems

• Visual Speed & Accuracy – the ability to read and interpret written symbols quickly and easily

The Specialized Abilities — Patterns

• Musical Patterns – the relationship among scores in Tonal Memory, Rhythm Memory and Pitch Discrimination; can be a sixth driving ability

• Visual Abilities – the relationship between scores in Design Memory and in Observation

• Creative Abilities – the relationship among scores in Idea Productivity, Design Memory and Pitch Discrimination

• Visual Dexterity – the relationship between scores in Visual Speed and Visual Accuracy

The Learning Channels — A Combination of Abilities

• Design Memory – charts, diagrams, pictures, graphics

• Verbal Memory – what you read, new words and written text

• Tonal Memory – what you hear, including tunes and language

• Rhythm Memory – learning through rhythm and movement

• Number Memory – ability to recall and use facts and numbers

Worksample in Vocabulary

• Measures scope of present knowledge and utility

• Does not measure specialized vocabularies used in specific roles

• Can be improved to increase communications skills

• Can be improved and increased by understanding and using best learning channels

Overview of Work Types

• Defined by combining several abilities – can be combination of two-eight abilities

• Relationship between combination of abilities in one individual and most satisfying activities

• Identify your strongest types

• Key to career development

Overview of Work Types

• Experience and training can modify types

• Knowledge of types can be applied to make job easier and more satisfying

• Knowledge of types can be applied to improve working relations with fellow workers

Using the Highlands Four Dimensions

• Work Environment/Personal Style – What work/study environment is most satisfying for me?

• Learning – How do I take in new information most easily and effectively?

• Problem Solving/Decision Making – How do I handle these best?

• Communication – How do I communicate most effectively with others?