From Incompetence to Enlightenment- Assessment and the Economics of Humans & Work

Featuring: Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

This episode takes the listener on a journey through some fascinating topics- All of which tie back to human nature and the world of work. Our guest star is Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic an organizational psychologist who is currently a professor of business psychology at University College London (UCL) and Columbia University, as well as the Chief Talent Scientist at ManpowerGroup.

We discuss Tomas’ book “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix It).” from the perspective of humans and their relationship to work and organizations. It is clear that the world of work represents a complex dynamic between individuals and organizations. When looked at from the dark side- this interplay can lead to waste in the form of unhappiness and poor economics. This dialogue provides a really interesting foundation for a subsequent discussion of the future of assessment.

The focus turns to assessment at scale and the many issues that play into a future where personal data provides trait-based insights without the use of a traditional assessment. A focus on the economics of assessment at scale provides some unique and fascinating insight into the future of assessment as a discipline AND a business.
At the end of the day- the hidden treasure in accurate, ethical assessment at scale lies in the ability to increase productivity through helping humans find jobs that align with their talents and interests.

At scale, such matches will provide new levels of personal and economic enlightenment and drive a new age of prosperity!

About Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Tomas is one of the founders of Meta, a company that creates data-driven tools to help corporations identify employees and leaders with entrepreneurial talent.

He also serves as a consultant for both the private and public sectors, with clients that have included JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Prudential, Unilever, the British Army, the BBC, Twitter, Spotify, and Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the director of the MSc in Industrial-Organizational and Business Psychology at the University College London (UCL), having previously co-run the MSc in Occupational Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has also previously taught at the London School of Economics and New York University.

He is the author of the column Mr. Personality, which appears regularly on Psychology Today, and contributes regularly to the Guardian, Fast Company, Management Today, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review. In February 2015, Dr. Chamorro-Premuzic assumed the role of CEO at Hogan Assessments after spending two years as the company’s vice president of research and innovation. The company provides personality assessment services that corporations can utilize for hiring and training purposes.

Find the original article, Tomas’ book is based on Harvard Business Review

And grab a copy of the book yourself on Amazon.