Psychologists have specialized abilities to bring the strength of psychometric-based interest and preference inventories to the Coaching and Consulting process. As such, J.F. Zagotta & Associates, LLC, emphasizes this area as a particular strength in our client service offerings. We utilize a variety of highly accepted, utilized and researched instruments (including the MBTI and the Strong Interest Inventory) to access the knowledge found in decades of established research across the career enrichment and organizational effectiveness arenas. We also recognize that quality assessment services involve skilled data collection procedures, as well as sensitive, thorough, productive, and confidential feedback of results.

J.F. Zagotta & Associates, LLC, Coaching and Consulting staff are members of the American Psychological Association ( www.APA.org), and as such abide by the APA code of ethics. The APA code of ethical behavior for Psychologists emphasizes specific guidelines related to the appropriate usage of testing data, sensitivity in the delivery of assessment feedback, and confidentiality of client records.  We ensure that our clients have a thorough understanding of their results, through a constructive and supportive process.  In abiding by these standards, we insist that all of our assessment feedback activities are conducted in a face-to-face manner. We also recognize that inventory results never represent the entire picture, and that a "test" is never more accurate than an individual’s knowledge of themselves.  We perform an interactive validation of each profile with our clients to achieve the most valuable information these tools can offer.

The Meyers Briggs Type Indicator is possibly the most widely used psychometric inventory within organizational and career counseling environments.  The MBTI has been utilized for over 5 decades, and has extensive research support and cross-cultural validation studies.  Exploring the strengths, preferences, and interactive styles of the various MBTI types has proven rewarding for thousands within the organizational training and career counseling arenas.  Extensive volumes have been written on the value of type exploration.  The literature is too vast to adequately cover in this forum.  A nice review of the benefits of using type in the career enrichment process is found in Paul D. Treiger's and Barbara Barron-Treiger's book "Do What You Are", 3rd edition (2001).  The book provides a basic understanding of type and its usefulness in a fairly easy to utilize format.  We do advocate, however, that the reader goes on to take the actual inventory, and have the results interpreted by a qualified professional, as a fuller and more fulfilling exploration in this area.  Type assessment through the MBTI is one of our most basic exploration tools, and often the entry point in assisting our clients with their career based goals.

The MBTI is a copy written offering of the Consulting Psychologists Press ( www.cpp.com).  The CPP website contains a wealth of information and offers many products that can help the reader familiarize themselves with the concepts underlying "type", and the MBTI.  The MBTI itself can only be purchased by, and administered through qualified professionals.  As Licensed Psychologists, our Coaching/Consulting staff can offer this assessment, in its many varieties, directly to our clients.  Through our account with CPP, we can even arrange for our clients to take the assessment on-line. 

The Strong Career Interest Inventory is also a well established, extensively researched assessment tool utilized by thousands in the career selection and enrichment process. The Strong Inventory is often used in conjunction with the MBTI, as a powerful tool in assessing career fit, and interest. While the MBTI looks at “type” preferences related to (or “dominant”) interactions styles, information gathering styles, cognitive processes, and structural or organizational styles, the Strong psychometrically compares an individuals interest in various work based activities with those of other individuals who are gainfully employed across specific career endeavors. This combination can hence assess and compare an individual’s personal style preferences, with their preferences across well established career activities, and prove a very valuable individually and organizationally based career building tool.

The Strong is also a copy written offering of the Consulting Psychologists Press (www.cpp.com), and has similar qualified user requirements. Our staff can offer this tool to clients in an on-line format as well, either to be used separately, or in special combination packages with the MBTI.

Current literature is directly indicative of a distinct overlap between leadership success, and possessing the basic emotional intelligence competencies. A more thorough discussion of this topic can be found on the “Emotional Intelligence” page of this website. In today’s career environment, leadership competencies must not only be broad, but effective leaders must be able to call upon various styles and skills, at the “right” times, based upon the specific leadership tasks and challenges they face. We have access to a variety of instruments, from those that assess an individuals' basic emotional intelligence competencies (www.mhs.com); to those that compare an individuals' leadership styles with successful, Fortune 500 business leaders; to those that draw on data in a 360 degree format, utilizing feedback from direct reports, peers, and supervisors (offered through www.cpp.com, and other assessment organizations).

As with all our assessment activities, great care is taken to offer useful, constructive and supportive, strength-based feedback in these areas. Particular care must be taken (and is) with 360 degree assessment results feedback, to ensure this is a successful and productive, and appropriately confidential endeavor.  Please visit our “Emotional Intelligence” page found on this website for additional information on this topic.