What is a test?
To get your licence you complete a test.
To see whether you need glasses you complete an eye exam.
To pass a subject at school or university you complete an assessment.
When assessing your leadership abilities, others conduct a 360-degree evaluation of your competencies.
The fundamental difference between these types of ‘tests’ and the HBDI is that in the case of the former, there is an appropriate, right or ideal answer to the question.
When you complete the HBDI® there is no ideal, right or wrong response – just different responses.
The HBDI does not evaluate the ways you should think, but identifies the ways you prefer to think. Which, of course, has no ‘right’ answer!
To learn more about how the HBDI differs from other forms of tests and assessments, click here.
What is the HBDI®?
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) is a scientifically validated Thinking Styles assessment tool. A diagnostic survey consisting of 116 questions, it is designed to identify your preferred approach to emotional, analytical, structural and strategic thinking. It also provides individuals with a significantly increased level of personal understanding.
The HBDI® Profile is available in various formats, including a comprehensive paper package with detailed interpretation, an online version via the Thinker Portal featuring additional learning resources, and a convenient HBDI® App for iOS and Android. These formats allow you to access and apply your HBDI results for personal and business development, exploring topics like stress response and their applications in teamwork, communication, and innovation.
Explore your options here.
Where most assessments end with a single report, the HBDI offers a valuable range of applications. Identifying your thinking preferences is only the first step.
How does it work?
The HBDI identifies an individual’s degree of preference for each of the four distinct thinking preferences, based on Ned Herrmann’s Whole Brain® Model.
The model evolved from a physiological understanding of our brain, the Whole Brain® Model is actually a metaphor for the way we think and is the basis upon which the HBDI was developed.
The HBDI, through its series of questions, is capable of measuring the degree of preference between each of the four individual Thinking Styles (quadrants) and each of the four paired structures (modes). This results in a four quadrant profile, which displays the degree of preference for each of the four quadrants—your HBDI Profile.
The results you receive are free from value, judgement and cultural bias. Because it is a self-analysis, most people immediately recognise their results as accurate. Experiencing an “A-ha moment”, if you will.
What are the four quadrants of the Whole Brain® Model?
The HBDI is based on the Whole Brain® Model, a conceptual framework illustrating how individuals utilise their cognitive processes. In this model, thinking is categorised into four equally important quadrants, accessible to everyone:
Upper Left Blue A Quadrant: This quadrant specialises in logical, analytical, quantitative, and fact-based thinking.
Lower Left Green B Quadrant: It focuses on details and excels in planning, organising, and sequencing information.
Lower Right Red C Quadrant: This quadrant prioritises feelings and the interpersonal aspects of situations, emphasising emotions and kinesthetic elements.
Upper Right Yellow D Quadrant: Known for synthesising and integrating information, this quadrant adopts a more intuitive and holistic approach to thinking.
Why the HBDI® is an assessment and not a test
Want to know what your personality is? Or find out your ‘inner truth’? How about which Game of Thrones character you are? You could be a Cersei. Or maybe you’re a Jon. Take the latest BuzzFeed quiz to find out.
There are plenty of employee assessments and online quizzes out there that will reveal what box, character, style or type you fall into. And they all aim to answer the question: Am I a ‘this’ or am I a ‘that’?
But when it comes to the HBDI®, we talk in terms of thinking preferences. No one is strictly a ‘this’ or a ‘that,’ because everyone has access to their whole brain, regardless of what your preferences are. You simply prefer (and in some cases, actively avoid) certain kinds of thinking over others.
- No Right or Wrong Answers: The HBDI is not a test because it does not have right or wrong answers. It is designed to reveal your thinking preferences rather than evaluate your knowledge or skills.
- No Ideal Profile: Unlike a test, the HBDI doesn’t prescribe an ideal score or profile. It recognises that there is no universally superior thinking style, emphasising the value of diversity.
- Diverse Preferences: The HBDI acknowledges that most individuals have multi-dominant thinking preferences, allowing for flexibility and adaptability in thinking.
- Encourages Personal Growth: It serves as a tool for personal development, encouraging you to understand your thinking preferences, identify strengths and weaknesses, and find strategies for improvement.
- The HBDI is not a typical test – It’s a Preference-Based Insight Tool: It’s important to clarify that the HBDI is not a conventional test, but rather a preference-based instrument. Instead of assessing your cognitive capabilities, it delves into why you do things, your motivation, key drivers, and thinking preferences.
This unique approach reveals how you naturally prefer to think, offering a profound understanding of your cognitive style. Therefore, taking the HBDI is not about testing your abilities, but about discovering and embracing your thinking preferences, helping you make more informed decisions aligned with your innate thought processes.
Why you should consider doing the HBDI® assessment
- No Pass or Fail: You should take the HBDI ‘test’ because, in reality, it is not a test at all. There are no right or wrong answers, so you can’t fail. It’s an indicator of your thinking preferences, not an evaluative assessment.
- Insight into Motivation and Preferences: The HBDI assessment provides valuable insight into why you do things, your motivations, key drivers, and thinking preferences. It highlights how you prefer to think, not what you are capable of thinking, helping you better understand yourself.
- Leveraging a Large Database: Over 3 million individuals have taken the HBDI, contributing to a substantial database. This allows you to compare your thinking with others, fostering better interactions with colleagues, friends, and family members due to the diversity and differences in thinking.
- Unlock the Power of Your Thinking: Taking the HBDI ‘test’ enables you to identify not only your preferences but also areas that may require more effort and energy. It empowers you to use the Whole Brain Thinking Model to develop strategies for overcoming challenges and improving your performance in various aspects of life, such as tackling complex tasks like completing your tax return.
The HBDI is both simple and practical. Completing it is quick and easy, helping you understand your thinking preferences. The Whole Brain® Model embraces diversity in thinking, highlighting that there’s no one “best” way to think. This positive approach helps you uncover what energises or challenges your thinking.
Whole Brain® Thinking acts as your thinking roadmap, offering self-insight and personal growth. It boosts your self-awareness and helps you understand how your thinking compares to others in your organisation. Ultimately, this understanding enhances your effectiveness at work and makes collaboration smoother.
What are thinking preferences?
So, what exactly do we mean by thinking preference? Well, it might be easier to start by explaining what a preference is not.
Thinking preference doesn’t equal competence
People often assume that having a preference for analytical thinking means that they’ll breeze through any kind of analytical work. Or that having a preference for relational thinking means you’ll be great at working with others.
But having a preference for a certain way of thinking doesn’t necessarily mean you’re great at all the things associated with it. And by the same token, not having a preference for something doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be good at it.
To understand why, just think about a task you don’t like doing—a specific aspect of your job, cleaning the house, managing your personal finances. Maybe you even hate doing it. But out of necessity, you’ve become competent at it.
Plenty of people are highly competent in jobs they really don’t like. You might be pretty good at organising all the logistics of your holiday, not because you like or want to do it, but because you know it has to be done. The task requires a lot of effort, but the prospect of a fun trip motivates you to do it.
On the flipside, plenty of people love to do things that they’re not so great at. A lot of tone-deaf people like to sing, but I’m sure a whole lot of people wished they wouldn’t.
In the same way, your thinking preferences are simply a reflection of the kind of thinking you’re naturally drawn to, not the thinking you’re necessarily good at. When you’re ‘not thinking’ about it, it’s the thinking you default to.
Most people don’t have a single thinking preference
Here’s another reason why it’s an oversimplification to say you’re a ‘this’ or ‘that’ thinker: only 5% of the population in our database of millions of HBDI profiles has a single strong preference.
Most people (92% of our database) have two or three preferences, and even within a single quadrant, differing degrees of preference for that kind of thinking will show up in different ways. Only 3% have a balance of preferences for thinking across all four quadrants.
At work, you can see those thinking preferences show up in the way you’re energised by certain activities—the things you find so interesting and so stimulating that you’d choose to do them over any other task. They may not be the easiest for you, but they are always the most satisfying and fulfilling. You don’t have to look too hard for motivation because your inner fires are already stoked.
Why you’re better at jobs that align with your thinking preference
Having said all that, there are strong correlations between thinking preferences and skills because we tend to do the things we like to do and, through that repetition and reinforcement over time, build up competence in them.
The reverse is true, too: activities that fall into the areas you have a lower preference for or even actively avoid can become big blind spots for you. It’ll take a lot more energy, intention and motivation to do them, and that’s why it can feel so draining.
But keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of the task at hand.
How to use the HBDI® employee assessment to take control of your career
Because the HBDI shows that you’re not limited by your preferences, it also means you can’t use the results of an HBDI employee assessment as an excuse or a cop-out! Instead, it helps you understand what’s going on and how you’ll need to prepare your brain for the stretch.
If you’re one of those people whose job doesn’t line up with your preferences, you might be feeling the exhaustion of having to stretch outside your mental comfort zones.
There are a few things you can do to take control of the situation. You could look for a different job or profession. But maybe there are just a few activities you don’t like within your current role. Are there things you can do to modify the job to make it a more natural fit? Or is that discomfort really a learning opportunity that you need to take on in order to grow? Could that be your motivator to do it?
You can also try finding outlets for your preferences outside of work. If you have a high preference for the more interpersonal kinds of thinking but your job is all about cold hard facts and technical work, you might consider volunteering in your off-time for a cause that inspires you.
You don’t have to feel stuck in a box or trapped by your preferences. When it comes to your thinking, you’re not a ‘this’ or a ‘that’. You’re all of it. And once you understand your whole brain better, you get to be in charge of it.
Find out how Whole Brain® Thinking could benefit your organisation
If you want to learn more about how Whole Brain® Thinking and the HBDI can help you and your organisation, have a look at how it works here or get in touch and we’ll help you find the right solution.
