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Viewing and understanding the Self-Concept

Learn how to view and interpret the Self-Concept, and see whether an employee's behaviors align with their current workplace demands.

This article applies to all Inspire users in the PI2 platform.

Want to understand how well an employee's behavioral drives align with the needs of their current role? Use the Self-Concept in Inspire to see these data points side by side.

What is the Self-Concept?

The PI Behavioral Assessment helps develop 2 types of behavioral awareness:

  • Self: How a person describes their own workplace drives and needs.

  • Self-Concept: How a person perceives the external demands of their work environment.

Ideally, your internal drives and external demands would be perfectly aligned. But workplaces are rarely that simple, and people sometimes feel expected to work in ways that run counter to their natural strengths.
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An employee's Self-Concept page in Inspire shows how the employee's Self compares to their Self-Concept. The closer the Self is to the Self-Concept, the easier it generally feels to perform one’s job.
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While the Self does not typically change outside of major life events, the Self-Concept likely will change as a person progresses in their career. Remember to interpret the Self-Concept in relation to the role the person was in when they took the Behavioral Assessment. If the person's job has recently changed, it may make sense to have them retake the Self-Concept.

Important: The Self-Concept should not be used for hiring or promotion decisions. Instead, managers should use Hire to create a Behavioral Target, which lets you compare a candidate’s Self to the actual expectations of the role.

How to view an employee's Self-Concept

  1. Log in to the PI software.

  2. Select Inspire from the top navigation bar.

  3. You will land on the Inspire homepage.

  4. Search for the employee whose Self-Concept you'd like to view.

  5. You will land on that person's Inspire page.

  6. Select “Self-Concept" on the left-hand side, under "Self-Development Guides."

  7. You’ll land on the employee's Self-Concept page.

How to download an employee's Self-Concept

From an employee's Self-Concept page in Inspire:

  1. Click "Download or Email Reports" in the top-right of the screen.

  2. A menu titled “Download or Email Reports” will appear.

  3. Under “Self-development,” select "Self-Concept."

  4. Click the “Download items” button.

  5. The download will automatically start.

Tip: You can also email the Self-Concept if you'd prefer. To do so, click "Email items" and follow the subsequent directions.

FAQs

Should the Self-Concept be used as a hiring or promotion tool?

No. The Self-Concept is a powerful coaching tool for managers to help with employee development; it should not be used for hiring or promotion decisions. Instead, managers should use Hire to create a Behavioral Target, which lets you compare a candidate’s Self to the actual expectations of the role.

Additional support

PI Basics

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