Radar patterns - What are they and why are they important?

Radar patterns or metaprograms are a series of mental filters that determine how a person behaves, based on how they think or what attracts their attention during observation. For instance: Do they focus on the information or on the people? Do they see the bigger picture or are they more interested in detail?

You can think of it as the wiring in the brain. Everyone is wired a little differently, and this affects the way they see the world around them and how they react to it. Understanding how people’s mental filters work can result in high ROIs in the field of HRM.

Among other things, Radar profiles can be used to determine whether a person will be motivated in a certain job or environment, or by a certain input. This is why measuring people’s metaprograms can be highly useful during their recruitment, coaching, and training.

 

Input – Dynamo uses the following data analysis:

LAB Profile®:
In short, the LAB Profile is a systematic way of gathering information about a person, which helps to predict that person’s behaviour based on the use of their language patterns. The behaviour is predicted by way of a step-by-step LAB interview during which specific questions are asked. The interviewer then listens to the structure of the answers given. The trained interviewer interprets the answers and decodes them into Radar patterns.

De radar-iWAM vragenlijst - inventory for Work Atttitude & Motivation:
Whilst the LAB Profile methodology on which the iWAM is based originated in 1980, the iWAM questionnaire was only developed fairly recently. The first version was introduced in 2000, and its range of applications has continued to grow ever since. Today, the iWAM is the best tool available for assessing attitudes and motivation in the workplace. It is used around the world, from the United States to Australia, from South Africa to Denmark.

Many managers who have used a variety of personality questionnaires say that the results these questionnaires deliver are fairly accurate, but they are not sure whether these results are of any real help to them.

Typical tests used in HRM are not often predictions of success and have no link to results. They only provide benign information that is at best interesting to read.

A short example from the medical world: Someone is complaining of chest pain. We take a blood sample and conclude that the sugar level is normal. The sugar test was accurate and it gave the right information, but unfortunately it didn’t provide any information about the chest pain. It was clearly not the right test at that time. A simple personality test can be of interest and will no doubt cause a stir during a workshop, but don’t expect any more from it than that.

The iWAM assesses a person’s attitude and motivation in the workplace. How someone behaves on holiday in the Dominican Republic is not of great interest to the organization (some tests assess this), but how they would behave in a team, how they would deal with new information and how they can be motivated, is. And it’s exactly those aspects of work, which iWAM measures.

Many recruiters assess a person’s competences and review their work experience during the interview. Even though someone knows how to use a specific computer program, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they enjoy doing it, that they’re detailed enough for it, or that they want to spend 10 hours a week doing so. Another example: even though someone has worked in a team before and has achieved good results, this doesn’t mean that they would achieve the same results as a team player in another work environment, with another reporting structure and different decision-making procedures.

The iWAM enables us to assess and learn much more. People don’t just fit into 2 categories, or 4, or even 16. Every person in the world is unique, and a test must be able to reflect this. The iWAM measures 48 cognitive patterns, called metaprograms, which are classified into 16 groups. Each of the 48 metaprograms is then rated according to a specific scale. This means, for example, that the results won’t just say that a person is ‘proactive’ or ‘reactive’. Instead it will show exactly how proactive and reactive each person is. By rating so many different metaprograms according to a scale, the iWAM delivers the most accurate information possible about candidates or existing employees. Whilst other tests, such as MBTI, DISC, … show that not everyone is the same, the iWAM shows exactly in which areas two persons differ from each other and where they are similar, all within the context of work. This is why the iWAM is so highly suited to candidate selection, coaching, management or team-building applications.

VSQ - Value Systems Questionnaire:
The VSQ (Value Systems Questionnaire) has a similar design to the iWAM and is used to measure value systems and cultural fit. This questionnaire is aimed at assessing value systems and other aspects of organizational culture.

The VSQ is based on the model of value systems of Clare Graves and on the culture dimensions of Talcot Parsons and Edward T. Hall, who are referenced, among others, in the work of Trompenaars and Hampden Turner. It was however developed according to the principles of the cognitive scientists of UCSC.

COMET - Competence Modeling Methodology:
COMET (Competence Modelling Methodology) is a technological platform on which new tests can be created. This platform is used mainly for measuring the competences found within, and which are unique to, an organization. It is also the name of our measuring tools package that we design differently for each organisation, which aims to identify and assess these competences, based on the organisation itself.

Why don't you try out this methodology yourself by filling out the EQ questionnaire? This is designed for self-assessment only and is mainly aimed at acquainting you with this type of questioning. COMET is best used as a tool to obtain 360° feedback. This means that your boss, colleagues, fellow employees and subordinates are asked to assess you. You also complete the questionnaire yourself so that we also gain your perspective. These results are then presented in an easy-to-understand format to provide a more neutral analysis than a self-assessment.

Organization-specific COMET questionnaires are developed by people trained in the use of the COMET methodology and who have learned a specific form of behavioural-based interviewing. Experience shows that such interviews deliver far more accurate results than self-assessment.

 

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