My favorite part of the Leadership Conference is diving into the softer side of Six Sigma, the people side of the equation. I spent the afternoon on the first day in the Predictive Index session led by Heather Haas, the director of strategic initiatives for Bob Wilson & Associates.

First off, Heather did a fabulous job teaching the basics of PI to the class. She is well versed in the subject matter and communicated the material effortlessly. She loves what she does and it shows. It’s always fun learning from someone who is passionate about their craft.

So what is the Predictive Index (PI)? As quoted from Heather’s slides…“A proven tool that helps us understand (and predict) why people respond to their environment and the people in it the way that they do.”

In a nutshell it’s a kind of personality test, similar to Meyers-Briggs but it does more than chart your personality – It identifies the root causes that drive personality behaviors.

I am still amazed at the accuracy of my test results. They are dead-on at describing the way I respond to people and situations in the workplace. Last yearI attended a half-day workshop with Bob Wilson himself and was astounded at his ability to look at my PI graph and then describe me perfectly.

PI is a tool that can help your company with communication, hiring the right people, you name it. As Heather said, “A fool with a tool is still a fool.” To use PI effectively you’ve got to know what to do with this newfound information about yourself and your co-workers. You’d be surprised at how much better you could communicate with your workmates once you have their chart in front of you. It’s like reading a book. The more you know about people, the more effectively you can manage and be managed.

I can’t go into all the details about PI in one blog entry, but I can tell you as someone who has taken the test and been through a workshop, learning about PI has had a positive affect on my work and home life.