Experience of Radboudumc with The Bridge Personality

Radboudumc is an innovative hospital dedicated to delivering the highest quality healthcare daily. However, this mission comes with its challenges, including limited financial resources and the complexity of recruiting new personnel. Retaining good employees becomes even more critical. Personal development is a key focus, but how do you determine if someone already within your organization is suitable for a leadership role? That's where Hans van den Brink, Advisor of Leadership Development, comes into play. For over ten years, Radboudumc has been using the Bridge Personality test from TestGroup for all leadership positions within the hospital's operational layer.

In this academic organization, professionals have ample opportunities for growth. Radboudumc offers its leadership programs to prepare individuals for leadership roles in patient care, education, research, or supporting departments. To assess if someone is suitable for these programs, a personality test is always administered. "Someone entering a leadership program isn't in a leadership role at that moment. We use these tests as a tool to gain insights into a person's personality type and preferences. Based on the results, we provide advice on whether a leadership role suits the individual.

Custom competency profiles for The Bridge Personality

The expectations from leaders have evolved over the years. "In the past, leaders were mainly task-oriented. Nowadays, there is a greater need to support an individual's development to the fullest. There's a better balance between expected performance and what the person behind the professional needs to function well. As a future leader, you need to be able to adapt to this. Additionally, we expect a leadership style that aligns with Radboudumc's strategy."

In collaboration with TestGroup, Radboudumc has created various custom competency profiles to meet these evolving expectations. "We believe it's important that people can inspire, are people-oriented, and can adapt to change. Someone entering the leadership program is initially tested on these competencies. We assess if these qualities or preferences are naturally present in someone. The higher the scores, the clearer it is that leadership suits that person."

Not the sole determining factor

Based on the outcomes, Radboudumc only provides advice. The prospective leader ultimately makes the decision. In practice, individuals who may not have the most suitable leadership profile often realize later that the role demands more than expected and may opt for a different path. The outcomes are always used to initiate a discussion beforehand. "We openly and transparently discuss that doing something that doesn't align with your natural preferences can be draining."

“It takes a lot of energy to do something that doesn't align with your natural preferences. The Bridge Personality test provides insight into this in advance.”

More targeted coaching

If you ask a left-handed person to write with their right hand, it may be a bit awkward. If you do it every day for three weeks, you'll likely get better at it. However, your preferred hand remains your left hand. This principle applies to leadership competencies as well. Some things can be developed, but when it comes to inspiring others, it's nearly impossible to change. Whether coaching can help someone reach that level depends on their initial scores.

"With TestGroup's online assessments, we can also better support someone in their future role as a leader. We now have more practical and well-founded tools than before to have conversations with employees about this. The tests provide insight into which competencies are well-developed and where there is room for improvement. If we have questions or encounter challenges, we always receive prompt assistance. Our collaboration with TestGroup is going very smoothly."