Understand your director skills with the improved Self-assessment Tool

Self-assessment is important for people to be able to track the progress of their competence as a director over time. The AICD Director Self-assessment Tool (SAT), which has been updated and refreshed in a number of ways, provides a real-time customised report detailing areas of strength and development and also suggests a learning pathway tailored to your sector.

Using the SAT allows directors to understand their current director capabilities and skills. “The person who really knows their competence is the director themselves. Doing self-assessment regularly is a very important step for our members,” says AICD Membership Pathways Lead Philip Latham.

The latest update provides users with their responses to every question, every time they complete the SAT, and they can save and print them. Previously, they were only able to see their top 10 areas of competence and their top 10 areas for improvement.

“These changes are just the first step, but it's a signal that we're serious about improving the Director Self-assessment Tool,” says Latham.

“The increased level of detail gives directors the ability to drill down and discover if there's a particular area they should focus on. It allows them to track how they're going over time,” he says. 

Focus your development

By understanding your current skill set, you can better focus your professional development, enhance your skills and confidently undertake your role in the ever-evolving governance environment.

The assessment takes 30 minutes and can be completed anytime, anywhere, on any device. It will:

• Provide a real-time customised report detailing areas of strength and areas for development 

• Suggest a learning pathway tailored to your sector 

• Compare your report with previous reports to confirm the shift in your skills and capability 

• Enable you to compare yourself with other members who are in the same sector and have completed the SAT 

• Give you the option of sharing your report with an AICD staff member to engage in a personalised career conversation.

Greater detail

The tool is appropriate for directors of all levels of expertise and experience. The changes have been made after members gave feedback about the level of detail they wanted.

Five DPD units are awarded for completing the SAT and you can do the self-assessment twice a year for a maximum of 10 DPD units over a 12-month period.

After it’s completed, people have the option to discuss their results with their Membership Relationship partner. 

“Just one click of a button and someone comes back to them to arrange a time to have a discussion. It’s all free and gives members such a simple way to track their progress and development over time,” says Latham.

Where the top 10 areas for ongoing professional development are listed, directors can speak to their Membership Relationship partner to identify potential courses or resources and tools available to help them to upskill if they choose to.