Last weekend, I did something a little different. I traded in my work laptop and LinkedIn feed for a cinema seat and a bucket of popcorn to watch the new film adaptation of Wicked.
As someone who spends their professional life exploring communication, personality, and human behaviour, I couldn't help but watch the story through a psychometric lens.
Elphaba's Profile
Elphaba is a fascinating character study. Born different — literally green — she develops coping mechanisms that any psychometric practitioner would recognise:
High independence — she doesn't seek approval or conformity
Strong values — she's driven by a moral compass, even when it costs her
Low agreeableness — she'd rather be right than popular
Intense focus — when she commits to something, nothing stops her
The Mask We Wear
But here's what makes her story universal: we all wear masks. Whether it's the 'professional' mask we put on in meetings, the 'confident' mask we wear during presentations, or the 'everything's fine' mask we show our colleagues — we all have versions of ourselves that we present to the world.
The question is: what would happen if we took the mask off?
Authenticity as a Superpower
The research is clear: authentic leaders are more trusted, more engaging, and more effective. When we show up as ourselves — imperfections and all — we give others permission to do the same.
Psychometric profiling helps us understand what's behind the mask. It reveals our natural preferences, our strengths, and the areas where we might be overcompensating or hiding.
Our Psychometrics programme helps individuals and teams discover their authentic selves and learn how to bring more of that authenticity into the workplace.