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      Validity of the i4 Neuroleader™ Assessment

      The i4 Neuroleader™ Model & Methodology was first conceptualised by Silvia Damiano, who founded the About my Brain™ Institute in 2009.

      Background & Creation

      With a biology and science background combined with 20 years of experience in leadership development, Silvia created the i4 Neuroleader™ Model after collating and analysing the most recent and cutting edge neuroscience findings applied to leadership.

      Other inputs that contributed to the development of the model and assessment, included interviews with experts, surveys and analysis of the traits of inspirational leaders conducted at a global scale across a variety of industries over a 4 year period.

      Once the i4 Neuroleader™ Model was tested and its impact studied, the process of developing the assessment commenced in 2012. The outcome of this research was the development of a 128-item questionnaire which assesses the abilities, traits, attitudes and behaviours that underpin the meta-competencies of:

      • Performance
      • Collaboration
      • Innovation
      • Agility

      These 4 competencies are divided into 4 sub-scales called ‘pillars’ totalling 16 (see below). Out of the 128 items, each pillar is made up of 8 assessable items that are explained in detail in the i4 Neuroleader™ Compendium.

      The assessment was officially launched in 2013 after a period of prototyping, testing, and statistical analysis. Since then, the i4 Neuroleader™️ Assessment has been completed by over 50,000 people (as at 2024) in every single continent and across a variety of industries in the public and private sectors. The data is comprised of people in different roles from executives to front-line staff.

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      Books, Publications & Documentary

      The following publications provide both the rational and underpinning research of the i4 Neuroleader™ Model, Methodology & Assessment, in addition incredible bibliographies in our publications:

      1. The 2014 Book, ‘Leadership is Upside Down’ describes the i4 Neuroleader™ Model as well as the business case of why we need to look at leadership through a new lens to thrive in the 21st Century.
      2. The 2016 White Paper, ‘Building Leaders For The Imagination Age’ explores a new understanding of how we best function as human beings and builds the case for the application of the i4 Neuroleader™ Model.
      3. The 2018 Award-Winning Documentary, ‘Make Me A Leader’ was produced with the intention of highlighting the importance of developing our personal leadership. Through various leadership stories and interviews with scientists, you will gain insights into; the power of the heart, brain health & technology, the science of meditation, sleep health, the mind-gut connection, how to fight sedentarism and how to develop resilience to adapt more effectively.
      4. The 2020 Book,‘Brain-Friendly Leadership’ outlines the 9 habits of a future-fit mind, including management (activating your purpose, controlling your thoughts and visualising success), caring for your brain (mindfulness, food and exercise) and development (avoiding toxicity, being optimistic and lifelong learning).
      5. The 2021 Book, ‘The i4 Neuroleader™ Compendium’ outlines the basis of how the 4 competencies and 16 pillars of the i4 Neuroleader™ Model come together, in addition to methodically explaining the 128 items that make up the i4 Neuroleader™ Assessment. Featuring a vast neuroscience related bibliography and links to additional reading, this compendium is an outstanding collection of research conducted since the inception of the i4 Neuroleader™ Model.
      6. The 2023 White Paper, ‘The Neurobiology of Coaching’ explores the significant changes needed in the coaching profession to address the future of work and the unprecedented levels of depression and anxiety.
      7. Our Manifesto outlines the philosophy behind the i4 Neuroleader™ Model and Methodology and the path forward for creating brain-friendly cultures.
      8. Read our Practitioner Testimonial Articles here!

      Reliability

      Reliability refers to the consistency of measurement. An assessment is said to be reliable when it produces a consistent, although not necessarily identical result.

      Two measures of reliability were used in i4:

      1. Internal consistency reliability, which ensured the consistency of responses across items intended to measure the same concept or construct and test-retest reliability which ensured the stability of a scale or assessment over a period of time.
      2. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the clustering of the instrument items with the associated hypothesised competency domains.

      Internal Consistency

      To evaluate internal consistency, a Cronbach’s alpha was used to calculate the correlation values among the responses of the i4 Neuroleader™ Assessment.

      The weakest items in each sub-scale were removed based on this analysis. The Cronbach’s alphas across the 16 sub-scales (pillars) ranged from .72 to .89. This is considered extremely consistent by international standards.

      Validity

      Validity refers to the accuracy of measurement; that is how well the assessment tool actually measures the underlying object of interest.

      The validity of the i4 Neuroleader™ Assessment is based on multiple sources of evidence, including the content itself, the relationships between the variables and the response process.

      The research conducted by the About my Brain™ Institute team confirms that the assessment has high validity. In addition we periodically conduct statistical studies and our benchmarking norms are dynamically updated in our digital reports.

      Design Considerations

      1. The assessment questions were developed based on recent neuroscience findings, face to face interviews, surveys, focus groups and various tests implemented during the research phase.
      2. A design thinking approach was adopted and feedback on the interpretation of the questions (from different age groups, nationalities and industries) was included in the final design.
      3. The validation of the assessment was conducted by a team of neuropsychologists, engineers, statisticians and leadership experts from Australia and Europe.
      4. The reporting of the results followed principles of positive psychology to help the client focus on ‘what is possible to achieve’ rather than ‘what is not working’.
      5. The LET scoring traffic light system was meticulously developed through extensive testing across diverse groups, accounting for factors such as 'leniency bias'.
      6. The selection of the words for each competency and pillar are in alignment with both organisational and individual needs in mind.