D. Interpreting Your MCI Scores
There are quite a few different ways to look at your MCI scores. No single interpretation is correct, and no “test” is the last word on your capabilities. We recommend that you reflect on each of these aspects of your MCI scores to see whether they trigger the self-awareness that is so crucial to ongoing moral development. We think you will find your results to be interesting and illuminating. If aspects of the MCI interpretation are confusing or don’t make sense to you, we trust that in the final analysis, you know yourself better than any paper-and-pencil assessment. That said—here are some ways to interpret your scores.
Total MCI Score (Alignment Score)
• The maximum possible score is 100. A score of 100 would mean that you answered every item on the MCI with a “5” and would indicate that you believe you are completely competent in all 10 moral competencies assessed by the inventory. Because no human being is perfect, a perfect score on the MCI might mean that you have some difficulty acknowledging areas of weakness.
• The minimum score is 20. Most people have some degree of moral competency; therefore, low and very low scores may reflect excess self-criticism rather than genuine moral incompetence. In our experience, scores below 60 are extremely rare, most likely because corporate leaders do not succeed without some degree of moral competency.
• MCI scores fall most frequently in the moderate range (between 60 and 79).
• Your total MCI score is simply a snapshot of your overall moral competence. If you take the MCI every year or so, your total score can help you see whether your overall level of moral competence is increasing.
Highest and Lowest Competency Scores
• Most people who complete the MCI have one or two moral competency scores that stand out as higher or lower than the bulk of the scores. When you completed the MCI worksheet, you identified your highest and lowest scores in each competency area. Take a look at them now.
• Do your highest scores fit your understanding of your own strengths? If so, these are the competencies that you know how to use to maintain alignment and promote high performance. Are there any high scores that surprised you? If so, they may represent areas of strength that you had not been aware of and are competencies that can further help you to achieve your goals.
• Do your lowest scores fit your understanding of where your weaknesses lie? If so, you have an opportunity to develop your competencies if you decide that improvement in those competencies is important to you. Are there any low scores that surprised you? If so, they may represent blind spots that are keeping you from reaching your goals.
Individual Item Scores
• Go back to the scoring sheet and look for very high and very low scores. If you have a few scores of “5,” those items may be areas of particular strength that you should recognize, appreciate, and use. If you have a majority of “5”s, you may be extremely morally competent across the board, but you also may have overrepresented your strengths. People with very high scores across the board may need to solicit feedback from others to confirm the accuracy of their scores.
• If you have some scores that are “2” or “1,” what weaknesses do those items represent? Given that most people who take the MCI have very few item scores below “3,” low item scores usually represent wonderful opportunities for removing obstacles to high performance.
• Take a look at the item scores for your highest and lowest competencies. Was your lowest competency score a result of midrange scores for each of the four related items, or was your competency score low because of one very low item score? If so, you might find that paying attention to that single aspect of the competency could greatly boost your competence in that area.
Reality Testing
How much do you trust your self-assessment of your moral competencies? Most of us have some degree of difficulty seeing ourselves as other see us. As a reality test, we recommend that you share your MCI scores with one or two trusted friends or colleagues. Here are some questions you can ask them:
• How well do my strengths as reported on the MCI reflect your perception of my strengths?
• How well do my weaknesses as reported on the MCI reflect your perception of my strengths?
• Are there other moral competencies that you see as my strengths?
• Are there other moral competencies that you see as weaknesses?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate me on integrity?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate me on responsibility?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate me on how well I show compassion?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate me on my capacity for forgiveness?
Do Your Scores Matter?
• All the competencies included in the MCI are important, and all act synergistically. But realistically, we are all human and need to concentrate on developing the competencies that will have the most impact on us and our organizations.
• You already have decided whether your scores accurately reflect your areas of moral strength and weakness. At a deeper level, how well do your scores represent competency areas that are important to you? After all, you can be good or bad at things that you don’t care about. So, we encourage you to think about the extent to which the competencies identified are consistent with your moral compass and your goals that you explored in Chapter 3, “Your Moral Compass.” Completing the Alignment Worksheet helps you to decide how much effort to put into developing specific emotional and moral competencies. In the first column, you see the list of competencies.
• In the second column, record your relative scores. (For example, was it your highest, lowest, or midrange score for each scale.)
• In the third column, rate each competency in terms of its importance to your personal guidance system. For example, is “admitting mistakes and failures” high, medium, or low in its importance to your principles, values, and beliefs?
• In the fourth column, rate each competency in terms of its importance to accomplishing your goals. For example, is “actively caring about others” high, medium, or low in its importance to your ability to accomplish your goals?
Now What?
By completing the alignment worksheet, you have prioritized competencies in terms of their importance to you. You have identified
• Areas of strength and weakness that are important for alignment.
• Areas of strength and weakness that are less important for alignment.
• Competency areas that are neither strengths nor weaknesses that are important for alignment. Your scores for a competency may be mid-range, but because it is a highly important competency for maintaining alignment with your guidance system or to accomplish your goals, it is worth your effort to enhance that competency to the fullest.
As an aside, if your rating of a competency’s importance to your guidance system is different from your rating of its importance to goal accomplishment, you might have a disconnect between your moral compass and your goals that needs to be considered.
Armed with this understanding of your moral competency levels and their importance to your moral compass and goals, you can map out a straightforward approach to enhance your moral and emotional competence.
