The Science
A behavioral and occupational assessment that measures how you see yourself, how others see you, and what you need from your environment to perform at your best.
The Birkman Method is unlike most personality or behavioral assessments. Developed by organizational psychologist Dr. Roger W. Birkman in 1951, it remains one of the most research-validated and nuanced personality instruments available — used by over 8,000 companies in 22 countries.
Most assessments tell you how you behave. Birkman tells you why — and more importantly, what happens when your needs aren't being met. That gap between your usual behavior and your needs-based behavior is where most leadership failures live.
Usual Behavior — How you naturally act in comfortable situations. How others typically experience you.
Underlying Needs — What you need from your environment, relationships, and work to sustain that behavior. These are often invisible to others — and sometimes to yourself.
Stress Behavior — What happens when your needs aren't met. How you behave under pressure, in conflict, or when you're running low.
Interests — What activities and environments you find intrinsically motivating, independent of ability.
Clay has been working with the Birkman Method for over 25 years. He uses it not as a diagnostic label but as a map — a way to open up honest conversations about what's working, what isn't, and what needs to change.
For leadership teams, it creates a shared language for why certain dynamics keep emerging. For individuals, it provides the kind of self-understanding that makes good decisions more likely. For organizations, it grounds talent strategy in actual data rather than assumption.