When faced with a new challenge, what do you do first? Do you start by gathering data? Do you talk it through with colleagues? Do you jump in and try something and adjust along the way? When learning a new skill, do you seek structured instruction or an opportunity to practice?
We all learn differently. This (of course) applies to our leaders too. These differences can affect how well they do their job, which in turn impacts how well those they lead do their jobs. What all of this means is that we need to account for how individual leaders learn as we develop them.
The Learning Strategies and Problem Solving Assessment, part of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group®’s Precision Leader Development™ approach, helps us do that. Developed with organizational psychologist Chris Reilly, it provides a starting point for understanding how leaders take in information, work through challenges, and approach their own growth.
The word “strategies” is key here. Strategies are approaches people can practice, expand, and adjust as their responsibilities change. A leader who naturally relies on intuition can learn to check assumptions against data. Someone who prefers working independently can recognize when involving others would strengthen a decision. The assessment encourages leaders to consider both their tendencies and what the situation requires.
The report explores four connected areas:
- Self-assessment: How actively leaders seek feedback, reflect on their behavior, and make changes.
- Learning strategies: Tendencies such as learning through experience or formal instruction, using analysis or intuition, and focusing on strategy or implementation.
- Problem solving: Numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning, offering insight into how leaders work with numbers, interpret information, and draw logical conclusions.
- Preferred learning methods: Preferences for visual information, discussion, reading, or hands-on activities, considered alongside the demands of the task.
Put these pieces together, and you have a much better starting point for development than assuming every leader needs the same training. A preference for learning by doing, for example, does not tell the whole story when someone needs to understand a budget. Their comfort with numerical information, willingness to ask for feedback, and access to guided practice also deserve attention.
This assessment doesn’t stand alone. Depending on the leader and the development need, behavior and communication tools like the Management By Strengths assessment can add another layer of insight. The goal is to get a clearer picture of what this leader, in this role, needs right now.
Imagine a newly promoted manager learning to review departmental expenses. The assessment could help the manager and supervisor discuss where additional support would be useful. They might combine a short explanation of budget terms with a walkthrough of an actual report, followed by practice identifying and explaining a variance. The next coaching conversation could examine what helped and what still needs clarification.
The value comes from that follow-through.
Within Precision Leader Development™, the insights can help shape a focused plan, guide the selection of resources, and support ongoing coaching. Leaders gain an opportunity to make more deliberate choices about how they learn…and how they help others learn.
For those interested in exploring further, Rewiring Healthcare: Foundation to Future, October 20–21, 2026, in Nashville, includes sessions on Precision Leader Development™ and translating assessment insights into action. Explore the conference agenda.
