BESSI: Skills Measure

Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory (BESSI)

The behavioral, emotional, and social skills inventory (BESSI) measures interpersonal and leadership skills. The BESSI can be helpful for understanding the areas of strength and areas that could use improvement within an organization. Surveying skills can be an excellent way to assess the efficacy of professional development programs.

Survey Domains

 The BESSI has five primary domains: Self-Management Skills, Social Engagement Skills, Cooperation Skills, Emotional Resilience Skills, and Innovation Skills. The full BESSI instrument has 32 facets, nine of which we regularly administer widely. These nine facets include: Anger Management, Capacity for Optimism, Capacity for Trust, Capacity for Social Warmth, Capacity for Cultural Competence, Leadership Skills, Perspective Taking Skills, Responsibility Management, and Teamwork Skills.

Survey Features

The BESSI's nine facets include 27 items. These items are composed of statements that get at how well someone can do something (e.g., How well can you: "lead a group of people," "take control of a situation," "assert yourself as a leader," etc.). Items are on a five point scale (1 = not at all well to 5 = extremely well). The BESSI has been validated in English and in German.