When I first took the Kolbe A Index back in 2013, it was a turning point for me. For years, I’d been trying to explain to people why I worked the way I did. I often felt like I was defending myself for not following the same process as everyone else. Kolbe gave me the language to explain exactly why I operate the way I do — and more importantly, why that’s valuable.
As a Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, I’ve seen the same moment of relief and recognition happen for countless business owners, parents, and teams. This assessment doesn’t put you in a box — it shows you how to work in a way that keeps your energy high and helps you achieve better results.
Why Kolbe Is Different
Most assessments focus on thinking (cognitive) or feeling (affective). Kolbe is the only one who measures conation — your instinctive way of taking action. This doesn’t change over your lifetime, and it’s active the moment you’re given a problem to solve.
Kathy Kolbe, who sadly passed away recently, pioneered this work and helped thousands of entrepreneurs, children, and gifted individuals understand their innate abilities. Her contribution to my life has been profound.
The Four Kolbe Action Modes
Kolbe measures how you naturally initiate action in four areas:
- Fact Finder – How you gather and share information.
High scorers dig deep into details and research; lower scorers simplify and get to the core quickly. - Follow Thru – How you arrange and design systems.
High scorers create and maintain structure; lower scorers adapt and change course more fluidly. - Quick Start – How you deal with risk and uncertainty.
High scorers initiate change and improvise; lower scorers prefer stability and tested methods. - Implementor – How you handle space and tangible tools.
High scorers work physically with tools and environments; lower scorers work more abstractly or visually.
My Results — and What They Taught Me
In my Kolbe profile, my Quick Start score is an 8. That means I naturally dive into risk and uncertainty, improvise, brainstorm on the fly, and often work best under tight deadlines. This explains why I can walk into a meeting without a script, hit record on a video, and still deliver results.
On the other hand, my lower Fact Finder and Follow Thru scores showed me why long research projects, detailed reports, and rigid step-by-step routines always felt draining. I can do them, but they burn up far more energy than the tasks that align with my instinctive strengths.
Once I understood that, I stopped apologizing for my style and started designing my work and team around it. For example, I now delegate high Fact Finder work to people who thrive in that space, freeing me to focus on strategy, coaching, and creative problem-solving.
Real-World Application
One of my clients, also a high Quick Start, was frustrated that her projects kept stalling. Her Kolbe results revealed she needed someone with strong Follow Thru energy on her team to keep the plans moving. After she hired for that role, her business output doubled — without her working longer hours.
Personally, I live by what I call my “Not Doing List.” The first time I read in my Kolbe report that “a good way to start your day is to decide what you’re not going to do,” it was freeing. I stopped trying to tackle every task and began eliminating the ones that didn’t fit my strengths. That single shift had a huge impact on my productivity and energy.
How Kolbe Improves Relationships
Understanding my own Kolbe profile has helped me communicate better with business partners, clients, and even my kids. I can explain my natural style and respect theirs, which reduces friction and boosts collaboration.
As a parent, I see how this applies to children, too. Forcing them to work in our way instead of discovering their way can create unnecessary tension. The Kolbe Youth Aptitude assessment is an incredible tool for uncovering a child’s natural strengths early, so you can support them without boxing them in.
The Bottom Line
Kolbe doesn’t tell you what you can or can’t do. It shows you what you’ll do most naturally and effectively — and when you work in that lane, you protect your energy, reduce burnout, and achieve more of the right results.
For me, knowing this has been the difference between constantly feeling like I had to “fix” myself and instead leaning into what makes me successful. If you haven’t taken the Kolbe A Index yet, I recommend it — you may finally understand your best way of working and how to use it every day.
