VIA or LCIA? Making the Right Choice for Character Development
Choosing the right assessment to meet your team’s needs is crucial. If you’re considering incorporating leader character into your leadership development process, there are two leading assessment options:
- the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA) and
- the Leadership Character Insight Assessment (LCIA).
How to Measure Leader Character: The VIA and the LCIA
Measure Individual Employee Strengths with the VIA
The VIA is a 240-item face-valid self-report questionnaire designed to identify an individual’s profile of character strengths. Knowing our strengths allows us to use those that benefit us consciously and more actively and develop those that we might potentially find useful.
Measure Leadership Character with the LCIA
The LCIA is designed to measure leadership characteristics and provide leaders and potential leaders with practical insight for leadership development. The LCIA is best used to equip leaders and organizations with a deeper understanding of character and the language to discuss character in a meaningful way. It provides a platform to initiate learning and development related to leader character and aids in identifying and addressing problems that stall careers and contaminate working relationships. The LCIA augments a competence-based leadership assessment process with a unique, powerful predictor of leadership performance.
What is the Difference Between the VIA and LCIA?
The following table compares some key aspects of both the VIA and LCIA assessments:
| Values-in-Action Inventory of Strengths | Leadership Character Insight Assessment | |
| What does the assessment measure? | 24 universal character strengths. | 11 character dimensions that underlie effective leadership. |
| How are the character dimensions organized in the model of character? | Strengths fit into six broad categories of “virtues.” | Judgment takes a central position in the model, given its role in facilitating effective decision-making. It helps identify which character dimensions to deploy in different situations. The model integrates the six virtues found in the VIA, along with an additional five key virtues. |
| Are these strengths workplace specific? | No, the VIA assesses universal strengths — not all are relevant to the workplace, such as spirituality and humor. | Yes, the LCIA assesses strengths are workplace and leadership-specific — all character dimensions underlie organizational excellence. |
| How do individuals develop their character with this assessment? | The VIA model of character is strengths-focused; people are encouraged to enhance what is already strong and to use more of those strengths in their daily lives. | The LCIA model of character underscores the importance of all dimensions, advocating for a balanced approach instead of merely focusing on strengths. Within this framework, leaders should be versatile, capable of employing any of the 11 character dimensions as the situation demands. |
| What is the assessment based on? | Assessment questions are personality-based and focus on interests, beliefs, and behaviors. | Assessment questions focus exclusively on observable leadership behaviors, making it a valuable tool for personal development. |
| Does the assessment come in a 360-degree format? | Not available in 360-degree format. | Available in 360-degree format. |
| Is the assessment scientifically valid? | Yes, it is research-based. | Yes, it is research-based. |
Although both the VIA and LCIA both provide reliable measures of character, the LCIA focuses on character development in addition to initial character assessment, specifically within an organizational context. Therefore, the LCIA is recommended for individuals in a professional context who want to invest in character development for themselves or their team.
Ready to Get Started?
If you are ready to incorporate leader character into your organization’s leadership development process using the LCIA, speak to one of our experts to learn more about the assessment and to place an order.
Talk to an Expert
If you would like to speak with a leadership character expert to better understand the strengths and development areas of your team members, we encourage you to schedule a coaching session with one of our dedicated character coaches. During these sessions, a SIGMA coach will work with you one-on-one in a confidential environment to help you understand your team’s reports, set attainable character development goals, and measure progress toward achieving those goals. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us below. We are always happy to chat.
Dr. Ruby Nadler
Dr. Ruby Nadler is an expert in leadership character, mindfulness, and positive psychology. With a passion for fusing scientific research with practical application, she excels in enhancing leadership performance and emotional intelligence through individual coaching and group workshops. Recognized for her expertise, she was the recipient of the Ontario Centers of Excellence TalentEdge Fellowship in 2015. Her groundbreaking research has been featured on platforms including CBC, BBC Radio, Happify, and NPR. Please contact Dr. Nadler for any inquiries related to the LCIA, leadership character, or her coaching services.
Email Ruby
1- 800-265-1285 x 223