Is your brain abuzz with wonderings about your performance this year? What were your biggest successes and failures in 2011? What were your best business decisions? What situations would you handle differently in the new year? What personality traits are bringing you success? What factors are holding you back? Would your coworkers agree with your assessment of your own performance?

If your career development is on your mind as we approach the new year, then you might want to consider investing in online personality tests to help you determine what your true strengths and weaknesses are and how to capitalize on them in the future.

Online learning instruments such as DiSC personality assessments are especially effective because they offer personalized results to help you better understand your own communication style and your own way of solving problems. With specific data from your online personality tests, you will be able to tweak your own style of interacting with anyone from coworkers to family members and have more successful results. You may even discover hidden talents or flaws that you didn’t realize that you had. With that information in your toolkit, it will be easier than ever to accelerate on your career path and work towards that next promotion.

The DiSC personality assessments will give you specific results that include information about your needs, tendencies, ideal work environment, and strategies for effectiveness. Your test includes pointers on how to interpret your test results. You will also learn more information about personality types and tendencies in addition to your own. This information can help you better understand the people you regularly interact with, and it can help you to respond to them in a more effective manner.

In addition to more standard DiSC personality assessments, you can also target specific areas that you already know are in need of improvement. The Coping and Stress Profile, Discovering Diversity Profile, Time Mastery Profile, and Work Expectations Profile are all online personality tests which might be helpful to the career path of both yourself and your employees.

Instead of simply taking a test on your computer in the office or in the comfort of your own living room, it might be helpful for you to discuss your test results with others. Can you encourage other members of the management team to take a similar test? If so, you may be able to more effectively make changes in your own leadership style by brainstorming ways to highlight various strengths and work on weak areas with other people. Or perhaps you would prefer to discuss your results with a friend or family member who might be able to best support your career development direction in the new year.