MTQ mental toughness assessments

The MTQ assessments are psychometric measures used to assess the mental toughness of a person. Professor Peter Clough of Huddersfield University and formerly of Manchester Metropolitan University, and Doug Strycharczyk, Managing Director of AQR developed the MTQ assessments which have been verified by independent research.

See also: MTQ Questionaire

MTQ Plus

MTQ PLUS, the Mental Toughness Questionnaire, measures a persons's resilience and their ability to deal with pressure and change around scales of challenge, control, commitment and confidence.

According to AQR International, "The MTQ Plus assessment is a unique 63 item high-quality psychometric measure that measures Mental Toughness which describes the mindset that every person adopts in everything they do. It is closely related to qualities such as character, resilience, grit, etc."

The 4 C's of mental toughness and their factors:

• Challenge (Learning from experience - even setbacks are opportunities for growth/learning (See: Growth mindset); Willingness to stretch oneself and take calculated/reasonable risks)
• Control (Emotional control/emotional intelligence - ability to handle one's emotions and others emotions; Life control - believe you can do what you set out to do)
• Commitment (Goal orientation; Achievement orientation and results orientation)
• Confidence (Confidence in one's abilities; interpersonal skils confidence)

Videos on the MTQ Plus:

• 4Cs of mental toughness - video
• Mental Toughness The Four C’s - video
• The 4C's of Mental Strength - video
• MTQ Plus Webinar

MTQ slide show:

• MTQ slide show

4 C's of mental toughness of the MTQ assessments

See also: 4 C's of mental toughness of the MTQ assessments

According to Doug Strycharczyk: "The Control and Commitment elements broadly described Resilience – the ability to recover from adversity and past setbacks – Challenge and Confidence address the theme of positivity and optimism – the ability to face the future with eager anticipation."

Challenge

Learning from experience - even setbacks are opportunities for growth/learning. Willingness to stretch oneself and take calculated/acceptable risks.

• Growth mindset

• Willing to stretch oneself and take calculated/reasonable risks (See: Risk and Risk management and Change management and Comfort zone)

According to Doug Strycharczyk:

“

Risk Orientation is one of the two factors that contribute to our overall sense of Challenge. Challenge describes the extent to which we see opportunity or threat in the world around us and what we face and whether we learn from all our (and others) experiences of trying new things to be able to face challenge better. Risk Orientation addresses the extent to which we see events and situations in our current situation and in the future as a source of opportunity and growth or do we see these as carrying threat and the scope for harm, setback or failure. This is not about taking reckless risks. It is more about understanding that, in moving through life, you come across many unfamiliar settings – meeting new people, carrying out new tasks, being offered a new job, working in different locations etc. Each presents its opportunities for growth and development, and each will carry a degree of risk. The more mentally tough recognise the opportunity, and the risk, and are minded to go for it accepting the risk. The more mentally sensitive will see the risk as too much and will prefer to stay as they are in a setting that is familiar to them and where risk is minimal. As with all the factors, it is possible to find two people, similar in all respects, where, faced with identical situations, one will see the opportunity and the other will see the risk. The difference lies in their respective mental approaches. This factor has resonance with ideas such as optimism, hope and courage and helps to explain how people can take a position on each. This can be significant for performance.

”

Control

Emotional control and life control.

Emotional control

The five components of emotional intelligence are: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

• Emotional intelligence

Life control

Life control - believe you can do what you set out to do.

High level of life control characteristics:

- Strong sense of meaning and purpose in life. Belief that one can develop the skills and knowledge to achieve and overcome setbacks. See: Motivation

- Belief that you can achieve what you set out to do. See: Self-efficacy

- Belief that you can make a difference in life and situations you choose to tackle.

- Confident in ability to take on multiple projects and tasks. See: Project management and Prioritization and Time management

- Well-organized and adept at planning. See: Organizational skills and Planning

- High work ethic.

- Ability to focus. See: Concentration

- Comfortable tackling the unfamiliar. Unflappable and not rattled when unexpected things occur and/or that are behind one's control. See: Change management and Comfort zone and Emotional intelligence

- Belief you can shape and control things around you.

- Belief you can master things with enough effort.

- Recognizes and seizes good opportunities when it makes sense to do so

- Visionary and not narrow-minded. Realizes that with the aid of others a person can affect things behind one's personal control.

Commitment

Goal oriented and results/delivery oriented.

• Goal orientation

• Grit (personality trait)

• Results orientation

Confidence

Confidence in one's abilities. Interpersonal confidence.

• Self-efficacy

• Interpersonal skills

Book

Developing Mental Toughness: Strategies to Improve Performance, Resilience and Wellbeing in Individuals and Organizations 3rd Edition by Peter Clough, Doug Strycharczyk and John Perry. ‎Kogan Page; 3rd edition (September 28, 2021)