Qualities of an Investigator

Qualities of an Investigator

Webster University

People in the Human Resources career field often like to refer to KSAO’s (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other traits) necessary to perform a job. There has been much study and much discussion on the benefits of matching a person with the right KSAO’s to a job or to an organization. What are the necessary KSAO’s for an investigator? One authority has cited as few as three while the authors of our textbook The Process of Investigation, (Sennewald & Tsukayama, 2006) list twenty-one desirable characteristics or qualities. This paper elaborates on four qualities from that list of twenty-one. The ability of an investigator to interact with people, the investigator’s communication skills, their receptivity and their sense of skepticism are discussed in this paper. Further clarification and additional examples should provide you with the knowledge to determine for yourself the importance of these characteristics.

Interaction with People

It’s important for an investigator to seem at ease around a diverse range of people, and to be able to interact comfortably. While the investigators natural interpersonal skills are important, I believe the truly successful investigator also has the cognitive ability to adjust his interpersonal skills depending on the interaction with another person. A poker game is a classic example. When an experience poker player sits down at a table he will quickly make judgments about the other players based on his observations (dress, mannerism, and style of play) then adjust his style of play accordingly. In the same way an accomplished investigator routinely categorizes people he is interacting with and can adjust his interaction if necessary in order to gain an advantage in the exchange. It has been theorized that everyone has a predictable pattern of behavior because of his or her specific personality. Of course there are many theories about personality types. The DISC Model suggests there are four basic personality types (Dominant, Inspirational, Submissive and Calculating), these types, also known as temperaments, blend together to determine a person’s unique personality (Carbonell, 1997). I believe the skilled investigator is not only aware of his or her personality, but as a matter of habit knows (and can manipulate to his advantage if necessary) the personality (and therefore behavior pattern) of the people with whom he interacts. Understanding how another person responds to pressure, or what irritates them or what calms them gives the investigator an advantage in all situations (not just the formal interview).

For example when dealing with someone whose personality is more “Dominant” (the “high D”) we know they respond to pressure by becoming intense, forceful,