An Introduction to Lumina Spark

Posted by thorogoodhr on 09.06.2025, 15:18 253 0

Q. What is Lumina Spark?

Lumina Spark is a unique next-gen personality assessment tool offering a powerful and nuanced insight into personality and the complex and even contradictory way that each of us shows up across different environments.

Q. Why Lumina Spark?

Lumina is unique for 4 reasons:

(a) it deals with Traits, not Types;

(b) it explores through its “3 Personas” approach that who we are depends on context - where we are and who we’re with;

(d) it offers engaging digital and highly visual insights through its ‘mandala’ and ‘Splash’ app.

Q. What does “Traits, Not Types” mean?

Other well-known and long-standing personality assessments such as Myers-Briggs or DISC will identify you as a type – an extrovert or an introvert, a feeling or thinking type, as people-focused or outcomes-focused. But we all recognise that this is an over-simplification; each of us operates on a more complex basis. These assessments were founded upon well-established psychological principles and research – firstly, Jung’s 4 archetypes and then, the Big 5 factors – but create false dichotomies and binaries.

Lumina has built on the long-standing research and models and, by adopting a trait-based approach, developed a tool that measures 24 qualities (or “traits”) separately and independently. So, for example, with a ‘standard’ personality assessment, your “introverted” qualities are simply those that are ‘left over’ after extroversion has been measured. If you are assessed as 59% extrovert, you are assumed to be 41% introvert. But Lumina understands that this isn’t necessarily the case: our ‘opposite qualities’ don’t necessarily (or even usually) add up to 100%. We can show extroversion in some situations and introversion in others.

A Lumina portrait measures 24 qualities equally; it can reveal that you might be someone who prefers a blunt or direct style of communicating and highly accommodating and empathetic in your dealings with people. Or you may be almost equally “flexible” and “structured; paradoxes or opposite qualities can co-exist in the same person and they invite individuals to consider whether they create tension or result in balanced results.

Lumina doesn’t make assumptions about qualities but relies on its unique methodology to provide a nuanced and accurate portrait of your personality across your 3 personas. It uses a spectrum, not fixed category, approach.

Q. What is the “3 Personas” approach?

Lumina takes into account that personality is dynamic and can change across contexts. Its methodology captures our individual preferences, our behaviours and our reactions under pressure. It identifies these as our 3 personas: our underlying self, everyday self and our over-extended self.

Personality can flex depending on context and we may adapt our behaviour for lots of reasons - group harmony, social roles and context-sensitive behaviour. With Lumina portraits, we discover insights into our 3 Personas and learn which traits come more naturally to us and those that require more energy for us to adopt. We may discover that our underlying self prefers to listen or engage on a 1:1 basis but that as our everyday self, we adopt more socially demonstrative qualities. We may be 46% empathetic as our underlying self but 72% empathetic in our every day. We can explore why we amplify this quality.

Through a Lumina portrait, we can learn about our tendency to underuse, amplify, or overuse qualities.

And only Lumina Spark portraits provide this insight.

Q. What does ‘Insight, not Judgement’ mean in a Lumina portrait?

Lumina Spark isn’t about “strengths” and “weaknesses”; no quality is superior to any other and a ‘low’ score is just an indicator that some qualities demand more energy from us. Its portraits show how every quality can be overplayed; enthusiasm can, under stress, become over-bearing; listening skills if overplayed can seem passive.

Q. What is Lumina’s ‘mandala’ and ‘Splash’?

A mandala is the image that immediately shows you the aspects of your personality that are used consistently across your 3 personas. Individuals’ mandalas can be shared in the (free) Splash app with colleagues and overlaid over each other’s to give easy, visual insight into how individual personality aspects show up, differ and resemble each other. This shared insight can lead to more effective collaboration and task-sharing.

Q. What is the value or benefit of Personality Assessment to an individual?

A. Self-knowledge is key to self-leadership. Lumina Spark offers unique insight into what truly motivates and engages you as an individual, not a type. It offers nuanced insights into our preferences and behaviours as well as blind-spots. It helps to better identify goals and coping strategies.

Q. Can Lumina Assessments benefits teams?

Self-knowledge can be a bridge to understanding other people. When Lumina is undertaken as a team, we learn when and how our preferences can be better deployed. Lumina Spark clarifies our psychological opposites as well as those who are our “mirror selves” - and the benefits and challenges with each. It is very helpful for facilitating more impactful and effective leadership, collaboration, task-allocation and sharing.

Q. How much does a Lumina Portrait De-Brief session cost for an individual?

A. A 1:1 debrief session with a full Lumina Portrait is £100 for 60 minutes plus the cost of the portrait (c. £80). The cost of a 90-minute session is £140 plus the cost of the portrait. This assumes an in-person de-brief.

Q. What is the cost of a Lumina Portrait workshop for a team?

A. For teams up to 10 people, a 3.5hour session is £350 plus the cost of the portraits. For teams larger than this, please get in touch for a bespoke quote.

Please get in touch to discuss how Lumina Spark for you and/or your team could bring a range of benefits: Claire@ThorogoodHR.co.uk or 07855 850 777.