Written by: Karin Wellbrock, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Emi, Hiro, and Takeshi's stories, showcased through Hogan Assessments, highlight the essential role of self-awareness in effective leadership and organizational development. These accounts demonstrate that personal growth and organizational progress are interconnected, aligning individual paths with strategic organizational objectives. The balance between innate leadership traits and their practical application plays a crucial role in shaping effective leadership, a journey that is internally reflective yet enhanced by Hogan's data-driven feedback. This method, which combines quantitative data with intuitive understanding, supports the principle that true leadership navigates through self-awareness and strategic implementation, steering not only the individual's journey but also shaping the organization's future through informed and strategic alignment. Therefore, Hogan Assessments act not only as tools for self-discovery but also as guides through the complex landscape of authentic leadership.
Leadership isn’t a straight path—it's a winding journey, packed with puzzles to solve and choices to make. But what if we had a tool to help understand the complex nature of leaders, and guide them (and their teams) towards more successful outcomes? Here's where Hogan Assessments ¹ make an entrance, serving as a flashlight to illuminate the complicated pathways of leadership traits and tendencies.
In this article, we'll provide ‘Hogan Assessment in a nutshell’, and explore the realm of leadership through the lens of Hogan Assessments, a tool adept at revealing the nuances of a leader's personality and leadership style. We'll navigate through two compelling stories: Emi's journey towards aligning her professional identity with her authentic self, and a company's challenge of choosing between two seemingly identical candidates for a leadership role, Hiro, and Takeshi. These narratives will showcase applications of Hogan Assessments in both personal leadership development and strategic hiring.
Hogan assessments-in-a-nutshell
Hogan Assessments offer an in-depth, holistic look at an individual's personality, especially in terms of how others perceive it. While many assessments focus primarily on self-perception, Hogan constructs its questions to encompass a holistic view, not only cataloging how individuals perceive themselves but also capturing how their professional peers perceive them. Through this external perspective, one can discern leadership blind spots, providing valuable insights into how one's conduct can sway workplace dynamics. Consequently, Hogan doesn't simply emphasize leadership attributes; the assessment explains how those traits work within an organizational context, presenting a bifocal perspective on self and others, which is crucial to leadership development.
Hogan's tri-faceted approach to understanding professional personalities
Designed specifically for business professionals, the Hogan Assessment delineates three key aspects of an individual's personality: his or her "bright side," "dark side," and "inside."
The "bright side" articulates the traits and behaviors showcased when one is performing optimally, akin to conduct in a job interview. It accentuates proficiencies, interpersonal capabilities, and values that contribute to career success.
The "dark side" emerges under stress, during challenges, or when behavior goes unmonitored. These behavioral tendencies could potentially derail a career or perturb relationships within the workplace. Importantly, the dark side isn’t merely about ‘negative’ qualities but pertains to the excessive deployment of certain strengths until they morph into weaknesses.
Lastly, the "inside" examines the motivations, preferences, and values driving behavior, whether consciously or unconsciously. The intrinsic drivers of personal and career development can either synergize with or conflict with the organizational objectives and culture.
For example, an individual with low "Adjustment" and high "Leisurely" might appear focused and composed, exuding a calm demeanor under pressure. Under stress, this profile may manifest as passive-aggressiveness and resistance to change. As a result of feeling criticized or overwhelmed, they may withdraw or subtly obstruct team efforts. ²
Decoding leaders with Hogan
A Hogan analysis reveals more than just leadership strengths; it also exposes potential pitfalls or the 'dark side' of a person. Performance can be inhibited, and relationships tarnished by such traits, particularly under stress. Using Hogan before senior leadership development can be extremely beneficial. The key is not to view these results in isolation but to contextualize them.
Through the Hogan Assessment, your leadership style is meticulously magnified, revealing both your luminous spots and areas for improvement. Yet, like any tool, its effectiveness depends on the proficiency with which it is used. Results alone could be misleading when interpreted in isolation. It takes skillful interpretation and coaching to transform Hogan data into actionable strategies that enhance your leadership skills.
Journey toward authenticity: Emi’s exploration with Hogan
As Emi navigated the intricacies of her personal and professional identities, she discovered a stark contrast between her authentic self and her professional persona. Her Hogan profile, rich with traits of inventive problem-solving, aligned seamlessly with her personal life but paradoxically diverged in the workplace context. This disparity signaled not a mere mismatch, but a conflict—casting light on the tangible influence of external expectations on her professional identity.
Upon deeper examination of Emi’s self-assessment, she found that external pressures were unduly shaping her professional persona; she corrected her behavior immediately when she received feedback from her superiors, deviating significantly from her authentic self as a result. This pivotal realization acted as a catalyst, prompting Emi to undertake a journey toward authentic leadership, characterized by a conscious and deliberate recalibration of her role and responsibilities in the professional sphere.
Confronting and navigating through external expectations, Emi painstakingly redefined her role, reshaping it to be more congruent with her intrinsic strengths and values. This wasn’t a rejection of external expectations but rather a thoughtful negotiation of them, ensuring that her professional contributions were both enhanced and inherently satisfying.
Through this exploration, Emi didn't abandon her professional role; instead, she reshaped it, aligning her contributions more closely with her inherent capacities and deriving a deeper, more intrinsic professional satisfaction. Her story underscores the importance of continuous self-reflection and strategic role negotiation in pursuing authentic leadership, providing a pragmatic example for leaders to balance intrinsic values with organizational expectations.
Emi’s journey illustrates the critical importance of authentic leadership and self-realization. By leveraging insights from her Hogan profile, she successfully navigated through the complexities of her professional persona, integrating it more closely with her intrinsic self. This sensitive balance between authenticity and meeting organizational expectations provides a tangible framework for leaders, underscoring the value of tools like Hogan in guiding this crucial journey. ³
Cautionary tales in hiring: Hiro and Takeshi's strikingly similar yet divergent profiles
The stories of Hiro and Takeshi, candidates with seemingly parallel leadership profiles, underscore a critical principle in utilizing Hogan Assessments for hiring: the indispensable need to contextualize results. Both vying for the same role, their tales serve as not only a vivid reminder but also a cautionary tale to companies navigating the hiring terrain. While on the surface, their leadership profiles appeared notably similar, a deeper exploration revealed significant disparities in their leadership approaches, career objectives, and potential impact on the organization.
Both Hiro and Takeshi qualified as exemplary candidates for a coveted country manager position. Their extensive experience, commendable skills, and notably akin Hogan profiles painted a picture of two competent and ambitious leaders, seemingly fit for the role. The "bright side" of their Hogan profiles illuminated characteristics of confident, poised leaders, while their "dark side" traits also presented a semblance of alignment. But was this symmetry an accurate representation of their leadership capabilities and potential impact on the organization?
Takeshi, throughout his debriefing, exuded a confidence that radiated through his recount of his career journey. His skepticism toward the Hogan results was mildly evident, perceiving himself to be a profound thinker and multifaceted individual, unrepresented by a mere profile. He perceived himself as a soccer captain and its star striker, comfortably assuming a dual role that balanced leadership and direct contribution.
On the flip side, Hiro approached his debriefing with a mature and subtle understanding of his profile, weaving the threads of his traits into tangible narratives from his career. His moment of epiphany during a global training program seemed to have anchored his leadership aspirations, giving him a clear-eyed view of his career path. The discerning and conscious decisions regarding his leadership style and career trajectory were palpably mature and discerned.
When delving deeper into their underpinning motives, values, and preferences, the stark divergence between Hiro and Takeshi was illuminated. Hiro portrayed a well-envisioned path, molding his professional environment to align with his aspirations. In stark contrast, Takeshi manifested a more pliable approach, allowing himself to be molded by external expectations and situational demands.
Hiring decisions: A call for vigilance
The distinct leadership styles and motivations between Hiro and Takeshi, despite their comparable Hogan profiles, highlights the necessity for intricate scrutiny in hiring decisions by organizations. This disparity is not just a matter of different leadership approaches but also points to varied potential organizational impacts.
The importance of understanding that leadership transcends Hogan scores cannot be overstated. The case of Hiro and Takeshi serves as a stark reminder to HR professionals: while numerical profiles and scores provide a solid foundation, understanding the stories behind them is crucial. Numbers and categorical data from Hogan assessments shouldn't be viewed as conclusions but as a starting point for further investigation. It is vital that human resources and hiring managers examine and discern how these traits will manifest in a tangible, real-world organizational setting.
Achieving alignment in not only competencies, but also values and motivations is essential for organizational fit. A comprehensive understanding of these aspects ensures that even in the complex puzzle of leadership hiring, each piece placed is a true fit, contributing to the coherent assembly of the organizational picture.
Empowering leadership’s future through thoughtful assessment and application
Exploring leadership through Hogan Assessments intertwines personal growth with organizational advancement. In the tales of Emi, Hiro, and Takeshi, we see that these assessments act not as definitive labels of leadership capabilities, but rather as starting points for deeper exploration. The genuine impact arises from a thoughtful balance: expertly interpreting data and applying a human touch in assessment and coaching. This allows the transformation of raw data into dynamic leadership strategies, aligning personal and organizational objectives harmoniously. Moving ahead, utilizing Hogan goes beyond mere self-reflection; it is a catalyst for unified progression where leaders, armed with self-knowledge and aligned development, integrate into and shape the future of their organizations, creating an environment where authenticity, innovation, and strategic alignment flourish, lighting the path toward informed and influential leadership.
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Karin Wellbrock, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
In addition to being a co-founder of Kay Group K.K in Japan, Karin Wellbrock is an executive coach and leadership consultant with over 30 years of global experience. A passionate advocate of human-centered, inclusive leadership, she creates exceptional results. To bring innovation to the workplace, she is conducting research in Japan and Europe to increase female representation in leadership roles. Her program "Leader-by-Design" demonstrates this. Dedicated to systemic change, Karin is a member of an all-women-led angel investment club in Asia Pacific, and mentors startup and NGO leaders and game changers in Asia and Europe. It is her mission to elevate 100 women to the C-suite.
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