Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of serving jury duty. I’ve never been summoned to serve on a jury. The holding room for potential jurors is in a hot, windowless basement. The thought of sitting in what Tulsans affectionately call The Cellar Club wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time. I thought I’d pass the time catching up on work or finally finishing The Hunger Games. Instead, I found myself playing my new favorite game – Guess the Hogan Scales. People-watching is the best at the airport and courthouses apparently.

My name was called again to officially serve on a civil case after having answered several questions by the judge and lawyers. No, it wasn’t anything like Law & Order. The case itself wasn’t all that enthralling, and I’m still confused how the two parties couldn’t simply settle outside of court after 6 years. While listening to the arguments of both the prosecution and defense lawyers, I noticed that each exhibited similar styles. I couldn’t help but continue my Guess the Hogan Scales game as I watched them engage with witnesses and the judge.

Both lawyers seemed to become somewhat emotional during the trial. No tears were shed, but several sighs, eye rolling, objections, red faces, and a general look of frustration from both were ever present throughout the trial. During my guessing game I speculated these two lawyers likely scored in the lower range on Adjustment, Interpersonal Sensitivity, and Prudence. The lawyers’ emotionality, direct and challenging communication style, and attempts to bend the rules of the court made me a bit curious about how lawyers behave in general. After serving nearly a week of jury duty, I returned to the Hogan office ready to see what existing research I could find around Hogan and lawyers.

As it turns out, Hogan published results from the Hogan Assessment Project of Lawyer Personality in 2009 (Understanding Lawyers: Why We Do the Things We Do). According to the study of 2,000 lawyers that used Hogan’s three core inventories (HPI, HDS, and MVPI), I wasn’t too far off from my predictions. Although lawyers are responsible for different tasks and work in a variety of capacities, there are certain personality traits that are characteristic of lawyers in general.

The study shows the average results are significantly below the midpoint on the HPI Adjustment (44th percentile), which indicates lawyers on average tend to be emotionally expressive and moody, yet open to feedback and more self-aware of these behaviors. Additionally, the lowest average score is on HPI Interpersonal Sensitivity (40th percentile), “indicating that lawyers are task-oriented and tend to speak their minds but may also come across as cold, critical, and argumentative.” Moreover, lawyers exhibit more Excitable and Leisurely behaviors as measured by the HDS, which may explain the eye rolling, red faces, and limited respect for the judge’s rules I observed in the courtroom.

Although my recent and only experience yielded me a sample size of 2, the study I found in the archives seems to match my observations for the most part. It appears that I’m winning my Guess the Hogan scales game. I left jury duty feeling rewarded for my service and enlightened with different perspective of lawyers than I see on my favorite prime-time crime shows.

If you couldn’t already tell by overt advertising and buzz around Black Friday deals, it appears the holiday season is upon us. My favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, is this week, and I couldn’t be more excited. The three F’s – food, family, and football – will consume my four-day weekend. I’ll undoubtedly gain five pounds in those few short days, but it’s so worth it.

This is my favorite time of the year for a variety of reasons. However, I enjoy the spirit of the holidays around Thanksgiving the most. The sense of gratitude, being thanked, and having a reason to thank others seems to charge me up. This shouldn’t surprise me. I scored a 100 on the MVPI Altruistic scale. Like others who score high on the Altruistic scale, I’m driven to do right by others through volunteering, and I also tend to motivate others to share my sense of social responsibility. People on the opposite end of the Altruistic scale also tend to give back, just in a different way. Most likely, it’s through monetary donations. I’ve started to notice others around me demonstrate altruistic tendencies more so during the holidays. Whether this is by giving time through volunteering or donating money to a charitable cause, I always enjoy the jump in giving back during the holidays.
 
According to an article in Psychology Today, showing and receiving gratitude “both exemplify the positive in human behavior and provide us with a positive charge that boosts our emotional balance.” The happiness many of us feel after giving back can actually be very rewarding emotionally. In work environments that emphasize altruism, this can be very rewarding professionally as well.

What am I thankful for? Hogan and its community focus. I am able to feed my altruistic tendencies at the workplace, as Hogan offers its employees a variety of ways to give back throughout the year. Obviously, I can’t grow a moustache for Movember, but I’ll donate money to support my male colleagues who are raising awareness with their facial hair art. Our community food bank donation boxes are full. There’s talk of adopting an Angel this Christmas. The opportunities are endless.

For those who are motivated and driven by the chance to give back, working in an environment that provides these opportunities can be very rewarding and motivating emotionally and professionally. My desire to volunteer my time and having a chance to give back to others increases during this wonderful time of the year, and I have many options to participate, volunteer, or give back because of Hogan. So, this is me giving thanks to Hogan for the opportunity to give back. It’s an endless cycle of thanks.

Don’t forget to give thanks this holiday season, even if it has nothing to do with helping others (warning: an emotional boost may result). Happy Thanksgiving! Oh, and go Cowboys!

 

My colleagues and I recently attended a local breakfast meeting with Tulsa’s Lead Change Group. We focus on leadership virtually every day at Hogan, but stepping away from our desks and engaging in a community discussion about leadership proved to be both interesting and insightful. Plus, the bagels and coffee helped get the early morning off to a great start.

The Lead Change Group meets every other month, and usually involves a panel discussion about a specific topic. This particular meeting focused on defining moments in leadership. Four local leaders discussed defining moments that changed how they lead.

Two of the panelists’ stories involved a personal decision to leave an organization to focus on family. The remaining panelists described similar situations – a decision to stay or leave an organization going through considerable change during a tumultuous economic time. One panelist decided that if half of his entire department was going to be reorganized, he would voluntarily join them as he believed the departmental cuts were unnecessary and unfairly treated the staff. Conversely, the last panelist faced the same defining moment but decided to stay. Although he had the opportunity to focus on his own projects and commitments to the community, he felt that his commitment to lead others and standing by his staff was more important. He stayed to lead those who relied on him.

Each of the panelists’ defining decisions emphasized the importance of people. Through their defining moments, the panelists learned that building and maintaining relationships rather than emphasizing the bottom line proved to not only be more rewarding, but also a valuable lesson that reshaped their leadership style.

Interestingly, this meeting occurred the same week Steve Jobs had an important defining moment. According to an article at The Daily Beast, Jobs wrote a letter to Apple’s board and explained, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

Jobs decision to step down indefinitely most likely included many compounding factors, not just his health. One could argue that Jobs is putting both Apple and its people ahead of his desire to be in charge. His admirable decision to allow Tim Cook to take over CEO role begs important questions. Do successful leaders choose people over their companies’ success? Is it the other way around, company over people? Is it possible to keep both in mind and successfully lead?
 

Last week, I was lucky enough to travel to Paris for a short vacation. I’ve traveled to Paris before, and I’m familiar with what to expect on the 10+ hour flight. With three DVDs, two books, and snacks in tow, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. Unfortunately, I failed to prepare for one thing… poor customer service at 30,000 feet.

In my experience, the flight attendants on this particular carrier are never particularly high on what we call “service orientation” here at Hogan, but the treatment was so poor that I’m considering a personal boycott against the company. What made it so bad weren’t necessarily the grumbles when I asked her about her day or the condescending tone when she asked if I was able to sit in the exit row, but rather the judgment and questioning of my age when I ordered an adult beverage. That’s right… alcohol. Granted, I will give her this – I look considerably young for my age. I was recently carded for a rated-R movie, but that’s neither here nor there. The usual jest that ensues after people realize I’m really older than 18 was absent. Several passive-aggressive jabs were extended my way, even after producing my passport demonstrating my age. The flight continued along with same theme, and I fully expected Candid Camera to show up upon landing.

I want to give the flight attendant the benefit of the doubt. A delayed flight likely prompted my rude flight attendant’s stress. Her Bold (HDS) and Colorful (HDS) antics likely contribute to her charismatic charm on a day-to-day basis. However, this charm is intensified into derailing or moving-against behavior under stress. Perhaps she is simply more prone to stress and pressure. She surely wasn’t perceptive of the increasing frustration among the passengers with her quality of service.

Perhaps she simply isn’t cut out for the flight attendant role, as one of Hogan’s Industry Case Studies suggests. Findings indicate that more successful Flight Attendants are calm under pressure, perceptive and tactful, rule-abiding, and concerned with building job-related knowledge. If I were a betting woman, my flight attendant missed on several of these behaviors. In my opinion, Hogan scales aside, she was simply too rude to fly.
 

Fun fact - I’m recently engaged.

And so far, wedding planning has been fast and furious. In two short months, I already have a venue, photographer, date, color palate, and budget. What can I say? I scored in the high range on the HPI Prudence Scale; details are kind of my thing.

But when it comes to choosing my bridal party, I’m dragging my feet. What’s holding me back? I’m worried about the drama.

Although it’s what makes pop culture hits like 27 Dresses, Bridesmaids, and Say Yes to the Dress so fun to watch, it’s a nightmare to live through, and I really don’t want any drama with the girls.

As a four-time bridesmaid, I’ve witnessed, and maybe caused, some reality show-worthy episodes. I may or may not have accidentally rolled my eyes, contributed to a power struggle, and/or complained about the dress “I’ll be able to wear again someday.” Guilty as charged.

As hard as I may try to avoid drama, it almost never fails. The bridesmaids’ individual motivators and drivers create a volatile mix. Something happens to one or more of the bridesmaids at some point in the process. Somebody yells, cries, or oversteps her bounds.

We run into the same dynamics in the office. The wrong mix of personalities can result in power struggles, a tense workplace and low morale, which is why screening for similar values and drivers can be so important.

Unfortunately, when it comes to my bridesmaids, at least a little drama may be unavoidable. While personality assessment would certainly help me screen for the differences between my lovely friends, it would also officially make me a Bravo-worthy Bridezilla.