Everyone has made a bad hire. In fact, research shows that more than half of new employees fail. In the third installment of our new video series “Drinks with Hogan”, Global Alliances Consultant Dustin Hunter briefly walks us through using personality assessments in a selection context.

Buros Center for Testing, an independent organization that publishes authoritative reviews and reference materials on commercial assessments, recently released a review of the Hogan Development Survey.

“The assessment industry is unregulated, and there are thousands of assessment providers on the market, which can make it hard for consumers to find a quality assessment that suits their needs,” said Jeff Foster, vice president of science at Hogan Assessments. “We rely on organizations like Buros to help consumers identify quality assessments.”

“The HDS is alone in its test space and it has been developed with exceptional psychological and psychometric care,” states a portion of the review. “The care that went into developing the HDS as a psychometrically adequate and user-friendly tool for aiding personnel selection and professional growth lives up to the need,” it continues.

The review will appear in The Nineteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook, which includes consumer-oriented test reviews and will be available for purchase March 21, and may be pre-ordered here. The full review is also available for $15 on Buros’ site.

For more information about finding the right assessment for your company, check out our Assessment Evaluation Guide.

Who wouldn’t want a higher level of emotional intelligence?

“Studies have shown that a high emotional quotient (or EQ) boosts career success, entrepreneurial potential, leadership talent, health, relationship satisfaction, humor, and happiness,” says Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.

We sat down with the VP of Innovation and Research to pick his thoughts on emotional intelligence. Here’s what he had to say…

It’s not a secret that people with higher EQ are more rewarding to deal with. Is it possible to raise our EQ?

Your level of EQ is firm, but not rigid. Our ability to identify and manage our own and others’ emotions is fairly stable over time, influenced by our early childhood experiences and even genetics. That doesn’t mean we can’t change it, but, realistically, long-term improvements will require a great deal of dedication and guidance.

Does EQ change over time?

Fortunately, EQ tends to increase with age, even without deliberate interventions. That’s the technical way to say that (most people) mature with age. The bottom line is that some people are just naturally more grumpy, shy, self-centered or insecure, while other people are blessed with natural positivity, composure, and people-skills. However, no human behavior is unchangeable.

Do EQ coaching programs work?

Yes. Although no program can get someone from 0 to 100%, a well-designed coaching intervention can easily achieve improvements of 25%. Various meta-analyses suggest that the most coachable element of EQ is interpersonal skills — with average short-term improvements of 50%. Think of it as teaching negotiation and social etiquette — what the great Dale Carnegie called “how to win friends and influence people.”

So we can learn empathy?

Even empathy can be trained in adults. The most compelling demonstration comes from neuropsychological studies highlighting the “plasticity” of the social brain. These studies suggest that, with adequate training, people can become more pro-social, altruistic, and compassionate.

Which is easier to change – reputation or identity?

Everyone can change, but few people are seriously willing to try. Think about the worst boss you ever had — how long would it take him to start coming across as more considerate, sociable, calm or positive? And that’s the easier part — changing one’s reputation. It is even harder to change one’s internal EQ; in other words, you might still feel stressed out or angry on the inside, even if you manage not to show those emotions on the outside.

Are individuals good judges of EQ?

Most of us are generally unaware of how others see us — and this especially true for managers. A recent meta-analysis shows that the relationship between self- and other-ratings of EQ is weak (weaker, even, than for IQ). In other words, we may not have a very accurate idea of how smart we are, but our notion of how nice we are is even less accurate. Thus any intervention focused on increasing EQ must begin by helping people understand what their real strengths and weaknesses are.. 

Are certain people more changeable than others?

Yes, some people are more capable of changing than others. Ironically, those individuals tend to be more pessimistic about their very chances of changing. Indeed, neurotic, introverted and insecure people are more likely to change, whereas highly adjusted and resilient individuals are less changeable. Likewise, optimism breeds overconfidence and hinders change by perpetuating false hopes and unrealistic expectations. There is an old joke about how many psychologists it takes to change a light bulb. Just one — so long as the light bulb wants to change.

Besides coaching, how can we improve our EQ?

The recipe for self-change is fairly straightforward — it is just hard to implement. In order to change, we need to start by building self-awareness, which is best achieved by obtaining (and believing) honest and critical feedback from others. Next, we must come up with a realistic strategy that focuses on attainable goals, such as changing a few specific behaviors (e.g., more eye contact, less shouting, more smiling, etc.) rather than substantial aspects of our personality (e.g., interpersonal sensitivity, empathy, and sociability). Finally, we will need an enormous amount of effort and dedication in order to both attain and maintain any desired changes — or we will quickly revert to our old habits.

Dr. Robert Hogan, president of Hogan Assessment Systems, will receive The Career Achievement Award at this year’s Association of Test Publishers’ (ATP) Innovations in Testing Conference. The conference, which fosters innovation by showcasing the latest technologies and collaborators, will be held March 2-5 in Arizona. The Career Achievement Award honors individuals who have made sustained and positive contributions to the development, application and innovations in testing and measurement through research, publications, presentations, professional activities, technology, conceptualizations, or theoretical contributions over a career.

You can view past recipients of the Career Achievement Award on ATP’s Wall of Honor.

On March 3, Dr. Hogan will present Personality Theory and Assessment: Predicting Career Success and Organizational Effectiveness in a preapproved invited session for the I/O Division. He will discuss personality theory and assessment, identity versus reputation, and faking. He will also reveal the reason why people are the most consequential and dangerous forces in our environment and, ultimately, why the critics are wrong about personality measurement. Read more and find out who else will be presenting by downloading ATP’s Innovations in Testing program book found on its website.

Hogan’s scientific foundation and commitment to research distinguishes us from the competition. Each year, Hogan and our affiliates publish works that contribute to the knowledge and development of (a) the Hogan assessments and (b) the field of personality and psychology. These publications build the Hogan brand and allow us to better serve our clients worldwide.

Hogan employees work to promote our brand through publishing in well- known academic outlets and presenting at professional conferences. Also, we leverage the Hogan Academic Network, a group of researchers, professors, and students across the globe, to disseminate Hogan-related research through theses, dissertations, peer-reviewed journals, and professional conferences.

This year has been no exception to our commitment to progressing the science of personality. This list details Hogan-related publications and presentations from 2013. Take a look.

People are complicated, and predicting performance takes a holistic view at their strengths, weaknesses, and core values. In our second installment of Drinks with Hogan, Global Alliances Consultant Dr. Darin Nei explains the problem with type indicators and the reason we recommend using three assessments.

After a rigorous selection process designed to gauge student’s leadership potential that began last October, Odgers Berndston, a leading global executive search firm, has identified 11 Canadian students to spend a day shadowing some of the country’s top senior executives in the company’s launch of CEO X 1 Day. Students in their third and fourth year of university study were selected after a three stage application process of academic record review, Hogan leadership and personality assessment results, and phone interviews.

Spotlight: Katerina Fragos, one of the 11 students chosen to participate in the program, will spend a day shadowing Manon Brouillette, the president and COO of Videotron. Even the selection process was rewarding for Fragos:

“Even though the final round was a competition, the Odgers Berndston team treated it more like a training workshop,” says Fragos. “I knew that even if I wasn’t selected, I would leave with a new understanding of my strengths and weaknesses as a leader.”

Pairing different generations together in a work setting has a twofold purpose, Odgers Bernsten stated in a recent press release: students will have the opportunity to ask, learn, and understand the complexities of leading a top company while participating CEOs will gain valuable insights into what drives the next generation of leaders.

See the press release with a partial list of winners.

“High Potentials – Are you doing it wrong?” asks Hogan Assessment’s Ryan Ross in his presentation at Mentis Consulting’s Hogan Summit 2013. This in-depth talk focuses on identifying candidates most likely to help meet the future leadership needs of your company.

A Q&A with Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic | Creativity vs. Innovation

We sat down with Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Hogan’s VP of Research and Innovation, to pick his brain on the ups and downs of creativity at work.

What makes innovation valuable to an organization?
Experts disagree on the type and level of innovation that is most beneficial for organizations. Some studies suggest that radical innovation confers sustainable competitive advantages, but others show that “mild” innovation – think iPhone 5 rather than the original iPhone – is generally more effective, not least because it reduces market uncertainty.

Can we accurately evaluate the merit of our own ideas?
Most people fall into the trap of an illusory superiority that causes them to overestimate their creative talent, just as in other domains of competence (e.g., 90% of drivers claim to be above average – a mathematical improbability). It is therefore clear that we cannot rely on people’s self-evaluation to determine whether their ideas are creative or not.

Who will generate creative ideas?
Research shows that some people are disproportionately more likely to come up with novel and useful ideas, and that – irrespective of their field of expertise, job title, and occupational
background – these creative individuals tend to display a recurrent set of psychological characteristics and behaviors. As summarized in a detailed review of over 100 scientific studies creative people tend to be better at identifying (rather than solving) problems, they are passionate and sensitive, and, above all, they tend to have a hungry mind: they are open to new experiences, nonconformist, and curious.

What is the difference between creativity and innovation?
Execution – the capacity to turn an idea into a successful service, product, or venture. Entrepreneurship is the process by which creative ideas become useful innovations.

Is creativity alone sufficient for innovation?
No. Innovation also requires the development, production, and implementation of an idea. This is why the number of “latent” innovators is far larger than the number of actual innovations, and why we all have at some point generated great ideas that we never bothered to implement.

What are some of the core characteristics of entrepreneurial people?
I can think of five:
1) An opportunistic mindset that helps them identify gaps in the market. Opportunities are at the heart of entrepreneurship and innovation, and some people are much more alert to them than others.
2) Formal education or training, which are essential for noticing new opportunities or interpreting events as promising opportunities.
3) Proactivity and a high degree of persistence, which enable them to exploit the opportunities they identify. Above all, effective innovators are more driven, resilient, and energetic than their counterparts.
4) A healthy dose of prudence. Contrary to what many people think, successful innovators are
more organized, cautious, and risk-averse than the general population.
5) Social capital – serial innovators tend to use their connections and networks to mobilize resources and build strong alliances, both internally and externally; innovation is always the product of teams.

What about vision?
Even when people possess these five characteristics, true innovation is unlikely to occur in the absence of a meaningful mission or clear long-term vision. Indeed, vision is where entrepreneurship meets leadership, regardless of how creative, opportunistic, or proactive you are, the ability to propel others toward innovation is a critical feature of successful innovation. Without it, you can’t attract the right talent, build and empower teams, or ensure that you remain innovative even after attaining success.

Anything else you’d like to add?
In short, there is no point in just hoping for a breakthrough idea – what matters is the ability
to generate many ideas, discover the right opportunities to develop them, and act with drive
and dedication to achieve a meaningful goal. Ideas don’t make people successful – it’s the
other way around.

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Tomas serves as Hogan’s vice president of research and innovation, spearheading research and development for new products. An international authority in psychological profiling, consumer analytics, and talent management, he represents Hogan at conferences worldwide. Tomas also is a professor of Business Psychology at University College London (UCL), and has previously taught at New York University and the London School of Economics.

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