India’s financial and commercial capital, Mumbai, played host to the inaugural Hogan Users Conference organized by ThreeFish Consulting, the Master Distributor for Hogan Assessments in India on February 27^th. The series aims to provide an ideal platform for the Hogan Users Community in India to interact with luminaries in the field of leadership and talent development from India along with key global Hogan practitioners and leaders.

The inaugural Hogan Users Conference focused the spotlight on the interrelationship between personality, leadership, and performance, and featured panel discussions covering a wide range of topics. The list of speakers featured luminaries in the field of leadership and talent development from India along with key global Hogan practitioners and leaders, including Ryan Ross, Managing Partner, Hogan Assessments; Dustin Hunter, Practice Manager, International Distributors, Hogan Assessments; and Gus McIntosh CEO, Winsborough Consulting, the New Zealand Hogan Assessments distributor. Delegates also engaged in some post-lunch fun during the Fireside Chat session, when they shared some interesting stories using fun props!

The highlight of the conference was undoubtedly the Keynote Address delivered by Dr. Robert Hogan, who held the audience spellbound with his perspective on why organizations should look for humility and not charisma in leaders.

More than 100 Hogan practitioners, business leaders, HR leaders, and consultants in the talent management space attended the conference. The event was a huge success!

ThreeFish Consulting is now looking forward to welcoming Ryan Ross back to India for a series of Breakfast Roundtable events in July and TechHR 2019.

*This post was provided by Indrani Gupta of ThreeFish Consulting.

RELEVANT Managementberatung and Odgers Berndtson will host a JAM SESSION on July 4 in Frankfurt featuring Hogan Assessments Chairman & President Dr. Robert Hogan and former CEO Scott Gregory as speakers.

The theme of the event is “New Leadership? Authentic in Turbulent Times,” and aims to provide an opportunity for all RELEVANT and Odgers customers, partners, and friends to come together, learn from case studies, and discuss how leadership in times of continued transformation might change.

With New Work expected to change everything, leadership faces completely new challenges. It is clear that there is insecurity in executive search and selection, management development, and career planning about which success factors from the past (may) still apply in the future and where new approaches are necessary. Even current managers are asking themselves whether they are fit for the future. Therein lies the purpose of this event: What can we learn from the past and how can leaders be successful and authentic in the future?

In addition to Hogan and Gregory, other featured speakers for talks and interactive breakout sessions at the event include RELEVANT Managing Director Rene Kusch, Daniel Nerlich of Odgers Berndtson, Dr. Niklas Friedrich of Vodafone, Jana Schlinsog of Daimler, Dr. Matthias Lichtblau of CMS Legal Services EEIG, Sebastian Henrichs of Fondsdepot Bank, Dr. Kevin-Lim Jungbauer of Beiersdorf, and Marcus K. Reif, one of Germany’s leading HR thought leaders.

We do hope that our friends in Germany and throughout Europe are able to attend this very special event. The price to attend is €99 plus VAT, and you can click here to register. We’ll see you there!

*This is a guest blog post authored by Melvyn Payne, Commercial Director of Advanced People Strategies.

I was recently asked to support a successful senior leader – Chris – with some personal development insights from a recent 360 and set of Hogan Assessment results. Chris works in a fast-paced retail environment and has very high expectations for business success.

Having quickly achieved senior roles at a younger age than most colleagues, Chris finds it hard to understand why the broader management team and staff do not seem to respond to stretching targets. Very concerned about the potential negative impact on results, Chris recently ruled out an idea that emerged from a staff survey suggesting people who achieve their targets should be able to take time off as an incentive, rather than take a bonus.

Chris’s 360 feedback indicates an autocratic and inflexible style of leadership; demanding and somewhat intimidating. Chris’s thoughts on the 360 feedback… “I’d prefer it if they started to take responsibility and challenge me back if they think I am wrong.”

It may seem obvious to an outside observer that Chris is motivated by personal and material success. While no one wants to fail, a lack of a challenge is more demotivating to Chris than a target that others might see as unrealistic or unachievable. 

What Chris does not grasp, or prefers not to acknowledge, is that some of the most talented managers and salespeople in the organization do not wake up in the morning wanting to be the next CEO like Chris does. Unfortunately, Chris’s behaviors reflect this bias and, rather than inspire others to perform better, the relentless focus on pushing aggressively for results is having a negative impact on performance. 

The Hogan Assessments have been helpful to raise Chris’s awareness about why others might react differently to what Chris believes is ‘normal behavior.’ It has also provided some key insights for Chris about how to motivate others as their leader. 

However, what made me smile the most is when someone, hearing about Chris’s bias in this instance, said “typical alpha male.” Interestingly Chris, in this case, is a woman. As professionals supporting the development of others, how many of us really understand and acknowledge our own biases – how easily they show up and how they impact on our behavior?

Each year, accidents and work-related illnesses cost billions of euros in needless business expenses. In 2017, Europe lost more than €476 billion – an amazing 3.3 % of the European Union GDP. That figure can be reduced with better occupational safety and health strategies, policies, and practices.  

The easiest way for companies to reduce these costs is to assess and predict potential candidates’ likely workplace safety behavior during the recruitment process. In traditional job interviews, candidates present the best versions of themselves, and this may not accurately portray their day-to-day behavior. In safety conscious industries—e.g., oil and gas, construction and medicine—being able to evaluate and predict a candidate’s safety behavior is crucial.

At Hogan we have been developing selection solutions for companies worldwide since the early 1970s. We provide different assessments for different business needs; organizations wanting to recruit safety-minded staff will benefit hugely from the company’s Safety Assessment. The associated Safety Report evaluates candidates’ suitability for employment in safety-critical work environments.

The Hogan Safety Assessment aims to improve workers’ safety awareness and behavior by scoring applicants on six components of safety-related behavior. Safety conscious individuals are compliant, resilient, cheerful, vigilant, cautious, and trainable. Individuals who are safety risks are defiant, panicky, irritable, distractible, reckless, and arrogant. The Safety score predicts the likelihood that an applicant will engage in certain behaviors that tend to make accidents more likely.

Hogan has assessed more than 40,000 people across Europe specifically with a focus on safety-related behaviors, leading to the following outcomes:

• € 64,260,000.52 – Approximate workplace injury and accident costs to employers saved
• € 1,605.50 – Approximate amount per report saved by employers
• 5,255% – Approximate ROI for European employers
• 1,728 – Approximate number of production days saved

These results show that the Safety Assessment prevents unnecessary accidents when companies recruit safety-minded employees. It also improves training and creates awareness around safety issues when employees understand how their behavior impacts workplace safety and how they are accountable. This builds a safer, more engaged culture which prevents accidents, saves time, and improves overall employee satisfaction on the job.

Dr Robert Hogan said: “Without the proper workplace safety culture, a company puts its employees and revenues in danger. The Hogan reports allow organizations to identify safety-minded candidates and recognize and repair safety-related gaps in the company culture. As a result, the assessment saves clients time and unnecessary costs while making the workplace a safer environment for everyone.”

On Friday, March 22, Empower Leaders Consulting (ELC), one of Hogan’s China distributors, hosted a half-day Hogan event in Shanghai for its clients and their Hogan certified network. Nancy Zhang, founder and CEO of ELC, invited Hogan representative Krista Pederson to announce ELC’s official launch of the updated Hogan Assessment Certification Workshop and Advanced Certification Workshops in China.

ELC also invited two important clients, Dowell Real Estate Group and Faurecia Services Group, to share case studies on their Hogan use. Huang Xue, Director of HR Talent Development and Head of Culture at Dowell shared how Hogan has transformed Dowell company culture and become a crucial part of the entire employee lifecycle, from external and internal selection to high potential and leadership development. Wei Wei, Director of HR for greater China at Faurecia, explained how they have used Hogan for over a decade and how it has helped them address various talent needs during different cycles in the market.

Finally, ELC invited a panel of Hogan Certified coaches, including Linda Zhang (Columbia University Certified Coach & ICF MCC) and Sun Yongbo (Former Director of L&D for China’s Bank of Communications and Standard Charter Bank), to share their experiences using Hogan to coach executives and C-Suite leaders and answer questions about using Hogan. Linda shared how she uses Hogan as the key data point throughout an entire coaching assignment. Sun shared learnings from his most difficult assignments, including how he once coached a CEO who went from being belligerently resistant to his Hogan results to full heartedly accepting to the point where he encouraged use of Hogan throughout his entire team. 

Hogan has been in China for over 13 years thanks to our network with distributors like Empower Leaders Consulting. Through this network we have accumulated a wealth of personality research and are able to offer a robust Chinese norm and a strong data-based point of view on the unique characteristics of local leadership and personality in China. Please feel free to contact us for more information on Hogan in China.

On February 24 in Dubai, more than 70 CEOs, HR managers, executive coaches, and talent management professionals attended the 2019 Hogan Summit, hosted by Mentis, an authorized Hogan distributor since 2003 with operations in the UK, UAE, and Thailand.

The theme of the event was “Identifying and Developing Your Talent Network,” and featured presentations by Andrew Salisbury, CEO of Mentis; Alia Al Serkal, Vice President of People Learning and Growth at Du; Delel Chaabouni, IT Senior Director at PepsiCo AMENA; and Marcus Gee, Consultant at Mentis.

Representing Hogan at the event was Hogan Chairman & President, Dr. Robert Hogan, who spoke about leadership and humility, and Hogan Managing Partner, Ryan Ross, who spoke about employability.

Hogan at SIOP 2019

I-O experts from Hogan’s Research and Consulting divisions will showcase advances in personality research during an impressive 19 sessions, symposia, panel discussions, practice forums, and poster sessions at the 34th Annual SIOP Conference in Washington DC, April 4-6. Visit us at booth #303. #hoganatsiop

Thursday, April 4

12:00pm

Understanding Curvilinear Relationships in Selection Research and Practice

Chesapeake A-C

Understanding how individual characteristics influence various organizational outcomes, particularly in curvilinear fashion, is crucial for selection research and practice. Five studies are presented that utilize a variety of methods to demonstrate curvilinear relationships between individual characteristics and organizational outcomes. Findings are discussed in a scientist–practitioner framework.

Kimberly Nei, Michael Tapia, Matt Lemming, Karen Fuhrmeister

12:00pm

I Can See Clearly Now: Transparent Talent Management Practices

Chesapeake G-I

Organizations struggle with issues of transparency and talent management practices. Surveys show a mix of practices in terms of disclosure of talent management metrics. More evaluations of transparency are needed to help guide future transparency decisions. This symposium outlines the intermediate-level impact of several talent management practices where transparency was a conscious decision.

Jocelyn Hays

12:30pm

A Longitudinal Examination of How Learning Agility Impacts Future Career Success

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

The relationship between learning agility, and performance and learning over time was examined among 78 global leaders. Findings show a significant relationship between learning agility and performance (p < .01) and learning agility and learning (p < .01), but not the rate at which these factors changed over time. These results demonstrate partial support for the hypothesized relationships.

Erin Laxson

1:30pm

Mobile Assessments: Big Considerations for Small Screens (Demo & Discussion)

Chesapeake 7-9

Recent research would suggest that the majority of job searches are originating from mobile devices, often leading to the completion of an application, assessment, or even interview through their smartphone or tablet. Assessment vendors will discuss their recent practical research and strategies for the use of mobile assessments, and opportunities, challenges, and future directions.

Jennifer Lowe

4:30pm

Darkness Around the Globe: Cross-Cultural Differences in Moving Against, Away, and Toward

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Using a geography of personality model, authors use SEM and path analyses to find the degree to which a three-dimensional derailment model of moving away, against, and toward others is transportable across the globe. Using a sample of 26 countries (N = 65,426), authors establish the universality of a dark personality framework and show how characteristics vary across cultural norms and values.

Dan V. Simonet, Kimberly Nei, Brandon Ferrell

4:30pm

Using Personality to Predict Truck Driver Performance

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Authors present two studies demonstrating the value of personality’s role in selecting truck drivers across the transportation industry. These studies focus on relationships between personality and (a) job analysis ratings for truck drivers and (b) overall job performance using meta-analysis. Results suggest that multiple personality scales are important and predictive for truck driver selection.

Matt Lemming, Burkhart Hahn

4:30pm

Using Bright and Dark Side Personality to Predict the Managerial Hierarchy

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Personality similarities exist in the managerial hierarchy, as supervisors advance into manager roles who eventually lead the organization. Using job family meta-analyses with overall job performance, authors investigated bright and dark side personality differences across three managerial job levels. They provide practical implications and discuss areas for future research.

Matt Lemming, Burkhart Hahn

Friday, April 5

8:30am

The Effects of Leader-Follower Relationship and Humor Style on Job Satisfaction

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Authors examined positive humor styles (affiliative and self-enhancing) and group (in-group and out-group membership) and their effects on job satisfaction. Results showed a significant difference between group membership on job satisfaction but no significant difference between humor styles. An interaction between humor styles and group membership was not supported but a main effect was found.

Cody Warren

12:00pm

Job Analytic Comparisons of Sales, Sales Managers, and Leaders Competencies

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

This study used data-driven best practices to identify the most critical competencies for three job families: sales, sales manager, and leader. Although subject matter experts rated some competencies as critical across the job families, key competencies were unique to each job family.

Cody Warren, Kimberly Nei, Karen Fuhrmeister

1:00pm

Avoiding Personalized Charismatics: The Incremental Value of Humility over the FFM

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Personalized charismatic leadership (PCL) is known to be particularly toxic to organizations and employees. Humility and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) characteristics were explored as predictors of PCL. Not only did the FFM characteristics largely predict PCL, but humility offered incremental validity, demonstrating the value of including humility in selection criteria.

Dena Rhodes, Georgi Yankov

3:00pm

Challenges Faced by the Testing Industry: Current Trends and Looking into the Future

Potomac 1-2

This session discusses challenges faced by the testing industry (technology, globalization), how the industry is adapting, and future opportunities for applied research. The panel includes applied researchers who discuss how the testing industry is responding to current shifts in assessment methods, future trends that will shape the industry, and implications for I-O professionals.

Kimberly Nei

4:00pm

Honestly, I Have Made Mistakes. But I Have Learned from My Mistakes

Chesapeake D-F

This session will build I-Os identity as a body of professionals who are trying to do the right thing but occasionally fail. I-O practitioners will share mistakes they have made and what they have learned from these situations. Each real-life experience will be framed with the scientific background, the presenting problem, the outcome, and a description of the insight gleaned from the situation.

Robert Hogan

Saturday, April 6

11:30am

How to Coach as an I/O Psychologist (and Whether You Should)

Chesapeake 4-6

This session will present research and experience, grounded information, advice, and recommendations on coaching for I-O academic and applied practitioners who are considering coaching, whether as a new career path or in addition to a full-time job. Topics will include the current landscape of coaching, exercising the scientist–practitioner model, barriers to entry, money, and how to get started.

Karen Fuhrmeister

12:00pm

The Impact of Extreme Responding on Sliding Scales

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Authors explore whether individuals who use sliding scales are likely to resort to extreme responding (ER) techniques. Some ER may reflect genuine individual differences; however, research suggests those who use ER are attempting to conserve resources and/or manage others’ impressions. They investigate how ER may influence personality, performance, and relationships between variables.

Dena Rhodes

12:30pm

Toothless Shark Tank for I-O Psychologist Entrepreneurs IV

Maryland D

I-O psychologists who want to commercialize their knowledge often need feedback from experienced folks who understand both the science and the business of I-O psychology. Using a format similar to the popular TV show, this session will improve upon the tradition from previous conferences by preselecting and coaching entrepreneurial I-Os to pitch their ideas to legendary I-O entrepreneurs.

Robert Hogan

1:00pm

Robust Importance and Personality Predictors of Ethical Behavior Across the Workforce

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

The organizational literature takes for granted the broad importance of ethical behavior in the workforce. Authors examined job analysis results for 563 organizations from across the globe to provide empirical evidence of the robust criticality of ethics. They then meta-analyzed local validation studies to identify general personality-based predictors of important ethical behaviors.

Chase Winterberg, Kimberly Nei

3:00pm

Building a Competency Taxonomy: A Personality-Based Cluster Analytic Approach

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

To understand the underlying structure of common workplace competencies, authors analyzed personality predictor–competency criterion validity coefficients using hierarchical clustering. A 2-level, 4-domain, and 8-subdomain competency framework was uncovered. Uses and implications of such a competency framework are interpreted and discussed.

Brandon Ferrell, Kimberly Nei, Steve Nichols

3:00pm

Using Personality to Predict Stress Tolerance in Sales Personnel

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Stress tolerance differs from person to person and is an important component of sales performance. Using synthetic meta-analyses of job components, authors investigated personality relationships with stress-related competencies rated important for performance. They provide practical implications and discuss areas for future research on personality’s impact on how sales people handle job stress.

Michael Tapia, Matt Lemming, Kimberly Nei, Karen Fuhrmeister

3:00pm

Content Analysis of Adverse Impact Litigation in Selection and Promotion: 2010-2018

Prince George’s Exhibit Hall D

Employment disputes cause organizations to incur enormous legal costs. Notwithstanding psychometric quality, it is useful to know which practices are more likely to be the subject of legal challenge. A content analysis of adverse impact litigation in the U.S. was conducted to assess the rate at which various selection and promotion procedures lead to legal action and the outcomes of such cases.

Chase Winterberg, Michael Tapia, Kirby Hockensmith

The Hogan team including Dr. Robert Hogan, Ryan Ross, Wendy Howell, and Krista Pederson joined Hogan distributor Optimal Consulting in Singapore last week for two days of events.  On February 28, Hogan and Optimal cosponsored the HR Tech Conference in Singapore which covered topics related to digital technology, AI, and maintaining a future outlook for the HR Industry in Asia. As the keynote to the conference, Dr. Hogan spoke on Personality and the Fate of Organizations and presented an elite invite-only session on Identifying the Future-Oriented High Potential. Ryan Ross led a panel about Skilling Your Workforce from 3.0 to 4.0, and Krista and the Optimal team held further discussions about Hogan at the Hogan Optimal booth.

Following up with the topic of Technology and the HR field in Asia, Dr. Hogan presented on Digital Leadership at an exclusive event held by Optimal on March 1. He discussed about how the characteristics for good leaders including Integrity, Competence, Judgment, and Vision, do not change based on technology. He maintained that these characteristics are essential for growing and maintaining high performing teams. He warned, however, that if leaders do not pay attention and adapt to new technology, these leaders will quickly fall by the way side.

Taking a deeper dive into one of these important leader characteristics, Ryan Ross presented on Judgment and how leaders can learn from their mistakes. He maintained that making bad decisions are a part of the learning process; however, what is most important is the ability for a leader to learn from her mistakes and move forward.

After a lively Q&A session entitled “Ask Bob and Ryan Anything,” Ryan presented on the topic of Safety. He explained how personality is an essential factor to safety in the workplace that has been overlooked in traditional behavioral-based safety programs and protocols. He explained the importance of incorporating personality data from the start as part of overall safety training and provided keen insights on how to implement personality as an essential element to any company’s safety program.

Hogan has been partners with Optimal in Singapore for over 13 years and is a key Hogan Distributor across the East and Southeast Asian markets. We look forward to continued cooperation with Optimal and greater brand awareness and growth for Hogan across the Asia markets.

Time is running out to register for RELEVANT´s JAM SESSION in Frankfurt, Germany, at a discounted price of EUR 79 plus VAT. The early-bird registration is open until February 28, with the price increasing to EUR 99 plus VAT on March 1.

The event, hosted by RELEVANT Managementberatung, an authorized Hogan Assessments distributor from Germany, will be held on July 4 and will also feature presentations by corporate and consulting experts. Moreover, they will welcome Dr. Robert Hogan as well as Hogan CEO, Dr. Scott Gregory, as special guests who will also be on stage.

RELEVANT’s interactive session, “New Leadership? Authentic in Turbulent Times,” provides the opportunity for all RELEVANT customers, partners, and friends to come together, learn from case studies, and discuss how leadership in times of continued transformation might change, how it affects managers, and how managers can be supported addressing turbulent times in a way that is true to their personality.

Space is limited, so register here today! 

A critical task for leaders is to ensure that their followers are working efficiently toward the organization’s goals. In business, employees whose work is aligned with the organization’s objectives are more productive. So-called “performance management processes” are intended to create alignment between the employee’s work and the organization’s goals. A typical performance management process might include planning and setting goals, monitoring progress toward those goals, development and improvement, and periodic performance appraisals (or reviews). These performance management processes could be substantially improved by the use of personality assessments.

Personality is related to every meaningful individual difference. Scientifically validated personality assessments can predict substance use and abuse, longevity, relationship satisfaction, job performance, criminality, and occupational choice, just to list a few examples. Beyond these applications, well-validated personality assessments provide individuals with insights into their own motives, reputations and destructive behaviors, many of which they may not be aware of. Employees can use such strategic self-awareness to modify their behaviors at work to be more in line with the expectations of management. Consider the following (real) example.

Using Personality in Performance Management 

Maria is 36 years old and joined her company when she graduated from college. Since her first day on the job, she has been one of the top performers and has rapidly progressed to an upper-level management position. Senior managers have identified her as high potential, and she is in line for the next opening in the C-suite. Her stated goal is to reach the C-suite by age 40. While her superiors see her as a top performer, some of Maria’s co-workers and subordinates see her as pushy, overbearing and having unrealistic expectations for her staff. Some of her staff indicated that they did not like the “within-team” competitions Maria set up to motivate performance. A few suggested that they did not particularly like working for Maria and that they would consider leaving their positions with the company.

As part of her performance management plan, Maria completed a well-validated personality assessment. The assessment consisted of three parts: Maria’s drivers and motivators; her reputation or everyday behavior; and the “dark side” tendencies, or de-railers, that detract from her performance. Her scores on drivers and motivators indicated that Maria was motivated by competition, the thrill of winning and taking charge of situations. Her reputational scores indicated that other people perceive Maria as ambitious, leaderlike and competitive. Finally, her dark side scores indicated that Maria was prone toward risk-taking behavior and overconfidence.

Post-assessment, Maria met with a certified assessment user to discuss her results. During the session, she learned that she sees the world differently than others, particularly her subordinates. While Maria values competition, she learned that other people – particularly many of her subordinates – find competition off-putting and uncomfortable. This knowledge helped Maria better understand why her superiors viewed her differently from her subordinates. More importantly, it helped her develop a plan for behavioral change. Specifically, Maria now begins meetings with her staff by listening to them. This approach allows her staff to set their own expectations and Maria to use them as a starting point, rather than setting unrealistic expectations. While Maria was encouraged to retain her own competitive drive, she has removed the within-team competition and replaced it with both individual and team-based goals for performance.

Overall, Maria found the experience of taking personality assessments and receiving feedback on them to be beneficial. They helped her learn about her hidden biases and how they were affecting her workplace performance. The strategic self-awareness Maria gained by taking personality assessments was a critical part of her performance management, as it helped her perform better as a leader, thereby better aligning her behavior with the company’s goals.

Want to learn more about personality tests? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Personality Tests

*Photo by Thomas Drouault on Unsplash.

*This article was authored by Hogan Chief Science Officer Ryne Sherman, and was originally published by Training Industry on December 10, 2018.