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.

SEE THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF DRINKS WITH HOGAN

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. 

Hogan announced a strategic partnership with THUOPER S.A.S (Tools for Human and Organizational Performance), a provider of assessment and consulting solutions in Colombia and Peru, to support the global reach of its clients. Thuoper joins an industry-leading network of international partners operating in more than 56 countries across six continents.

"Thuoper plans to use Hogan to enhance performance and add value to organizations," said Liliana Lopez, President at Thuoper. "Having Hogan’s portfolio of assessments will be a significant improvement for customers in our market."

Founded in 1999, Thuoper has headquarters in Bogota, as well as offices in Medellin and Lima, and employs 19 individuals. They have been using Hogan assessments since 2012.

"Hogan is rapidly becoming one of the top recognized brands across all of Latin America, thanks to the hard work & efforts of our in-country distributors," said Dustin Hunter, consultant on the global alliances team at Hogan. "We are very excited to include Thuoper as a business partner to meet rising demand for talent management services. Our partnership is particularly timely as many multi-national corporations are funneling out of traditional South American markets (for political and economic reasons) for more favorable business conditions in Colombia. These same MNC’s are now heavily investing resources and relying on best-in-class human capital initiatives to ensure the right people are in leadership positions. Thuoper’s strategic market position and geographic dispersion will allow them to capitalize on the region’s explosive growth and we are privileged to count them as our new partner."

“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.

Download PDF of this Q&A

“Personality is about what people do and judgment is about why they do it,” says Dr. Robert Hogan in this presentation given at Mentis Consulting’s Hogan Summit 2013. This 30-minute talk focuses on good judgment and decision making. Using examples and case studies from notable entrepreneurs and politicians around the world, Dr. Hogan illustrates how people’s decisions relate to leadership and how this affects their business.

In the first installment of our Drinks with Hogan video series, Global Alliances Consultant Rebecca Miller discusses identity, reputation, and the importance of strategic self-awareness to an individual’s ability to lead.

Two major online dictionary publishers released their choices for 2013's Word of the Year. The contrast between these terms struck us as an excellent metaphor for a key tenet of personality assessment - identity versus reputation.

SELFIE - 2013 Word of the Year from Oxford University Press

self-ie /sel-fee/ n. In use since 2002, selfie saw a 17,000% increase in use over 2012 - thanks in no small part to everyone from Miley Cyrus to Barack Obama keeping it in the news.

Definition - According to Oxford press, selfie refers to a photograph taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media site. Most teenagers, college students, or celebritites will tell you the perfect selfie can be elusive, requiring repeated poses to get just the right look.

Personality Perspective - Identity relies on personality from the inside - the way we see ourselves. As with a selfie, identity doesn't tell anyone much about the real you. Finding the right angle with the camera is really just impression management, showing others only what we want them to see. And as Sigmund Freud used to say, "the you that you know is hardly worth knowing."

SCIENCE - 2013 Word of the Year from Merriam-Webster

sci-ence /'si-en(t)s/ n. First used in the 14th century, science saw a 176% increase in lookups this year over last, and remained at the top of the list throughout the year.

Definition - Merriam-Webster defines science as knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method. At Hogan, that means using a massive volume of proven data to predict job performance.

Personality Perspective - Reputation refers to personality from the outside - the way others see you. Hogan's scientific assessment of reputation produces a data-based, multi-dimensional picture of who you really are, giving you strategic self-awareness to build and maintain successful careers and relationships. And unlike identity, reputation remains stable over time.

Download a PDF

It’s the start of a new year which means our researchers have already started preparing for SIOP 2014 where they will present recent Hogan research, attend sessions, and learn about other advances in the I-O community. As a little teaser preview to this year’s Hogan SIOP lineup, here are the dates and presentation titles of Hogan presenters and panelists.

Thursday, May 15
9:30, Symposium
From Leader’s Personality to Employee Engagement
Robert Hogan & Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

11:00, Symposium
Evidence-Based Practice in Pre-Employment Integrity Testing: Validity, Applicability, and Usability
Dara Pickering

11:00, Symposium
A Critical Review of Mechanical Turk as a Research Tool
Blaine Gaddis & Jeff Foster

11:30, Poster
Evaluation of Leadership Development Coaching: The Impact of Personality
Heather Bolen

1:30, Symposium
Personality's Flynn Effect: Recent Upward Trends in Personality Scores
Blaine Gaddis

2:00, Symposium
The Emergence of Abusive Supervisors: What Makes them Mean?
Kimberly Nei & Dan Simonet

Friday, May 16
TBA, Panel Discussion
Holistic Challenges, Narrow Answers
Robert Hogan

9:00, Symposium
The Dark Side of Personality and Leadership
Jeff Foster

11:00, Panel Discussion
Not All Shall Lead: Selection and Development for Unique/IC Jobs
Jackie VanBroekhoven & Jocelyn Hays

11:00, Symposium
Going Global with Assessments: Geographic Findings and Benchmarking Challenges
Dara Pickering

2:00, Symposium
Comparing Apples to Oranges: Leveraging Mapping to Drive Survey Action
Darin Nei

2:00, Panel Discussion
Multi-Language Supply & Demand in the Assessment Industry
Jeff Foster

Saturday, May 17
7:30, Poster
Predicting Emotionally Competent Behavior: Developing a Model and Predictor Scales
Heather Bolen

7:30, Poster
Emotional Intelligence Competencies and Leadership Status in Real-World Organizations
Renee Yang

8:30, Poster
Training to Detect Fit Through Employee Interviews
Kimberly Nei

9:00, Symposium
The Narcissistic Leadership Paradox: Causes, Consequences, and Responses
Robert Hogan

11:00, Panel Discussion
Lost in translation: Identifying and managing high-potentials around the world
Michael Sanger, Jocelyn Hays, & Jackie VanBroekhoven

12:30, Panel Discussion
Searching for the Perfect Translation: Test Translation Best Practices
Steve Nichols

Hogan is pleased to announce the expansion of our global partner network to Poland. Assessment Systems Poland recently became our latest international distributor. In Poland, Assessment Systems currently supports clients in several major industries – pharmaceutical, telecommunication, FMC, energy and transportation. Assessment Systems Poland has a proven track record of creating strategic relationships with leading organizations like the British–Polish Chamber of Commerce, Warsaw University of Technology Business School and Business Development Institute.

"Maya Krzyzanowska, as the Managing Director and the entire Polish team of Hogan experts are talented researchers and consultants – they deliver quality assessment solutions for both employee selection and development,' said Ryan Ross, VP of Global Alliances at Hogan. 

Assessment Systems Poland Sp. z o. o. is a member of Assessment Systems International – which currently operates in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia.

Welcome Assessment Systems Poland!