Workplace bullies are skilled manipulators and politicians who harass others not out of social frustration but to fulfill their professional ambitions. Take Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, for example. His bullying and coercive tactics were so legendary that they were termed “the Johnson Treatment.” Below you can see Johnson effectively giving Senator Theodore Green of Rhode Island the Treatment.

On his somewhat irreverent Dead Presidents Tumblr, self-proclaimed presidential historian Anthony Bergen describes Johnson’s bullying tactics beyond physical intimidation: “Lyndon Johnson had an innate, often stunning ability to read the personalities of others and immediately understand exactly how to ingratiate himself with them...Johnson would tailor his strategy differently for everybody he approached, and his success rate was astonishing.” Johnson sought out those who would propel his career forward, often stating “Power is where power goes.”

While a president is a rather extreme example, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute, more than 50% of workers have witnessed workplace bullying. Read more about the characteristics and effects of a potential workplace bully in our ebook Bullying Their Way to the Top and avoid hiring employees who might dole out their own version of the Johnson Treatment.

Focusing on employee potential maximizes organizational performance. So why do so many companies lack a comprehensive plan to identify, retain, and develop their high potential employees? Current processes for identifying high-potentials produce mixed results. We surveyed more than 200 middle managers and executives to find out what works and what doesn’t.

CEOs and executives helm the ship by encouraging their crew to work together and use resources at hand. Although some guide their teams safely to their destination, others end up lost at sea. Organizational and executive coaches can help leaders keep their teams on track when they begin to flounder.

5 Suggestions from the Hogan Coaching Network for Building an Effective Development Framework
1. Provide education and training. Formal programs, classes, or workshops; coaching; mentoring; webinars; or on-the-job training are all valuable resources to build and reinforce an employee’s skills and improve performance.
2. Leverage strengths. If a leader lacks creative and innovative ability but excels in effective teambuilding, he or she can leverage his or her ability to create an environment that facilitates and nurtures the team’s new and different ideas.
3. Compensate with alternative behaviors. Use positive behaviors to rebuild a reputation marked by counterproductive behaviors. As positive behaviors are demonstrated multiple times, the manager’s reputation will begin to change, and often new behaviors become the person’s natural behaviors.
4. Support weakness with resources. When someone has a clear weakness, such as micromanaging, sometimes the most effective development strategy is to compensate by supporting the employee with additional resources, such as a direct report who excels at dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.
5. Redesign the job or assignment. More effective than allowing an individual’s performance to flag, it is sometimes possible to alter an individual’s job requirements to remove key roles or responsibilities and assign him or her elsewhere in the organization.

Read the full paper.

A quick-reference guide to understanding how validity relates to Hogan’s business model and marketing content.

Everyone has worked with someone they could describe as a pistol, a live wire, or a short fuse. These excitable individuals’ energy and enthusiasm can energize their peers and employees, but their mood can turn on a dime, and when it does, they will have their employees walking on eggshells to avoid setting them off.

What makes these time-bomb personalities tick, and how can you keep excitable individuals from unleashing their dark side?

Find out in our complimentary ebook, Keep Calm and Carry On.

Gordon Ramsay, one of the most explosive personalities in the culinary industry, is widely known for his entrepreneurial genius as well as his bullying tactics and creative insults on TV shows Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. His verbally abusive outbursts have brought tears to many aspiring chefs’ eyes as he decimates their confidence with scathing derision. Back to your Easy-Bake Oven!

Studies show that, while Gordon Ramsay may be sensationalized by reality TV, boss bullies are quite real. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 35% of workers have experienced workplace bullying and that, alarmingly, the vast majority are managers, supervisors, and executives.

Many workplace bullies suffered from a turbulent childhood, not excluding Ramsay, and overcompensate later in life with a ruthless drive for power. Unfortunately, studies show that bullied employees have higher rates of turnover and lowered engagement.

Learn how to understand the bullies in your office and never hire another bully again in our complimentary ebook, Bullying Their Way to the Top.

Career success depends more on an individual’s ability to get along with his or her supervisor, peers, and employees than it does on intellect or technical skill. Perhaps that is why some people seem to succeed with little more than a wink and a smile. Most of the time, these individuals are friendly, spontaneous, and fun loving. At their worst, however, they can be flighty, impulsive, or outright Machiavellian. How can you be sure your employees are using their powers of persuasion for good, not evil?

Risky Business, the latest in our HDS scale ebook series, looks at how the mischievous side of people can impact their careers.

Toxic Leadership Evening hosted by Vital Conversations and Peter Berry Consultancy

Like the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) subscales, the MVPI subscales are a powerful tool to enhance the interpretation and application of the MVPI. In this webinar, Hogan’s Audrey Wallace discusses interpreting around MVPI subscales.

Watch the webinar.

Bad bosses are all around, and if you’ve been in the workforce long, odds are you’ve worked for one. But what effect do they have on the workforce? Are they the morale-killing monsters we make them out to be? We asked 577 people. This is what they said.