Career success is full of inequalities. We don’t all start at the same place, and we don’t all end up at the same place. Some climb the corporate ladder and attain significant wealth, while others struggle to make ends meet in jobs with nearly unlivable wages. So what determines who gains career success and who does not?

Recently on The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp spoke with Rong Su, PhD, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship and Mahoney Fellow at the University of Iowa, about career successes and inequalities.

Rong is an organizational psychologist who studies individual differences that predict people’s job performance, satisfaction, and success. She discusses individual differences across five factors: (1) career interests, (2) gender, (3) socioeconomic status, (4) personality, and (5) intelligence.

Career Interests

Career interests are the preferences people have for different work activities, occupational fields, or environments. “Interest is a huge driver for people’s career choices,” Rong said. People tend to be attracted to jobs that overlap with their interests. Investigative, social, enterprising, and artistic are all categories of career interest.

Interests are a predictor of income and occupational prestige. Different careers have different levels of income, so interests do affect earnings. Interests drive choices within a career toward different activities, such as research or administration. They also serve as a source of intrinsic motivation that drives performance. “The fit between a person’s interest and their job predicts their level of performance,” Rong said.

For instance, engineers tend to have realistic interests, which include manipulating objects, doing hands-on activities, and solving problems with programming. Enjoyment of this work is likely to create a top performer. “Top individual contributors as an IT professional or as an engineer tend to be promoted to management,” Rong pointed out. “Transitioning from a things-oriented job to a people-oriented job that requires a lot of leading and influencing others creates a misfit and takes some adjustment.”

Gender

Gender roles affect what types of interests some people may have. “Men tend to gravitate towards things-oriented careers on average, and women tend to gravitate towards people-oriented careers on average,” Rong said. On the other hand, the enterprising interest dimension was historically male dominated but now shows no gender difference. (Data for these meta-analyses mainly came from North America within the last several decades.)

What causes these differences in interest across gender? Rong referenced Linda Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription and compromise.¹ The theory suggests that people may restrict their interests within the social, racial, and cultural norms of gender roles. Gender is likely an important factor in how people view what is and isn’t an acceptable interest.

Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status (SES) has a strong influence on career success. “People from higher [socioeconomic] backgrounds do tend to have an advantage in terms of their grades, educational attainment, and career outcomes,” Rong said. SES affects career interests, which affect career choices.

Imagine a scenario in which two girls both have a things-oriented career interest. Now suppose the girls are exposed to different experiences based on socioeconomic status. One girl might visit science and technology museums and become a materials engineer. The other girl might spend time at the family auto body shop after school and become an automotive technician. Early experiences like these shape the work activities people might perform in adulthood.

“How do we cultivate interests so that we help individuals know what careers are possible?” Rong asked. Overcoming socioeconomic barriers involves early intervention. Role models and exposure to different activities help to spark and reinforce career interest across social classes.

Personality

Of course, personality also impacts career success. “Personality matters for job performance,” Rong said. One personality trait on the five-factor model that especially affects performance is conscientiousness. Having high conscientiousness—for instance, a high score on the Hogan Personality Inventory‘s Prudence scale—relates to being hardworking, reliable, organized, and compliant. The other factors also relate to performance, depending on the requirements of the job.

Personality is an important factor in emergent leadership and effective leadership. An emergent leader tends to seem charismatic, seek leadership roles, and be viewed as leaderlike. An effective leader builds and maintains a high-performing team, accomplishing work by means of team performance. Personality, along with career interest, can predict who is likely to gain a leadership role and who is likely to lead effectively.

Intelligence

Comparing intelligence, personality, and interest in predicting various career and educational outcomes, Rong found that intelligence tends to be the most influential factor. It helps predict academic performance, educational attainment, occupational prestige, and even income.

What are the implications in individual differences in intelligence for people of different socioeconomic statuses? There could be three possibilities: (1) Each of these factors could have an independent effect. Interest, gender, SES, personality, and intelligence would not really affect each other. (2) The factors could have a collective or cumulative effect. Intelligence and socioeconomic status, for example, would build on each other. (3) The factors could have an effect based on the resource substitution hypothesis. Intelligence and personality could substitute for or help people catch up from a lower socioeconomic status.

“For the most part, we have found support for the independent effect,” Rong said.² “Individual differences contribute to individuals’ future careers independently. The advantage of SES is always going to be there. Being intelligent and having desirable personality traits like consciousness also give people an advantage. But in some areas, we did find support for the resource substitution effect. For income, conscientiousness and intelligence help people catch up.”

Minimizing Inequalities in Career Success

Recognizing that these five dimensions may independently contribute to career success can foster a hopeful outlook. If personality and interest outweigh SES, for instance, then efforts such as early educational exposure to different activities may have a big impact. Introducing children to different occupational fields to show what careers are accessible to them is an intervention that truly matters. “We may never eliminate all the inequalities, but the key factor for changing or reducing the gaps is to help people view the world differently and show people what’s possible,” Rong said.

As for minimizing inequalities in career success, adverse impact is possible for certain groups when selection and admission decisions use cognitive tests. Rong suggested incorporating noncognitive evaluations—for example, using an interest assessment or personality assessment—to help reduce the likelihood of adverse impact and increase diversity.

Listen to this conversation in full on episode 104 of The Science of Personality. Never miss an episode by following us anywhere you get podcasts. Cheers, everybody!

References

1. Gottfredson, L. S. (1981). Circumscription and Compromise: A Developmental Theory of Occupational Aspirations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28,545–579. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.28.6.545
2. Damian, R. I., Su, R., Shanahan, M., Trautwein, U., & Roberts, B. W. (2015). Can Personality Traits and Intelligence Compensate for Background Disadvantage? Predicting Status Attainment in Adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(3), 473–489. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000024

Intelligence and conscientiousnessⁱ have long been considered the pillars of academic success in higher education, but curiosity also deserves a seat at the educational outcomes table.

Recently on The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, chief science officer, and Blake Loepp, PR manager, spoke with Sophie von Stumm, PhD, professor of psychology in education at the University of York, about the influence of personality on educational outcomes.

As learners move into higher education, the influence of personality on academic success increases. Why?

Let’s dive into this fascinating conversation about intelligence, conscientiousness, curiosity, genetics, and personality in educational outcomes.

The Effect of Personality on Intelligence and Conscientiousness

Cognitive ability is generally predictive of success across all educational levels. However, that association tends to decrease in higher education. There are two reasons for this. The first is simply that as we progress through educational levels, we are increasingly selected for our cognitive abilities. As a result, intelligence becomes less predictive of differences in achievement, while personality becomes a more powerful differentiating factor.

The second reason that intelligence matters less than personality in higher ed is that personality becomes more important in and of itself. “Personality has a strong influence on the environment that we select for ourselves,” Sophie explained. “It informs the niche or place that we want to pick for ourselves—and it does more so than intelligence.” Someone who is highly social isn’t likely to prefer solitary research in an isolated academic office, for example.

Just as intelligence bows to personality at higher levels of education, so does conscientiousness. Higher education tends to place less emphasis on sheer hard work and more on critical thinking. In a transformation of our cognitive skills, positive educational outcomes no longer rely on the standardized-test type of thinking in which we must figure out the right solution in the given time. Instead, we face the entirely different intellectual challenge of reading information, analyzing it, extracting what is important, and combining it with other information to create new ideas. “What we learn as we go through university is to think differently about information,” Sophie said.

It’s true that intelligence and conscientiousness are proven to correlate positively to academic success. These two predictors are largely independent of each other, however. One student may earn an A by studying for many hours, while another earns an A by skipping class but acing the test. Same grade, different method.

“Intelligence assesses what we can maximally do, whereas personality focuses more on what we typically do,” Sophie said. When everyone in a doctoral program is intelligent and conscientious, personality emerges as a key differentiator.

The Case for Intellectual Curiosity

Historically in psychological science, intelligence and hard work have been the only two pillars of educational outcomes. You have to be clever, and you have to work hard to make it at the top.

Now, however, we’ve seen a massive change in the way we work. The expectation of what a working life looks like is different than it was 60 years ago. It’s no longer reasonable to assume that your education or apprenticeship will carry you through your entire working life. “Careers don’t last 30 years anymore,” Sophie said. People work more years at more companies and even across industries, meaning that learning and adaptation are necessary for career success.

“Lifelong learning has suddenly become a fundamental element of surviving in modern society,” Sophie explained. “Curiosity could potentially matter more than being smart and working hard. Curiosity is the one thing that allows you to embrace novelty, and there’s a lot of novelty coming our way these days.”

The emergence of the third pillar indicates that wanting to learn and innovate is a crucial domain for educational outcomes and career success.

The era of curiosity is evident in higher education where students are encouraged to be independent learners, to question everything they encounter, and to seek out more information. It also aligns closely with success in leadership. We need leaders who can find creative solutions to problems, adapt to changing circumstances, and be open to experimentation.

The Role of Genetics in Educational Outcomes

If we are to consider intelligence, conscientiousness, and curiosity as the pillars of educational success, what role does genetics play across them?

The first point about behavioral genetics is that all traits are heritable, but that doesn’t make them innate. Children differ in their ability to read—but they aren’t born knowing how.They need reading instruction. It’s similar for intelligence, conscientiousness, and curiosity. Some proportion of the differences we can observe between people in psychological characteristics can be attributed to their genetic differences, but those develop differently depending on their environments.

The second point is that genetics always references differences between people, not within-person differences. Children who grow up in homes with a lot of books in the house tend to be more interested in reading and learning, but that’s not to say that the books alone are responsible for their curiosity. They tend to have parents with higher levels of education who create an environment that supports intellectual achievement and exploration.

It’s the age-old question of nature versus nurture. There’s no sharp line to say that half of a person’s curiosity is genetic and half is environmental. Growth has too many organic variables to allow us to assert much more than that both genetics and circumstances influence our personality.

Ways to Nurture Curiosity

Educational systems need to reward those who are intellectually curious, not only those who are intelligent and conscientious. “To help people be curious and value curiosity and learn to behave in curious ways, it would be important to deemphasize achievement in educational settings,” Sophie said. This means prioritizing independent study, student choice, and learning above grades.

Education for the sake of career preparation is arguably harmful to developing intellectual creativity in students. When we separate the acquisition of knowledge from profit, gain, achievement, or other traditional educational outcomes, we celebrate curiosity and critical thinking for their own sake.

On a positive note, Sophie observed that our nearly unlimited access to information has created a rich environment for curiosity. “Try something new at least once a week,” she said, giving advice for developing curiosity. “Do something that you normally wouldn’t do–and do it fully conscious.”

Listen to this conversation in full on episode 60 of The Science of Personality. Never miss an episode by following us anywhere you get podcasts. Cheers, everybody!

Note

1. For the purposes of this particular podcast episode and blog, we use “conscientiousness” to refer to hard work—i.e., behavior, not a personality characteristic—in alignment with the research of our guest. Elsewhere, Hogan may use the term “conscientiousness” to refer to one of the dimensions in the five-factor model of personality, which forms the basis for the Hogan Personality Inventory’s Prudence scale.

Early in my career, a friend and mentor shared sage advice with me. When you begin exploring other job or career opportunities, be certain you are running toward the new opportunity and not away from your current situation. Since then, I’ve always approached career growth and transition with intention, asking myself: Will this new opportunity fulfill me? Will I be challenged? Will it teach me something I want, should, or need to know?

The current working climate, shaped by technology, generational differences, and the global pandemic, has caused staggering numbers of individuals to evaluate their current working conditions. Because it has resulted in so many choosing to leave their jobs and organizations, this phenomenon has been coined the Great Resignation (aka the Big Quit, Great Reprioritization, Extraordinary Exodus, Great Renegotiation … you get the idea!).

So, why are people quitting their jobs? In my experience, individuals make career decisions based on two primary drivers: empowerment and burnout.

Empowerment:

“Now is the time for me to make a bold move. I’ve worked hard, and I deserve this. I’m ready!”

Individuals who feel empowered tend to be running toward a new opportunity. They may be experiencing a heightened sense of self-worth and confidence. Psychological empowerment represents intrinsic task motivation that reflects a sense of self-control and active involvement in one’s work. People who feel empowered feel in control of their career destiny. The feeling of control can lead to intentional action.

I was recently speaking with a senior executive of a Fortune 100 company who made the decision to trade her six-figure salary for a career as an artist. She began painting during the pandemic and realized that life was just too short to spend it doing something that made her only marginally happy.

Burnout:

“I’m overwhelmed. I can no longer do this! There has to be something better out there for me!”

Individuals experiencing burnout are likely feeling exhaustion and frustration, causing them to run from their current situations and seek solace in new jobs or organizations. Running from (versus toward) a job could lead to a poor employment decision. Individuals with the “grass is always greener” mentality may move quickly into new jobs that fulfill some basic needs but may not fit well long-term.

In a recent blog, my Hogan colleagues defined burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Further, they point out that people who experience burnout are not typically poor performers but instead those who were once highly engaged in the organization.

I’ve had many conversations in the past year with leaders who feel stuck. Burnout is not just an employee problem; it is an organizational problem. Research shows that individuals experiencing burnout are more likely to take a sick day, have lower confidence in their performance, be less productive, and actively seek new job opportunities.

What Can We Learn from Personality?

Psychological empowerment has not been examined extensively with respect to personality, but a few hypotheses can be made. Previous research has demonstrated a link between feelings of empowerment and two of the Big Five dimensions, extraversion and conscientiousness. This means that individuals who are described as confident, engaging, driven, and communicative tend to be optimistic about their work and therefore may feel more empowered. Additionally, individuals who work hard, are dependable and capable, and plan work in advance may be more comfortable seeking out new opportunities.

There has been more research (due to the current climate and interest) on the relationship between personality and burnout. Research using Hogan’s three measures of personality — Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), Hogan Development Survey (HDS), and Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory (MVPI) — has demonstrated a link between personality and burnout. Most notably, individuals who tend to be stress prone and prefer to follow others (versus desiring leadership roles) may be more susceptible to burnout. Additionally, burnout is more common among individuals who are task oriented, have greater concern for productivity (rather than a concern for people), and are more independent.

In summary, the two primary drivers for the Great Resignation are feelings of empowerment and burnout. Now that we’ve explored what may be driving people to seek other opportunities and how personality may shed light on the drivers, we can better plan for a response. In Part 2, we will explore what organizations can do to retain talent and what individuals can do to find meaning in their work.

This blog post was authored by Erin Crane, PhD, international distributors principal consultant. Click here to register for her upcoming webinar, “What’s Driving the Big Quit? A Look at Personality in the Workplace,” on Thursday, April 7.

References

1. Burn-out an “Occupational Phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. (2019, May 28). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022, January 4). Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary – November 2021 [Press release]. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/jolts_01042022.pdf
3. Bersin, J., Enderes, K., Mertens, J., & Nangia, N. (2021, December). HR Predictions for 2022. The Josh Bersin Company. https://joshbersin.com/hr-predictions-for-2022/
4. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological Empowerment in the Workplace: Dimensions, Measurement, and Validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442-1465. doi.org/10.5465/256865
5. Yazdi, A. M., & Mustamil, N. (2015). Empowerment Potential: Big-Five Personality Traits and Psychological Empowerment. International Business and Management, 11(3), 62-66. doi.org/10.3968/7938

As COVID-19 cases surge once again, organizations that were eager to have employees return to the office are delaying those plans — in many cases, indefinitely. This means that many employees will continue to work from home, whether they like it or not.

There are pros and cons of working from home, both for employees and employers. For example, one common concern among company leadership is about distractions at home and reduced productivity. Some have gone so far as to determine how to monitor employees working from home. On the other hand, working from home has revolutionized the employment perks enjoyed by many workers, offering more flexibility and fewer formalities compared to the office.

Maintaining productivity while ensuring employees stay happy in their roles is a balancing act that organizations strive to perfect. However, as the world’s progress toward ending the pandemic fluctuates, it’s important that both sides of this discussion — employer and employee — take steps to ensure a healthy and prosperous partnership.

Tips for Employees

How to Stay Motivated Working from Home

One of the best ways to stay motivated and avoid burnout is setting goals. But not all goals are made equal. Large, abstract goals that are difficult or time-consuming can be more harmful than helpful, leaving you feeling inadequate as you fail to meet milestones. Instead, set small, attainable goals that can be accomplished steadily over the course of a project or period of time.

How to Stay Focused Working from Home

Distractions are present in any working environment, but working from home can often pose even greater challenges to remaining focused. Aside from removing distractions, such as phones, televisions, and other entertainment sources, one of the most effective strategies is creating a dedicated workspace that helps divide work from home. In the absence of a commute, having a workspace that is detached from the areas of your home where you relax and unwind will help you mentally “clock out” when work ends.

Tips for Employers

How to Keep Employees on Track

Similar to how employees can set goals for individual growth, good leaders can set goals for their teams that will help keep people across job functions aligned and motivated. To support these goals, leaders should remember to encourage their employees at every milestone and make sure to be present to support them as needed.

How to Avoid Becoming an Absentee Leader

Absentee leaders are those who are disengaged from their teams. Absentee leaders don’t communicate with or actively lead the employees who rely on their guidance. To evaluate the strength of your leadership, look at the effectiveness of your team to gauge if your employees are effective, communicative, and empowered in their roles. Other strategies for avoiding absentee leadership include setting up open-door time or one-on-one check-in meetings, creating agendas to structure meetings, offering opportunities for employees to share feedback and ideas, and investing in team building.

While 2022 is already starting off with uncertainty, organizations around the world are taking forward the lessons of the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and adapting to the new realities of doing business. Both employee and employer will play a role in the success of this ever-evolving, work-from-home environment, and flexibility and understanding on both sides are our best tools in building success.

Many paths lead up the mountain of career success, and each one comes with unique advantages and potential pitfalls. Professional development coaches know this terrain well. They routinely provide individualized support for the development of leaders who wish to ascend in their careers. They’ve also watched many self-made types who opt to forgo business coaching slip and fall on their career journeys because they miscalculate the quality of their own work performance. This miscalculation is common.While many may be vaguely aware of their strengths and challenges, they don’t always realize that their helpful behaviors can (depending on the context) become unhelpful, derailing them from their individual and organizational objectives. Therefore, we all could benefit from a professional development coach. 

Reputable business coaches use well-validated personality assessment as a map to identify their clients’ strengths and challenges to help them achieve strategic self-awareness. This concept is like a base camp that every professional must reach to begin the developmental journey. Reviewing personality data with the guidance of a professional coach allows leaders to understand the scenarios in which they overuse their strengths and develop strategies to self-manage. Business coach Brian Chitester says that when he has a high-potential client who appears to be in danger of derailing, he uses personality data to diagnose the situation, provide poignant feedback, and help a struggling employee go from good to great.

Without reputational feedback, many leaders may not understand what stands between them and their professional ambitions. Business coach Elaine Kamm collaborated with a client who was a successful manager on a sales and marketing team. He was well-known for being bright and charismatic, but his reputation had become an obstacle on his path to becoming a senior-level general manager, which was a surprise to him. Helping him become more aware of how others perceived him, his coach worked with him to figure out how to leverage his reputation strategically so it would align more with his career goals.

There’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for behavioral adjustment, so every coaching initiative must be tailored to a person’s specific personality and career context. For example, business coach Kristie Wright, PhD, recently worked with a client who was expanding her position as CIO to include the role of CTO as her company prepared to go public. Dr. Wright and her client worked together to determine which behaviors had made her successful in her infrastructure position and what development would be necessary to ensure her future success as her role evolved to include more of a focus on products to drive market differentiation.

Individualized coaching initiatives like these can enhance any organization’s talent development strategy. Encouraging employees to practice strategic self-awareness can reduce behavioral slips, help them lead more effectively to achieve professional highs, and amplify the success of the organization. Join us on October 21 for a webinar featuring three experts from the Hogan Coaching Network — Brian Chitester, Elaine Kamm, and Dr. Kristie Wright — and their compelling coaching case studies. Register here!

For the past year and a half, we all have lived with some degree of uncertainty as the global pandemic wreaked havoc, changing how we interact with others and live our lives. While burnout is not a novel occupational stressor, COVID-19 has escalated the rate of burnout. Of the 75% of workers experiencing burnout, 40% reported burnout as a direct result of COVID-19.¹ Throughout the pandemic, one thing has remained clear: employers who want to gain a competitive advantage need to focus on employee well-being.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”² Burnout is not something that happens to employees who are disengaged or whose performance is poor. In fact, burnout tends to occur highest in passion-driven occupations.³ People who experience burnout are typically those who were once highly engaged and impassioned by their work. In other words, you must first be on fire to be susceptible to burnout.

The top reasons for employee burnout are due to issues leaders can control, making it more of an organizational problem than an individual problem.³ Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have identified six factors that make a workplace prone to inducing burnout: demand overload, lacking control, poor reward systems, a socially toxic work environment, inequity, and a conflict of values.

Burnout has a major cost to both organizations and individuals. Between lost productivity, employee disengagement, absenteeism, lower organizational commitment, and turnover, burnout costs organizations as much as $190 billion annually.⁴ Burnout’s impact on individuals includes prolonged stress, stress-related health issues, and decreased productivity. Moreover, the effects may be disproportionate for different demographics. In 2020, when COVID-19 made remote work prevalent and schools shut down, the rate of burnout increased among women, in particular.⁵ Women began dropping out of the workforce at an alarming rate to manage home responsibilities, which exacerbated the burnout many were already experiencing.

Employer response to burnout can no longer be reactive. Employers must start proactively addressing burnout before it happens. While all six burnout factors are critical for organizations to diagnose and address, there’s a practical solution for addressing potential value conflicts. The Motives, Values, and Preferences Inventory (MVPI) is often described as assessing “the inside of personality” because it measures our core drivers, values, and interests. The values someone holds give us insight into what that person strives to attain both personally and professionally. Alignment between employee and organizational values ultimately leads to increased well-being, productivity, retention, and more desirable outcomes. On the other hand, when an employee’s values are not being met in their role or organization, the organization tends to see poorer employee outcomes, which may eventually result in turnover of that employee.    

The COVID-19 pandemic put healthcare workers at increased risk for burnout due to the heavy demands they face and the lack of control they have over their environment. A nurse who scored high on the MVPI for Recognition, Altruistic, and Affiliation may have been getting their values met prior to the pandemic by receiving frequent recognition for their accomplishments from their manager (Recognition), connecting with patients (Altruistic), and having numerous opportunities to form relationships with team members (Affiliation). Under those prepandemic circumstances, the nurse likely would have felt good about their work.

But the circumstances of the pandemic are different. The nurse must now maintain distance from both patients and coworkers, which means the Affiliation value is not being met anymore. Being an essential worker means increased demands, which may interfere with the nurse’s sense of altruism. The nurse’s manager is also overworked and overwhelmed and is unable to provide the level of recognition the nurse needs to feel motivated and valued. This is clear example of someone who is already at risk for burnout due to the pandemic and whose value conflict may accelerate burnout.

Although it is a challenging problem to solve, it is up to the organization to figure out creative ways to help employees who are experiencing burnout. In addition to value alignment, employers can seek an understanding of the personality characteristics measured by the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) that might be predictive of burnout. In addition to helping employers understand and prevent burnout, our tools can also help employees become aware of their unique burnout indicators and — with the support of their employers — take actionable steps in preventing burnout.

Want to learn more about the specific personality characteristics that are predictive of burnout? Check out our on-demand webinar!

This post was authored by Jessie McClure, corporate solutions consultant, and Jessica Walker, talent analytics consultant.

References

1. Mendoza, N.F. (2020, August 24). COVID-19 Has Exacerbated a 75% Job Burnout Rate, Study Says. TechRepublic. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/covid-19-has-exacerbated-a-75-job-burnout-rate-study-says/
2. Burn-out an “Occupational Phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. (2019, May 28). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
3. Moss, J. (2019, December 11). Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/12/burnout-is-about-your-workplace-not-your-people
4. Weiss, L. (2020, October 20). Burnout From an Organizational Perspective. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/burnout_from_an_organizational_perspective
5. Kashen, J., Glynn, S.J., Novello, A. (2020, October 30). How COVID-19 Sent Women’s Workforce Progress Backward. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/10/30/492582/covid-19-sent-womens-workforce-progress-backward

It’s old news that low employee engagement predicts negative business results. Way back in 2004, Gallup estimated that employee disengagement and associated behaviors cost the U.S. $1 trillion per year, or 10% of GDP.¹ Since then, many studies have validated the effects of employee engagement on organizational performance. What most of the conversations around these studies miss is that employee engagement is not just an issue of commerce but a moral issue as well. Companies that choose to invest in employee engagement are also choosing to improve the quality of their employees’ lives. When employees like their jobs and have a sense of purpose, they are happier and healthier. They also make teams more effective and better serve their employers.

So, engagement is clearly a win-win, right? What’s not to like about something that benefits everyone? Although you might assume all companies are on board, the truth is that most continue to neglect employee engagement. Yes, engagement did receive a recent bump — probably due to remote work’s impact on work-life balance — but a 2020 Gallup poll still revealed that 51% of workers are not engaged[1] and an additional 13% are actively disengaged (by their own reports).[2] Evidently, organizations need to start taking a more proactive approach to boosting morale than the occasional pizza party. They need to look at the root of engagement: personality.

People power organizations, and personality powers people. You can think of personality as a person’s core wiring and the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that stem from it. Using personality tests for engagement efforts will allow leaders to ensure that their employees — and thus their companies — are around for the long haul. Here are four surefire ways to use the science of personality to grow employee engagement.

1) Tailor development to the individual.

Before you can grow employee engagement, you first need to understand who you are trying to engage. Each person brings a unique constellation of strengths, weaknesses, and values to an organization, so a one-size-fits all engagement solution is unlikely to produce results.

One high-level engagement strategy that can be applied throughout the company is to focus on development. If employees are going to spend half of their waking hours at work, it is natural that they want their jobs to be rewarding. Employers can help satisfy that desire by investing in employees’ futures within the organization, which will make employees feel valued and boost their chances of professional success. Crafting development plans for each employee will encourage them to think about how their current roles are helping them grow professionally and benefiting their career trajectories.

Employers should assess employees to ensure that these trajectories are achievable and realistic. Personality tests yield individualized personality data that can help employees bridge the gap between their day-to-day behaviors and their long-term career ambitions. Personality tends to remain stable over time, and therefore personality test results should be a powerful resource for feedback and coaching throughout an employee’s life.

2) Hire according to values.

Employees whose beliefs conflict with organizational values are bound to leave before an employer’s investment in them pays off. Deeply personal, values define careers by shaping which work environments and cultures people find enjoyable.  Organizations that are challenged to retain the best talent should look at whether they are seeking candidates whose motivations, preferences, and values align with their own. Employee selection processes that prioritize alignment between employee values and organizational values will help create a culture of engagement.

To illustrate the impact of values on organizations, consider the cultural differences between the two biggest competing technology companies in the United States. Apple famously has a reputation of valuing individuality, nonconformity, and innovation. In contrast, Microsoft’s stated values focus on collaboration (i.e., “One Microsoft”), accountability, and making a difference in the world. While the technical competencies for employees would likely be similar for roles at either company, the conditions for engagement would differ substantially. Engaged employees at one company might care strongly about the appearance and quality of their work and surroundings and respond well to managers who value their autonomy and creativity. Engaged employees at the other might respond more strongly to community involvement, performance rewards, and a focus on team achievement. If you took an employee from one company and put them in the same job at the other, that person’s engagement could differ depending on the degree of employee-organization alignment.  

Hence, selection processes should prioritize candidates whose values overlap with those of the organization. These individuals will find it easier to engage in their work, mesh with their teams, and get behind corporate initiatives. Organizations that assess for values alongside personality will have much better chances of promoting employee engagement.

3) Monitor managers.

If there are specific teams that consistently underperform, it is important to look at the performance and test results of the managers who lead them. Personality tests can easily identify managers who corrode employee engagement. Behavioral red flags include, but are not limited to, tendencies to blame mistakes on others, overestimation of one’s competence, lacking team loyalty, ignoring commitments, bending rules, and disregarding others’ concerns. Managers who regularly exemplify these behaviors fall under the “bad bosses” label. Unfortunately, bad bosses tend to be the rule and not the exception ¾ the base rate of bad managers in the corporate world is between 50% and 75%.[3]

Remember when we talked about employee engagement being a moral issue? The quality of life for employees with bad bosses is so poor that eight in 10 workers admit to crying at work, and almost half attribute their tears to bad bosses.[4] In contrast, our data show that employees who describe their bosses as calm, organized, skilled at listening, and business-focused are three times more likely to be engaged.[5]

When organizations hire and promote bad bosses, they alienate and undermine their financial interests by risking employee disengagement. When a bad boss is identified, the situation should be remedied as quickly as possible to protect employee engagement.

4) Set a companywide vision.

To succeed, CEOs must craft a vision that appeals to employees’ values. When a CEO succeeds in communicating an attractive vision, employees are more willing to set aside their personal interests and mobilize to pursue organizational goals.

Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom and 2020’s businessperson of the year,[6] is a great example of a leader with an attractive vision. Yuan has carefully crafted Zoom’s vision to reflect his altruistic values, often saying that Zoom’s focus is on “delivering happiness.” Zoom’s heartfelt approach — inspired by Yuan’s desire to see his wife’s face while she was away at college — led to it becoming the videoconference tool of choice during the COVID-19 pandemic for both professionals and people seeking human connection. Zoom’s employee ratings on Glassdoor make it clear that employee engagement is high within the organization and that Yuan has succeeded in engaging his employees.⁸ This engagement paid off when employees came together this year to defend Zoom from malicious hackers.

As Zoom’s success shows, employees will happily follow the lead of bosses who make a strong vision that appeals to their values. Without shared aspirations, though, leader-follower relationships and employee engagement will likely trend downwards. Leaders who need to fine-turn their vision should start by crafting a company-wide call-to-action, or only statement.

Let’s Get Engaged

People are the most important components of their organizations. Isn’t it time that organizations truly commit to maximizing their potential? If you’ve been thinking about how to grow employee engagement, closing the gap between employer efforts and individual personality is the key.

References

1. Clifton, D., & Rath, T. (2004, July 8). The Power of Praise and Recognition. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/321965/employee-engagement-reverts-back-pre-covid-levels.aspx
2. Abel, A., Levanon, G., Li, A., & Rong, C. (n.d.). Job Satisfaction 2021: Job satisfaction remains high even in the midst of the pandemic and economic chaos. The Conference Board. https://conference-board.org/research/job-satisfaction/job-satisfaction-2021?mkt_tok=MjI1LVdCWi0wMjUAAAF80KUm7sd6Z0BJuD7-ZuCZ9NBtt5iEw_E6n7m1XRunyWhgZ5NAQLVVVogQ2fIQBnSiflNg9lj_HqRRn7pAoVwCetLHNfIVv56878F3KtN2WOo
3. Harter, J. (2020, October 16). U.S. Employee Engagement Reverts Back to Pre-Covid-19 Levels. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/321965/employee-engagement-reverts-back-pre-covid-levels.aspx
4. Hogan, R., & Winsborough, D. (n.d.). Bad Managers. Hogan Assessment Systems. https://237jzd2nbeeb3ocdpdcjau97-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Bad_Managers.pdf
5. Picchi, A. (2019, August 15). Crying on the Job? You’re Not Alone, with 8 in 10 Workers Shedding Tears. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crying-on-the-job-youre-not-alone-with-8-in-10-workers-shedding-tears/
6. Hogan Assessment Systems. (n.d.). Engagement.  http://www.hoganassessments.com/sites/default/files/Engagment_NL_June_12_R21.pdf
7. Chow, A. (n.d.). Businessperson of the Year. Time. https://time.com/businessperson-of-the-year-2020-eric-yuan/
8. Glassdoor. (2021, May 14). Zoom Video Communications Reviews. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Zoom-Video-Communications-Reviews-E924644.htm

* The Hogan Coaching Network (HCN) is comprised of approximately 50 coaches worldwide who are experts in both the Hogan instruments and in coaching. Even prior to the pandemic, they did the vast majority of their feedback and coaching calls remotely, and their customer satisfaction ratings are routinely over 4.5 on a 5-point scale. So, who better than a member of the HCN to author a blog on effective remote coaching? In her article below, Cynthia Cuffie, an accomplished HCN coach, combines her own tips and advice with those from other HCN members to ensure a productive and effective remote session.    

In any coaching session, whether remote or in person, it is important for the coach to provide an environment that is comfortable, safe, thought provoking, and informative. This sounds simple, but because the coach and coachee often have only a short period of time to connect, it requires planning, attention to the conversation, and adaptability.

So what do you do when there are factors beyond your control, such as a global pandemic or increasing calls for social and racial justice? While coaching was done remotely before the start of the pandemic, the use of video conferencing has increased exponentially in the past year. Today with video conferencing, we find ourselves sharing our personal worlds. Our homes have become offices, and our families have become officemates. These situations have added an intensity to the remote coaching experience that even the most seasoned coaches find challenging.

The article leverages the collective expertise of the global Hogan Coaching Network to share best practices for coaching remotely (table 1). Many of the best practices featured will be helpful in a variety of coaching situations, from the simplest coaching conversation to the delivery of a Hogan Assessment feedback session.

Let’s delve deeper into each of these best practices.

Set the Tone and Expectation: The Invitation

The invitation is an opportunity for the coach to set the tone and expectations for the coaching session. The invitation should be concise, warm, and informative. Provide a brief description of what will occur during the session and give instructions regarding what document(s) the coachee should have available for reference. Instruct the coachee to print required documents whenever possible or be prepared to take brief notes if printing is not possible or if digital is preferred. Share your expectations of document review before and after the session.

Let the coachee know you are looking forward to the session. While a video meeting may be your standard or preferred coaching communication method, always give the coachee an option to participate by phone only — no questions asked. Even if the coachee opts for a video conference session, have your phone ready during the session in case the coachee wants or needs to change their mind.

Do Your Homework

In the age of social media, it is often easy and helpful to find some information about the coachee before the session. Many times, LinkedIn or another site will have background and context information. This should be approached as a brief exercise based on strategic curiosity and not as a detailed research project.

Review any relevant information that may provide clues regarding the coachee’s motivators and willingness to accept feedback. Try to stick to objective information. If you are conducting a Hogan feedback session, look for validity, clues about the coachee’s receptiveness to feedback, and data patterns. For example, people with very high Adjustment scores on the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) may discount feedback. Conversely, people with low Adjustment scores on the HPI may be overly self-critical.

Prepare Yourself

Test technology (e.g., audio, video, computer readiness) at least 15 minutes before scheduled sessions. Give yourself a break for at least 30 minutes between contiguous sessions. This allows time for preparation, reflection, and technology testing. Additionally, an adequate break between sessions allows coaches to minimize any stressors that may have arisen during a prior session. Stay abreast of current events so that you can be prepared to address concerns effectively.

Being self-aware is important for coaches. Ideally, during a coaching session, coaches need to be fully present, perceptive, flexible, curious, active listeners, clear and diplomatic in communication, willing to accept some tension, and resistant to providing solutions without adequate exploration of ideas by the coachee.

Establish a Connection

If using video conferencing, make sure you and the coachee can clearly see and hear each other. Make eye contact. Make sure your background is calming and bright. Meet the coachee where they are emotionally. It may be helpful to start with a grounding exercise. For example, ask the coachee to give three words describing how they are doing. Acknowledge if they appear rushed, distracted, or anxious. Try to make the coachee comfortable by letting them know it is OK if they need a moment to wind down or take care of something first. Take note of the physical surroundings of the coachee. If it appears as if they may not be able to speak freely, ask if they are comfortable speaking at this time. If not, consider an alternative time. Acknowledge that there may be unexpected distractions in the virtual world, and that is OK. Share your brief background and acknowledge your limitations in the virtual world. Whenever possible, try to include some information about yourself that may help build rapport.

Review Confidentiality Boundaries

Confirm your understanding of the confidentiality boundaries of the coaching session. Generally, coaching discussions are completely confidential. However, if there are agreements with the coachee’s sponsor and/or employer that may require some sharing of information, be transparent with the coachee.

Embrace Technology

This section is intended to provide general guidance regarding how to enhance the remote coaching experience with the use of technology. Details regarding optimization of different platforms can be found on the websites of the platforms. Try to honor the coachee’s preferred video platform whenever possible. (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype). This is especially important in making international connections.

Use a hardwired connection for better connection stability if possible. Be prepared for the unexpected. Have simple backup solutions to commonly observed technical glitches. Explain to the coachee early in the session that you have a backup plan if needed. For example, share telephone numbers or agree to email each other regarding reconnecting if video or telephone connections fail. Let the coachee know that if all connections fail, a future connection will be established, and you will recontact them by email as soon as possible.

The view is important. As mentioned previously, make sure your view is bright, calming, and has minimal background distractions. Be aware that Zoom virtual backgrounds can sometimes compromise connection quality. Keep camera at eye level to maintain eye contact and avoid distortions. Play with different distances from the screen so that you can refer to your notes and materials without the coachee viewing these materials.

Be expressive. Don’t be afraid to move. Body language does come across even if there is a limited view. Remember to smile (again, be natural!). Ask the coachee if they are comfortable with screensharing. If you plan to use screensharing, have documents readily accessible on your desktop to avoid searching for files.

Explain the Process

Take time in the beginning of the coaching session to briefly explain the process and what to expect during the session. Make sure you ask the coachee to share their expectations. Assure them that you will address their expectations so that you don’t appear to have an inflexible, predetermined agenda. If you are providing Hogan feedback during the session, let the coachee know that their results will be explained in the context of their role. The goal is to try to remove as much of the unknown as possible to minimize stress.

Remind the coachee of the materials each of you will need to refer to during the session. Be prepared to explain where the materials can be located quickly if the coachee does not have the materials readily available. Be prepared to share data or send materials if the coachee does not have access to necessary materials.

To encourage active participation by the coachee, explain that the session is a dialogue. Using open-ended questions and encouraging sharing of examples applicable to situations will help encourage active participation. Also, let them know they should feel free to ask questions.

Set the Context

Regardless of the situation, putting the coaching discussion into the context of something grounds the discussion. If conducting a Hogan feedback session, putting their Hogan assessment results into the context of their role is important. To do this, ask the client to briefly explain their role, career path and aspirations, and strengths and challenges. Ask questions about their initial reaction to their data, such as “Is there any data that is surprising, confusing, or conflicting?” Not only will this information help focus the feedback conversation, but it will also quickly provide insight regarding their communication style and potential additional areas of interest.

If a coachee has not looked at their data before the coaching session, assure them they will have an effective session. Discourage coachees from reading reports during the session. Encourage taking brief notes but emphasize the importance of engaging in the conversation.

Review and Discuss Hogan Assessment Data (Hogan Feedback Sessions)

Use the Hogan Flash Report as an anchoring document. If you are screensharing, use annotation features to help focus the discussion. This will also allow you to provide the coachee with an annotated document after the session.

How you approach the feedback session should take into account the coachee’s Hogan profile. For example, a person who is low on the HPI Prudence scale and high on the HPI Inquisitive scale may be more interested in focusing on big picture concepts and exploring different possible behaviors, whereas a person who is high on the HPI Prudence scale and low on the HPI Inquisitive scale, may prefer to focus on details and offer very little in the way of exploring new behaviors.

Making data connections is important. Look and listen for signs of impatience, boredom, or distractions. When discussing concepts, be sure to rephrase to confirm your understanding and ask appropriate follow-up questions. Periodically during the discussion, ask questions to gauge the coachee’s reaction to results. For example, “Does that resonate with you?” or “Have you ever experienced reactions like that to your behavior before?” Coaching is about coachee discovery; however, suggestions should be provided by the coach. Make sure your suggestions are relevant to the coachee’s reality in this virtual world. Ask about the feasibility of suggestions. Meet them where they are.

Summarize Key Findings and Discuss of Future Actions

As the coaching session comes to a close, ask the coachee how they feel. This will provide an additional opportunity to identify and resolve potential outstanding issues or questions. This is also a good time to ask the coachee to summarize key takeaways for future actions. If they need help getting started, ask them to consider these questions:

• What will you continue doing? These are strengths to leverage.
• What will you stop doing? These are opportunities for growth.
• What will you start doing? These development opportunities.

Be clear about future contact sessions if applicable. Share additional resources if appropriate. Lastly, but importantly, thank the coachee for their willingness to share with you.

* The Hogan Coaching Network (HCN) is comprised of approximately 50 coaches worldwide who are experts in both the Hogan instruments and in coaching. Even prior to the pandemic, they did the vast majority of their feedback and coaching calls remotely, and their customer satisfaction ratings are routinely over 4.5 on a 5-point scale. So, who better than a member of the HCN to author a blog on effective remote coaching? In her article below, Cynthia Cuffie, an accomplished HCN coach, combines her own tips and advice with those from other HCN members to ensure a productive and effective remote session.    

To say that these are interesting times that we are living in is an understatement.

Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen panic-buying at supermarkets; a rout on global stock markets; racism and bigotry rearing their ugly heads; all coupled with a disturbing lack of leadership by many of our global leaders during trying and uncertain times.

It has been said that “People can deal with bad news better than they can deal with uncertainty.” I agree with this, and believe that during times of uncertainty – such as the current COVID-19 pandemic – the role of effective leadership becomes even more critical.

Role Modelling

At any point in time leaders need to be role models for the behaviours they expect to see in others. They need to ‘walk the walk,’ not just ‘talk the talk.’ While we have seen strong and responsible leadership from some global leaders, we have also seen others downplay the risk of the virus; refuse for many days to be tested; and continue to shake people’s hands despite having been in contact with others who have tested positive for COVID-19 – in direct contrast to what was being stated as best practice behaviour.

Such open displays of hypocrisy can undermine our faith in leadership at the national level. At a corporate level, I am hopeful that the captains of business will be better role models. After all, year after year, data from employee engagement show us that senior leaders play a critical role in driving both employee engagement and shareholder returns (Aon Hewitt, Best Employers Insights). 

LEAP Model

At Peter Berry Consultancy we have a model that links leadership to organisational performance. Called the LEAP model, the underlying premise is that Leadership drives Engagement And Performance, as outlined in Figure 1 below. To enable high performance to occur, leaders need to be mindful that they ensure an alignment between their behaviours, strategy, and employees to enable optimal outcomes. 

Figure 1: LEAP Model

It is well known that the higher you climb on the corporate ladder, the more visible you become.

In times of uncertainty, organisational leaders need to have a heightened awareness that their words and actions are being scrutinised by employees far more closely than usual. They need to ensure that they communicate and behave in ways that align with their desired end goals. The performance goals outlined in the LEAP model are aligned with the Balanced Scorecard approach. Lagging indicators such as Customer Satisfaction and Financial Results are impacted by the leading indicators of Employee Engagement and Operational Excellence. In times of crisis, where the focus turns logically to the financial results (a lagging indicator), it is important for leaders to remember the leading indicators – especially their employees. They are the ones who will deliver results and add value and their engagement and will have a direct (leading) impact on those critical lagging indicators. 

During an economic downturn (I won’t use the “R” word just yet), past experience shows us that a fairly normal pattern of behaviour emerges within an organisation. This can best be described as a ‘batten down the hatches’ mentality, where the organisation focuses on managing costs to the best of their ability to retain market share, customers, and profitability. While such an approach is perfectly understandable, leaders need to be mindful of the unintended consequences such an approach can have. A focus on “protecting the bottom line at all costs” can end up being a costly exercise.

The Downside of Cutting Leadership Development

In almost all employee engagement surveys I have conducted or reviewed over the past 20+ years, one of the most important factors that positively impacts employee engagement is Career Development. This is substantiated by research undertaken by Bob Nelson, whose analysis of millions of employees found career development to be the second most impactful dimension on employee engagement (Nelson, 2018).

Much has also been written about the Future of Work, the impact of Artificial Intelligence and the fact that many current roles will not exist in the future (Muro et al, 2019). As a result of these impending changes employees will need to re-skill to remain relevant.

A business downturn provides a perfect opportunity for an organisation to identify, assess, and invest in their talent.

Deloitte in 2015 summarised the value of ongoing development nicely:

Unfortunately, the reality is often that one of the first areas to be cut or deferred during a crisis or economic downturn is assessment, training, and development. The challenge with adopting a “cutting” approach is that it risks creating an unintended negative impact – especially if the downturn is prolonged, as will likely be the case for COVID-19. Decreasing training and development can lead to decreased engagement; the loss of top talent who are poached by more aggressive competitors, resulting in decreased productivity which then creates a vicious cycle as shown in Figure 2. 

Figure 2: The Vicious Cycle of Cutting Development

Organisations that on the other hand “boost” their career development, including training and development efforts during a downturn, are perceived more favourably by employees. Morale is higher, retention is higher, and attraction of young talent is higher (Ahluwalia, 2016).

History shows that in the first few months in an upturn, hiring quickly becomes a critical issue. When the economy turns around, the costs of adopting a cutting approach include the need to re-hire and re-train talent that left, resulting in a slower ability to return to pre-crisis conditions. This is more prominent for those companies that have lost good talent.

The cost of hiring and training a staff member to be fully productive is generally agreed to be in the range of 0.5 – 2.5 x annual salary depending on the complexity and seniority of the role (Cascio, 2006). Organisations need to determine if it is a better option to save on these hiring costs by instead investing in nurturing the skills and talent of existing employees.

I would suggest retaining and investing is a better approach than cutting and re-hiring.

Next Steps

So what can organisations do to manage the requirements of the business while simultaneously maintaining an engaged workforce? 

Here are some suggestions for consideration:

1. Avoid death by 1,000 cuts. If you need to make cuts to headcount to maintain business viability, do it early and cut once. Invest aggressively in the remaining staff.
2. Don’t communicate that training is to be frozen/cut. Manage the internal communications toward a shift in emphasis to applied learning. Re-orient training initiatives to internal project-based work that will support the business. This has the added value of keeping talent engaged in the business.
3. Decrease spending on external facilitators where possible. Leverage internal resources instead. Where required (e.g. when debriefing candidates on psychometric assessment results) invest in up-skilling internal resources through certifications so they can undertake the debriefs
4. Don’t neglect your top talent. They are generally the ones on the radars of competitors. Continue to invest differentially in them. 360 feedback is a valuable source of developmental information which can be collected and debriefed online.
5. Re-examine the delivery medium. While there are many benefits to face-to-face training and meetings, this medium carries with it the risk of a contagion effect. Explore alternate means of up-skilling staff (e.g. leveraging interactive technology based solutions; limiting the size of group interactions).

Lastly, don’t forget to ask your employees for their ideas on how to manage costs/ increase revenues. They have a vested interest in the business and, being closer to the ground, often have unique and innovative approaches that can help ensure the success of the business. Soliciting employee input helps ensure buy-in, both now as well as when the downturn finishes and the organisation is going through the recovery period.

*This is a guest post provided by the team at Peter Berry Consultancy. 

About PBC Assessments

PBC is a multidisciplinary global consulting firm with 30 years of experience in the delivery of solutions aimed at maximising the potential of individuals, teams, leaders, and organisations. We undertake research to support our evidence-based solutions and have a network of partners and distributors globally.

References:

Essays, UK. (November 2018). Training During the Current Global Recession

Bob Nelson (2018) 1001 ways to engage employees – help people do better what they do best (Career Press)

Wayne Cascio (2006), The high cost of low wages (Harvard Business Review)

Divya Ahluwalia (2016) Learning and Development in a downturn economy: The Key to Success, Templar Advisory

Aon Hewitt (2018) Aon Best Employers Insights

Deloitte (2015) Human Capital Trends

Walter Frick (2019), How to survive a recession and thrive afterwards (Harvard Business Review)

In any company, few things are more important than having a strong pipeline of high-performing leaders. In this new COVID-19 era, leadership teams everywhere are now faced with making critical decisions in an environment that changes hourly. Leaders from every size of organization are required to exercise judgment in unprecedented scenarios.

At Hogan, we have long researched the personality characteristics of effective leaders in the midst of high-pressure situations. We have also closely studied the identification of high-potential talent, or talent that has the ability to build and lead teams that can consistently outperform. This is a unique moment in time to identify high potentials (HIPOs) and next-generation leaders. Such moments of crisis often provide incredible opportunities for HIPOs to be identified, as the demands for high-risk and high-visibility decisions increase.

There is a saying that “pressure will turn you into either dust or a diamond.” Thankfully, unlike the carbon under the earth’s surface that can form either crumbly coal or solid diamonds, depending on its environment, people have the ability to be strategically self-aware and make intentional choices about how to react to intense or unexpected pressure. We aren’t bound by the conditions of the environment we find ourselves in. We have choices.

So, how do organizations make the most of this opportunity to identify these HIPO “diamonds”? It is essential to start any talent identification process with a valid and reliable framework. After decades of research and working with clients around the world, we at Hogan have found that there are three different dimensions to consider when looking for the HIPO “diamond in the rough.”

The first thing to look for is competence in what we call Leadership Foundations, or the degree to which people are able to manage their careers well, are rewarding and enjoyable to deal with, and are good organizational citizens overall. Look for individuals who calmly and steadily reach out to assist others in solving difficult problems. You have likely already noticed them patiently working through the new challenges your organization is facing. You likely won’t find them doing this alone; you will see them pulling others together to work through details, ensuring that their efforts are closely aligned with the needs of the team and department.

The second dimension that we have identified as important for identifying HIPO talent is Leadership Emergence, or the likelihood that people will stand out from the crowd and lead from the front. These individuals look and feel like leaders. They instill confidence. You will likely see them as bright, quick, influential, and even charismatic in how they approach challenges. They are the people actively building connections and quickly taking action toward key challenges.

Many of today’s HIPO identification and succession planning processes significantly overindex identifying talent with emergent leadership behaviors, and it is easy to understand why. Emergent leadership behaviors ensure that individuals are noticed, not passed over. After all, is a diamond valuable if you can’t find it?

However, without the final dimension that we have identified for HIPO identification, many emerging leaders simply will not stand the test of time. HIPOs must also be skilled in critical competencies around Leadership Effectiveness. Our research at Hogan shows that true HIPOs must be able to work through others — achieving critical business outcomes, managing organizational resources and assets, planning proactively, and motivating others to work toward common goals. Effective leaders are patient and engaging, known for inspiring commitment and accountability.

The difference between emerging and effective leaders is often found in how each group spends their time. You might spot emerging leaders networking with key stakeholders and decision makers, but effective leaders more often go “heads down,” spending their time driving team performance. Interestingly, our research shows that these two groups overlap by only 10%. This small overlap between the two groups reinforces the importance of purposeful HIPO development.

As we face new challenges in the coming months, talent development for HIPOs, in particular, will be needed to help them become truly successful as they reach higher levels of organizational responsibility. Whenever you see up-and-coming talent with a ton of visible action and fast-moving energy, encourage them to keep their energy steadily focused on team results and better ways of working. To identify less visible leaders, look for trends in business results and team performance, and then work with those people to practice visible leadership “from the front.”

Organizations that take advantage of the numerous development opportunities that will arise during this time of crisis will find a strong and healthy pipeline of leaders for the future. We at Hogan are here to help you identify, develop, and retain these HIPOs in your organization. We know people.