Hogan derailers

---

Unfortunately, according to Hogan's research, as many as two-thirds of the people currently in leadership positions will fail, leaving companies with "damaged reputations, disheartened employees, and downed revenues". Failed leadership is often the product of flawed interpersonal behaviours that prevent leaders from forming and maintaining a productive team. Hogan's report identifies dysfunctional tendencies that can be mitigated through awareness and coaching.

Plan for Success

The Leadership Forecast Challenge Report is designed to help you develop as a leader. It will provide insights about your behaviour that could potentially undermine or inhibit your effectiveness as a leader. It then offers suggestions for leading
people more effectively.

Leadership involves building and maintaining a high-performing team. Anything that detracts from your ability to build a team, detracts also from your performance as a leader.

Under pressure, most people will display certain counter -productive tendencies. We refer to these as "risk factors." Under normal conditions these characteristics may actually be strengths. However, when you are tired, pressured, bored, or otherwise distracted, these risk factors may impede your effectiveness and erode the quality of your relationships with customers, colleagues, and direct reports. Others may be aware of these tendencies but may not give you any feedback about them. Your boss, in fact, may ignore them.

MANAGING RISK

Research indicates that leaders develop risk factors while learning to deal with parents, peers, relatives and others early in life. Behaviour developed while you were young may become habitual and you may be unaware that you deal with stress in certain ways.

New awareness opens up the possibility of new strategies and tactics to ensure you stay effective under pressure.

If you would like to arrange for someone to take a Hogan Assessment, complete with detailed report and feedback session, please contact me.

Here are the Eleven De-railers along with some strategies for development

DUTIFUL BUT DEPENDENT 

Pleasers are easy to work with on the one hand as they want to please you, however they’re difficult to work with because they don’t translate their understanding of what’s needed into action.  If this is your derailer, here’s what you can do to avoid failure by making something happen:

​You are a cooperative, congenial person who works well as part of a team. You are good at resolving disputes, soothing ruffled feelings, and you are a loyal supporter of good people and admirable causes.

• Remember that if you want your staff to be loyal to you, then you must be loyal to them, even if that means sometimes annoying people.

• When asked for your opinion, take your time, decide what you believe, and be prepared to defend it when challenged.

• Although you dislike conflict, there will be times when you must confront others and disagree with them. In the long run, your credibility depends on doing this.

Identify what you believe in.  It’s difficult to make tough decisions and take tough action if you don’t know where you stand on issues.   Clearly knowing your vision and values helps you with deal with other people’s resistance.  

Pick a fight.  Think of a situation where you believe you should be more forceful and confront it.  Think about why you’re not confronting someone or something and put the focus on what you want or need from the situation rather than the person you’re trying to satisfy or placate.

Defend someone who is worth defending.  There is likely to be a situation where someone is being unfairly attacked.  Stand your ground and make your case.  It is a much better feeling than remaining silent and becoming accustomed to that good feeling should encourage you.

DILIGENT but PERFECTIONISTIC - 

Perfectionists are often fastidious but they are likely to miss trends and macro changes while they are so focused on the details.  Less denial exists around this derailer however perfectionists are all too quick to rationalise their behaviours.  Being demanding is fine, being detailed to the point of obsession is not.  Here are some ways you can prevent this derailing your career.

• Tackle issues with outside-the-box thinking. Try not to solve every problem in the same way.

• Practice delegating to your staff. This provides them with valuable developmental experiences and opportunities to learn.

• Your high standards result in high quality work. However, be careful not to criticise others continually who do not share your values for impeccable work.

Examine the costs.  Recognise the negative impact on you, your career and your organisation.  Do you feel exhausted every day at work?  Have you lost the joy of your work?  Do you overlook important facts when making decisions?  Are you missing chances and opportunities because of too much research or checking of others?  Are your team missing out on development because you’re not delegating?

Prioritise the key jobs and learn to live with imperfection on less important projects.  Force yourself to select three to five assignments that must be done right and relax your standards with others.

Give up a perfectionist behaviour.  Start by writing how you typically behave in a given work situation that results in one of the costs above.  Then specify how you or your organisation suffered as a result of your perfectionism.  Then re-write the situation, choosing to give up a perfectionist behaviour.

IMAGINATIVE but Eccentric

When you are at your best, you are a colourful, visionary, and stimulating person. Others will appreciate your imagination, your talent, and your creative thinking.

• Remember to communicate clearly in order to avoid your ideas from getting lost or not getting implemented

• Your career will develop most productively if you focus on those ideas that seem most interesting to others, not you. In this way, more of your ideas will get turned into action.

• You probably need to partner with someone who may be less creative, but who is better at following through. You will need some assistance in bringing your ideas to fruition, and the best way to do this is to work with someone who likes your ideas and wants to help you implement them.

The best help for imaginatives is to get them to identify and limit their priorities and focus on executing their best ideas, however, if this is you, you’re likely to resist this!  You may see your eccentricity as part of who you are as a charismatic leader, and see change as conforming to the boring norm.    See if the following suggestions might help you avoid failure

• Determine the price you arer willing to pay.  Learning to manage this derailer involves moderating what others perceive as excesses, and you need to figure out if this sacrifice is worth it.  This will work best if you find synergies between what you and the organisation are trying to achieve.
• Surround yourself with people who can execute your ideas.  This may sound obvious, but imaginatives often surround themselves with people who love to play with ideas, but important for your team members is the ability to translate ideas into action.
  
• Recognise the gap between intention and impact.  Successfully imagainative leaders don’t want to confuse people about what action is needed right now, to see ideas float and not land, or not be taken seriously.  Recognising this can be the impetus for making productive changes.  Ask a coach or trusted colleague to give feedback.
  

Colourful but Dramatic 

​• You probably use displays of emotion as a way of making a point. There are better ways to make a point and repeated emotional outbursts may annoy others.

• Practice active listening--don't interrupt. When others have finished, try to paraphrase what they have said as a way of showing that you were listening. This will enhance your credibility and show respect for the opinion of others.

• Partner with someone who is good with details and follow through, and ask that person to assist you in these areas.

• At your best, you are an interesting and entertaining person who can do several things at once, and who can galvanise others to action with your ideas and your ability to sell them.

While not all colourful leaders act alike, most exhibit obvious behaviours that suggest their on the path to failure.

Lack of focus. While being engaging and interpersonally successful they can lose sight of what’s important, often saying whatever comes to mind to impress.
A failure to develop people.  It’s not that they set out to stifle people, it’s just the force of their personality that gets in the way. 
Elevated expectations.  Colourful leaders often start out with a bang, but may fail to follow through on commitments, talking a good game but not delivering. 

Turn down the volume: How to curb your tendencies

Get someone to videotape you in action.  Colourful behaviour and its impact is highly visible.  When you watch it back, ask yourself…Am I dominating the discussion to the point that no one is volunteering
Use setbacks as an opportunity to cross back over the line before a big failure hits.  Nothing penetrates an arrogant leader’s consciousness better than a small failure.  At this point a teachable moment occurs – use it!

​

Mischievous (Charming but Manipulative)

Other people may think that you follow your own agenda and don't consider how your decisions impact them. As a result, they may be as reluctant to make commitments to you as you seem to be in return. Thus, you need to be careful to follow through on all your good faith commitments.

• If you find circumstances have altered the conditions under which you made a commitment, then negotiate the changes with the people to whom you have made the promise--rather than simply going on about your business.

• You tend to have a higher tolerance for risk than most people. Be aware that not everyone is as adventurous as you seem to be.

• You may have disappointed others by not following through. You need to acknowledge your errors and make amends-- rather than trying to explain the situation away.

• At your best, you are charming, spontaneous, and fun. You adapt quickly to changing circumstances, you handle ambiguity well, you add positive energy to social interactions, and people like being with you.

Take ownership of what you’re doing.  Question yourself about your rule-breaking, consequence-ignoring behaviours. Being aware may help you to control them.

Determine which rules are important to follow.  Consistent rule breakers lose respect and are seen as hypocritical.  Don’t lose your risk taking charisma, manage it by deciding which rules you will and won’t break.

Role play being on the receiving end of mischief.  Think about the ideas you’re going to be proposing and put yourself in the shoes of a direct report.  Think about how you might respond.

Confide in a coach.  Mischievous leaders are often oblivious to the impact hey have on people and a coach can help raise their consciousness and help determine whether their action is likely to have  a constructive or destructive effect.  Confide before you confound or confuse too many peopl

Some leaders are Confident but can be too Arrogant

You are right and everyone else is wrong....
These people place a high value on their own talents and abilities without exhibiting the self-doubts that hold others back.  Not afraid to take the lead these people tend to have high self regard, self respect and self-certainty – all of those self words.
High scorers may tend to place a lot of emphasis on their accomplishments whilst ignoring or minimising their shortcomings and pushing the responsibility for mistakes onto others.  For these reasons they may have clear but unrealistic career goals.  Although such people are often assertive and typically make a strong first impression, others may find them hard to work with because they also tend to be demanding, opinionated, self-absorbed and unwilling to learn from their mistakes.

Is this your de-railer?

You’re unwilling to give up a fight no matter what
You believe that your perspective is the correct one before evaluating others’ ideas.
You refuse to take responsibility when your strategy or idea doesn’t work
You reinterpret events to fit your point of view
You possess a powerful ego that causes you to dominate others.

If you would like to arrange for someone to take a Hogan Assessment, complete with detailed report and feedback session, please contact me.

What to do about it?

Find the truth tellers in the organisation and ask them to level with you.  This is not the same as having an open door policy as few direct reports take advantage of it to approach a bold leader with disagreeable information.

Use setbacks as an opportunity to cross back over the line before a big failure hits.  Nothing penetrates a bold leader’s consciousness better than a small failure.  At this point a teachable moment occurs – use it!

Further development strategies for BOLD.....

• Lower your expectations for receiving special treatment and give credit to others. This will help in the process of building and maintaining the team you need to achieve your goals.
• Because you may have trouble accepting negative feedback, listen to feedback from your friends and family. They know you well enough to be able to provide useful advice. In addition, they are not in competition with you so the feedback is usually well-meaning.
• You are a strong influence and energetic resource and you can intimidate others without intending to do so. Be aware of, and curtail, this tendency.
• Do not compete with your staff and peers. Remember the real competition is outside the organisation.
• You have the confidence and energy to make things happen. Difficulties and adversity will only make you more determined. Very little of importance in the world will get done without your kind of determination and drive.

some leaders are
FOCUSED but can be Passive Aggressive

Your silence is mis- interpreted as agreement

These individuals may play by the rules and fulfil their responsibilities but will vigorously defend their right to “do their own thing” with the freedom to do things on their own terms.  High scorers want to work according to their own timetable and standards of performance.  They tend to resist being hurried or instructed by others and become resentful and irritated when asked to increase the speed or quality of their performance; but they are likely to mask the resentment well.  Although people with high scores on this scale can be outwardly pleasant and sociable , others may find them hard to work with because they seem procrastinating, sluggish, stubborn and reluctant to be part of a team.

Is this your de-railer?

Saying one thing and doing another is your standard operating procedure
You have a private agenda that you share with no one
You avoid conflict at all costs and rarely express any disagreement
You don’t know or care what others expect of you

If you would like to arrange for someone to take a Hogan Assessment, complete with detailed report and feedback session, please contact me.

What to do about it?

LEISURELY

Understand the gap between how you’re feeling and what you’re saying or doing.  Force yourself to do this and decide whether what you’re communicating mirrors what you’re thinking and feeling.
Put yourself in the place of people you work with.  You may think this is so prevalent it’s no big deal, but it is to others.  Put yourself in their place by asking:
What is their expectation of you and what you will deliver?
What commitments have you made? What commitment is the other person counting on?
Are you making an effort to align with these commitments and deliver on them?
Work on potential areas of conflict.  Your reluctance to engage in debate may not be helpful, making conflict explicit rather than keeping it inside yourself may lessen the impact of this derailer.

You are independent, socially skilled, and able to say “no” diplomatically. You make few demands of others, except to be left alone to do your work in your own way.
• You see more incompetence in the world than others do. Although you may think others are naïve, you could profit from their optimism and trust.
• Understand that you may become irritable when others try to coach you. Allow yourself to be more easily influenced by friends or family, and more willing to do the little extra things they ask you to do.

• Limit the promises you make to others, but be sure to fulfil the promises and commitments you do make

some Leaders are Shrewd but can be Mistrustful

You focus on the negatives

Nothing escapes the notice of these perceptive individuals.  This scale is concerned with having sensory antennae, continuously scanning people and situations, being immediately alert to what is awry, dissonant, out of place or dangerous – especially in dealings with people.
Such people have a tendency to mistrust others’ motives and doubt their intentions, to be alert for signs that one is being deceived or mistreated, and to take action to defend oneself when wrongly treated.  Although these people are shrewd and difficult to fool, others may find them hard to work with because they take criticism personally, they readily feel misused, they tend to be suspicious and they are prone to retaliate when they feel they have been wronged.

You never take action because you always see the downside
You’re constantly looking for confirmation that people are acting out of self-interest or for political reasons
You dismiss all negative information on assumption that it’s tainted by an individual’s ulterior motive
You’re consistently critical when giving feedback
You obsess over what can go wrong

What to do about it?

Be careful how you communicate with others. When you believe you are expressing honest opinions, others may see you as being argumentative. Be open to other points of view.

​When you are at your best, you are a perceptive and insightful judge of people and you have a superior understanding of organisational politics. You are a good resource for identifying potential hidden agendas and for analysing and solving social and political problems.

You will tend to distrust your coach; you should suspend judgement and give your coach a chance to try to help you. The same is true for others who care about you--you need to make an extra effort to appreciate what they are telling you and why.

You should try to be less critical and judgemental. Tell a trusted friend that you are trying to become more tolerant. Ask him/her to tell you when you are being excessively critical, defensive, or sensitive--and listen to his/her feedback.

If you would like to arrange for someone to take a Hogan Assessment, complete with detailed report and feedback session, please contact me.

some leaders are Enthusiastic but can be Volatile

Your mood shifts may be sudden and unpredictable…

This scale is concerned with the tendency to develop strong enthusiasms for people, projects or organisations, and then to become disappointed with them. People with high scores tend to let little things bother them, become easily annoyed, and change jobs more frequently than others. Others tend to find people with high scores on this scale hard to work with because they seem moody, irritable and hard to please. Under pressure they may be particularly volatile and unpredictable.  See how many of the following descriptions could apply to you or someone you know:

# You explode over minor mistakes or for reasons you can’t articulate.
# Feedback tells you that your people don’t know which you is going to show up from one day to the next
#You move back and forth between optimistic and pessimistic stances
#You create energy and enthusiasm one day and intimidate others the next through your word and deeds
#You feel like events or your moods create changes in how you normally act.

What to do about it?

First, remember your strengths--when you are at your best, you are an active, energetic, and interesting person who can infuse intensity and purpose in an organisation. If you can learn to control your tendency to be annoyed or discouraged and modify the way you express your emotions, you will be even more helpful to others.

• Second, listen closely to feedback from people you trust; this will be particularly helpful in allowing you to persevere when you become discouraged about a person or a project and begin to think about breaking off your participation.

• Third, recognise that you tend to get overly enthusiastic about people or projects. Reflect on this tendency and learn to control your initial excessive burst of enthusiasm. That way, you will reduce the likelihood of being discouraged later.

• Fourth, remember that being overly emotional can send unintended messages to your team and affect their productivity and performance.

• Finally, encourage yourself to stick with your plans and strategies and "ride out” the difficult periods when you might get discouraged. Change your expectations from “I knew this wouldn’t work” to “Things aren’t going well, I need to think about why, and what to do next to keep them moving forward.” The more often you persist in solving your problems, the more you will build a reputation of being steady and reliable.

​The 3 Essential Components of Leadership Talent.  28th April 2017

The competition for talent is fierce, and the future of many organizations depends on finding and developing leaders for key roles. The highest-performing organizations make it a top priority to prepare talented people for advancement. However, most organizations struggle to find accurate and useful ways to develop people with the most potential for success as leaders.

Some people who appear to have leadership potential are often not effective leaders; conversely, many effective
employees are overlooked for promotion because they do not self-promote enough to get noticed.

The Hogan High Potential (HIPO) model simplifies the process of finding talented people who can be developed, and who then will go on to achieve positive business outcomes.

A High Potential Leadership report can help you identify your leadership strengths and help to build a development plan. 

Developed by the Hogan team, these new reports make use of all three of the Hogan Personality Assessments - the Bright side (HPI), the Inside (MPVI) and the Dark Side (HDS).

Grounded in decades of global research on leader performance, the Hogan High Potential Talent Report
is designed to help emerging leaders prepare for and develop three essential components of top
organizational leadership and helps leaders quickly and easily prioritize areas of development to maximize
leadership potential.

Here they are:

1) Leadership Foundations

The building blocks for career effectiveness. Before people can lead a team, they must first demonstrate their ability to contribute to a team and must establish a personal reputation as dependable and productive.

2) Leadership Emergence

Are you perceived as a leader? People who emerge as leaders are able to create a leader-like impression by standing out, being noticed, and seeming influential.

3) Leadership Effectiveness

The ability to build and maintain high performing teams. Effective leaders attract, retain, and
develop talented team members, and then secure resources, remove barriers to success, and achieve
strategic business goals.

If you would like to arrange for someone to take a Hogan Assessment, complete with detailed report and feedback session, please contact me.

​​​​​