What If Narcissism Wasn't a Bad Thing?

Hogan News — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:48:00 GMT

The Upside of Narcissism in the Workplace

Q1 Research Review I - Drivers of Performance

Hogan News — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:06:00 GMT

No one has time to read every new piece of research that could impact our field. As a result, it is hard to know what important new findings might pass us by. Luckily, the Hogan Research Division is here to help (and we welcome your contributions in return).

Below is a quick rundown of several articles from Q1 that examined a variety of individual and organizational characteristics that drive performance. This is not an all-inclusive list. So, if you’ve read any new publications or reports from the last three months we failed to include, feel free to write a comment telling us about them.

In a review of customer service-related variables, Hong et al. provide a nice outline of how leadership impacts a company’s bottom line. First, leadership practices shape an organization’s service climate, which influences employee behaviors. Behaviors impact customer satisfaction, which then drives financial performance. This research provides an excellent demonstration of the Leadership Value Chain at work.
In reviewing safety-related variables, Hogan & Foster presents research demonstrating how individual employee personality characteristics predict important work outcomes. Using data from multiple samples representing a variety of jobs, organizations, and industries, we show that personality influences safety-related behaviors, which in turn predict major workplace accidents and injuries. In other words, personality doesn’t influence work outcomes by itself, but does so because of its influence in important work-related behaviors.
We have all heard that self efficacy and performance are correlated with one another, but does one actually cause the other? Research by Sitzmann and Yeo suggests that performance drives self-efficacy, but not necessarily the other way around. Instead, individuals who are confident in their abilities likely do better on many tasks simply because they’ve done well on similar tasks in the past.
Is conflict within teams good or bad? According to research by Bradley et al., it all depends on the personality characteristics of your team. When team members are generally high in Emotional Stability or Openness, conflict can drive good performance, but the opposite is true when either characteristic is generally low. So, when dealing with conflict within teams, it helps to know your team members.
Abusive supervision continues to be a hot topic these days. In examining the impact of abusive supervision, Shoss et al. found that when employees identify an abusive supervisor with their company, they are more likely to retaliate against the company itself through both counterproductive behaviors and lower job performance.

And stay tuned, Parts 2 and 3 of our review will cover articles relating to coaching, statistics, and a potpourri selection of articles we thought were worth sharing.

Way Outside the Box

Hogan News — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:54:00 GMT

Is there such a thing as being too creative? Although creativity is largely associated with positive work outcomes, our research shows that, in excess, creativity can be a powerful roadblock to career success.

To understand how creativity can harm an individual’s career, we must look at personality from two perspectives: bright-side personality and dark-side personality.

Bright-side personality describes the strengths and weaknesses people display when they are at their best. Dark-side personality describes personality characteristics that are strengths under normal circumstances. Under the increased stress, pressure, or boredom of most work environments, people tend to overuse those strengths, and they can become powerful career derailers.

Creative people often have parents who emphasize their uniqueness and favor creative expression over convention. As adults, their ability to comfortably work outside of societal norms makes creative individuals valuable sources of potentially important ideas. However, highly creative individuals also tend to focus too much on thinking outside the box, often at the cost of their ability to clearly explain their ideas or follow through.

For more on performance implications and recommendations for coaching highly creative individuals, download our white paper, Way Outside the Box.

"Innovate or die." – Dr. Robert Hogan

Hogan News — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:50:00 GMT

This axiom is all too relevant for entrepreneurs today. Companies like Google and Pixar embrace a collaborative and innovative culture with unconventional work hours and offices. Why do they go through such great lengths to foster their employees’ creativity? Because that’s what a creative employee’s personality demands.

A creative employee’s personality profile indicates that they’re idealistic, nonconforming, and tend to be unconcerned about money. Conversely, good managers tend to be stable, practical, and concerned with maintaining order and controlling costs.

Although they are psychological opposites, managers and creative people badly need one another.
Find out what 5 steps organizations can take to ensure they are properly managing their creative employees and driving innovation by downloading our complimentary ebook.

The Science of Attraction

Hogan News — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:36:00 GMT

Survey results revealed that 82.1% of respondents feel personality
is most important in a romantic partner.

The Hogan Academic Network

Hogan News — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:35:00 GMT

In 1987, Drs. Robert and Joyce Hogan founded a company based on social justice in the workplace. They have since become widely recognized as pioneering authorities in personality assessment, leadership, and organizational effectiveness. Former professors, the Hogans instilled a tradition of academic research and collaboration within their company. The Hogan Research Division (HRD), comprised of doctorate- and master-level Industrial-Organizational Psychology professionals, continues this legacy by working closely with university faculty and students in our Hogan Academic Network.

Each year, HRD collaborates with graduate students and professors around the world on research activities involving Hogan assessments. Hogan is committed to providing ongoing support for student researchers by providing them access to data from the Hogan archive (validation studies on more than 400 job titles and evidence from more than 250 criterion-related validation studies) and the use of Hogan tools to conduct their own research. Several universities use Hogan assessments in their coursework. In addition, students who take our assessments as part of a course often receive developmental feedback from a Hogan Certified Coach.

If you would like more information on our collaborative research efforts, contact us!

2013 Hogan Award for Personality and Work Performance

Hogan News — Sun, 05 May 2013 21:06:00 GMT

Every year, the SIOP Executive Board presents the Hogan Award for Personality and Work Performance. This award, named after Hogan Assessment Systems founders’ Drs. Robert and Joyce Hogan, recognizes the academic paper or chapter that has the highest potential to further the understanding of personality as it relates to work performance. This year’s Hogan Award recipients are In-Sue Oh, Temple University, Gang Wang, University of Idaho, and Michael K. Mount, University of Iowa, for their article, "Validity of Observer Ratings of the Five-Factor Model of Personality Traits: A Meta-Analysis," published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, volume 96.

In their winning article, Drs. Oh, Gang and Mount's meta-analytic approach to the relationship between personality traits and job performance reveals insightful conclusions about the validity of observer ratings of Five-Factor Model (FFM) traits versus the validity estimates based on self-report measures of FFM traits. Their results show that observer ratings of personality traits in regards to job performance have a higher validity than those based on self-report ratings – in other words, our co-workers know us better than we know ourselves when it comes to how we approach work.

Drs. Oh, Gang, and Mount’s paper originally stemmed from Dr. Mount’s popular 1994 article focused on the validity of observer ratings of personality factors of sales representatives. Drs. Oh, Gang and Mount expanded the study to include multiple job functions and found that personality is even more predictive of job performance than previously believed. "Our results underscore the importance of disentangling the validity of personality traits from the method of measurement of the traits," the authors stated in their article.

“In-Sue, Gang and I feel very fortunate to have received this award. Joyce and Bob Hogan are very rare among I-O Psychologists because they have had a major impact on both the science and practice of I-O Psychology,” says Dr. Mount. As illustrated in the References section of their paper, the Hogan’s extensive research and literature on personality measurement has helped to make meta-analytical research, such as this, possible.

Emotional Intelligence is the Latest Job Requirement

Hogan News — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:02:00 GMT

As a leader in personality assessment, we’ve been studying this stuff for decades. We know cognitive ability and expertise are only modest predictors of career success. It’s emotional intelligence (EQ), the ability to identify and manage your own and others’ emotions, that really matters. People skills determine success, and individuals who lack the ability to build effective relationships are destined to fail – no matter how smart or talented they are. For more, check out the infographic below or download our ebook, Want a Better Job? Learn to Control Your Emotions.

Q&A: Personality and Teams

Hogan News — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:01:00 GMT

Managers intuitively understand that achieving the right mix of skills, experience, and personality is key to ensuring a productive team and content workforce. Get that mix wrong – even by just one individual – and the result can be ruinous. Ryan Ross, Hogan vice president of Global Alliances, discusses personality and teams.

Q. How does personality affect team performance?
A. A team is made up of individuals, and personality can be the mortar that holds the team together or the chisel that tears it apart. The makeup of the team, the demands, and what is needed to be successful is dependent on the individuals. They have to be able to work together, and they have to be engaged with each other.

Q. What characteristics do high-performing teams share?
A. First, high-performing teams are self-aware of their collective strengths and their development needs as a team. They know where their blind spots are, and they’re willing to seek outside influence to help compensate. Second, they are focused on a mission. Individually, they have clear objectives to contribute to the team, and there’s also a desire to keep score. They want to know, “Are we winning as a team? If not, what are we going to do to fix that?” It creates a sense of accountability.

Q. What are the functional and psychological team roles?
A. Functional roles in a team are simply based on title, level in an organization, or past experience. It’s the old military example of just because they have stripes on their arms or stars on their lapel you have to call them a leader. Psychological roles are who we become in the team. Are we an antagonist or a creator? Are we focused on details and implementation or are we dedicated to team collaboration? Are we focused on results, relationships, pragmatics, process, or innovation?

Q. In terms of composition, what do teams need?
A. Teams need someone paying attention to the vision and goals, and they need someone paying attention – strategically – to how they’re going to get there. Teams need individuals who are driving the work and actually getting work done versus just talking about it. They also need someone who is paying attention to details, as well as someone to keep harmony and collaboration going in the team. If you think about societal roles, it’s basically the same thing. You need a mayor, you need a city council, and you need employees.

Q. Can too much dissimilarity in a team be problematic?
A. You bet it can. Too many dissimilar values can be problematic. You’re going to find that people gravitate towards each other in a team. Teams need to identify and understand their collective strengths and shortcomings. If you have a team that is on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to Adjustment (the HPI scale related to confidence and self-esteem) – meaning that half the team is rock-solid and nothing bothers them, and the other half of the team freaks out when the room is too warm – then those two groups are always going to be at odds. They have to recognize that shortcoming and meet somewhere in the middle. Values are a key challenge when you have dissimilarity in a team. We find that there are two or three common core values in a team and that the rest are free to vary, which is what gives you the uniqueness of individuals.

Q. How do shared group values impact team performance?
A. They help build cohesion. People who value the same things tend to be interested in performing work in similar ways. They focus on certain goals and share a common language, even though they may be new acquaintances. If I know you value winning, competing, and the way things look and feel, we could already have a relationship even if we just met. Shared values are especially important today because organizations are doing so much more virtual teamwork. Oftentimes, we don’t have an opportunity to sit down and have conversations anymore, but because we talk the same way or have the same values, those relationships are easier to make.

Q. What can shared derailers mean to a team?
A. Blind spots. Shared derailers create a culture of derailment where a certain derailer is seen as just the way we are. For example, say a retailer has a management team with very high scores on Bold (the HDS scale related to self-confidence and arrogance) and Mischievous (the HDS scale related to risk-taking and limit-testing); that would breed a culture where if you couldn’t stand up, take punches and push the envelope, then you wouldn’t fit in. It leads to the acceptance of things that cause the every day employee to suffer.

Q. How do we keep team members engaged?
A. Getting and keeping team members engaged starts with leadership. The definition of leadership is being able to build and sustain high-performing teams. The only way to do that is with individuals that are engaged. How do you get engagement? Through good leadership. How do you identify good leaders? By looking at their personality. It’s a building block – teams that are engaged will take action more quickly, and they’re more defensive when it comes to outside challenges because they want to protect each other. The functional head of the team must drive the engagement, or things get out of sync. It’s helping the leader understand how to drive and motivate a team by knowing who the players are, what they value, and how that fits with the mission they’re being asked to accomplish.

Follow Ryan Ross on Twitter @RRossHogan

What Makes a Good Leader?

Hogan News — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:29:00 GMT

Leadership is the most important single factor in determining success in business.

Why Emotional Intelligence?

Hogan News — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Hogan has been studying emotional intelligence and its impact on organizational effectiveness for decades. In this short video, Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, vice president of research and innovation, explains the concept of emotional intelligence, why it’s important, how we measure it, and what it means for you.

For more information, check out our ebook, Want a Better Job? Learn to Control Your Emotions.

Video: Know Your People

Hogan News — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:52:00 GMT

When it comes to understanding your employees, there are three things that matter.

What do they want?
How will they get what they want?
What will get in their way?

Our assessments provide insight you can leverage to get the most out of your people and help them get the most from their careers.

Control, Control, You Must Learn Control

Hogan News — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:56:00 GMT

“Control, control, you must learn control,” Yoda said to Luke Skywalker during Jedi training. Just like Luke, employees must be aware of and learn to control their emotions if they want to be successful at their job (whether their job involves fighting intergalactic forces or receiving critical feedback on a presentation). Fortunately for Luke, he had a great coach and eventually became self-aware enough to conquer his volatile tendencies and channel his emotional energy into the task at hand.

When hiring, it is common to assess not only a candidate’s hard skills, educational background and resume points, but also to take into consideration his or her workplace demeanor. Unfortunately, brief interview sessions provide little opportunity to examine a person’s emotional output when faced with certain workplace situations.

Like Luke, many employees have greatness within them, but lack the tools to successfully put their emotions aside. Assessing emotional intelligence (EQ), the ability to identify, process, and manage one’s own and others’ emotions, provides this acumen in the form of self-awareness. The Hogan EQ assessment measures along six essential workplace emotional competencies:

Emotional Perception

Self-awareness – the ability understand the emotions that are causing their current mood
Detection – the ability to interpret others’ intentions, actions, and motivations

Emotional Control

Regulation – the ability to seem calm under pressure and resilient in the face of failure
Influence – the ability to empower and instill confidence in others.

Emotional Sharing

Expressivity – the ability to effectively communicate a desired emotional state to others
Empathy – the ability to more deeply engage in social interactions and collaborative experiences

By providing a measurement of emotional intelligence, Hogan’s EQ report gives employees insight into the roles their emotions play in their worklife as well as how they are perceived by others. By understanding their natural strengths and weaknesses, employees can learn to compensate for those behaviors. Interested in learning more about how we assess EQ? Download our complimentary eBook, Want a Better Job? Learn to Control Your Emotions.

What’s an Ancient Greek Guy To Do? (Iliad Series Part III)

Natalie O'Neal — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:28:00 GMT

After analyzing the personality profiles of Homer’s Greek heroes, Achilles and Agamemnon, Rastislav Duriš, an HR consultant, and Matus Porubjak, a philosophy professor, asked the question, “In which occupations, organizations or environments would these heroes prosper today?”

Career counselling for these two ancient heroes starts with their motivation (Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory). Achilles feels fulfilled by helping others, developing them and generally working for a prosperous society. He values material success, profit, ROI, trade and money, as well as traditional social values and virtues, morale, history and principled attitude towards life and work. His motives indicate that Achilles would be satisfied in a well-established organization with a clear mission, values and business purpose. The company should also be commercially oriented, such as a financial institution, and care about the satisfaction of its employees or customers. A good example would be a private bank with a long tradition of customer care and elaborate employee program.

Valuing commerce, finance and material success, Agamemnon, unlike Achilles, feels motivated by social status – the desire to stand out and get recognition – and desires influence and power. Self-sacrifice for others and helping society doesn’t really work for him. He is more likely to feel satisfied in environments that enable him to work on his individual career, achieve an important position, and gain credit as well as high financial remuneration. He would be happiest working in financial and insurance companies or private firms focused on profit and beating the competition.

The two share Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) scores that are like those of successful entrepreneurs. Achilles and Agamemnon would be successful in launching companies and organizations (though probably not together as per the last blog in this series). Both have traits of leadership, though their disposition could be more suited for crisis management which involves time restrictions and often requires making unpopular decisions. It is important to note that their definitive success or failure would also be shaped by their ability to cope with their potential risky behavior indicated in the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). High scores in these assessments mean a raised flag for entrepreneurs and managers – “Beware! You have certain exceptional characteristics; however, if you don’t learn to handle them and use them constructively, they may contribute to your fall later.” Which, in the case of Achilles and Agamemnon, they did.

EQnomics

Hogan News — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:36:00 GMT

Although much of the panic surrounding their generation has subsided, the fact that many Millennials struggle to find and maintain employment has not. According to recent numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment among Millennials (ages 18-29) was nearly double the national unemployment rate in January 2013, having risen faster than any other demographic.

Some of this can be blamed on a still-recovering job market, but the persistent nature of under- and unemployment among millennials suggests that this demographic lacks some skill necessary to obtain employment.

In the 1990s, the U.S. department of labor conducted a survey examining what companies want from their employees. The report identified five critical workplace competencies:

1) Locating and allocating resources

2) Acquiring and interpreting information

3) Understanding complex systems

4) Technological literacy

5) Interpersonal skills

When it comes to the first four requirements, today’s young employees are quite advanced relative to their older peers at that age. Millennials came up in the age of the Internet search, social media and crowdsourcing, and are adept at searching for, finding, and synthesizing information. And as far as technological literacy, the Pew Research Center called them digital natives in a landscape of immigrants. However, the fifth competency, interpersonal skills, is where many young employees fall short. And that’s a big problem.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - the ability to identify, process, and manage one’s own and others’ emotions – is an essential part of building and maintaining positive, productive relationships, which is an essential skill in most jobs. Interested to know more about how we measure and improve individuals’ EQ? Check out our complimentary eBook here.

Can’t We All Just Get Along? (Iliad Series Part II)

Natalie O'Neal — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:25:00 GMT

Is it possible to know how two people will interact with each other based solely on their personality? In the article “Homer and Big 5,” Rastislav Duriš, an HR consultant, and Matus Porubjak, a philosophy professor, analyzed the personality profiles of the two heroes – Achilles and Agamemnon – from the first song of Homer’s Iliad to find out whether the two Greeks were predisposed for mutual conflict.

The authors considered both characters’ potential for behavioral conflict and value conflict. When looking at Achilles and Agamemnon’s Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and Hogan Development Survey (HDS) profiles, Duriš and Porubjak found that both men were very goal-oriented, competitive and ambitious. They were also self-critical, dissatisfied, sensitive to threats, and communicated in a straightforward manner without the tendency to build or maintain relationships with others.

Duriš and Porubjak predicted the possibility of conflict between the warrior and his king. For example, lower to average Prudence in both heroes indicates that they may attempt to use non-standard means in order to achieve goals or break rules. In some situations, Achilles as well as Agamemnon will be short-tempered and hot-headed, which will add an element of unpredictability as well as strong emotional and black-and-white perception to their interactions (e.g. mutual denigration). Achilles will only minimally respect the authority of Agamemnon and will be quite independent. On the other hand, if confronted, Agamemnon may perceive Achilles’ actions as especially negative, hostile, threatening or deceitful. While under stress, he may even attack Achilles by means of non-critical self-confirmation and misinterpretation or fabulation of events.

Duriš and Porubjak also found that the two also had potential towards mutual antipathy due to differing motivations. By analyzing their Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) profiles, they found that, while Achilles is interested in the prosperity of a wider community and welfare of others in general, Agamemnon is a relationship pragmatist and materialist who is predominantly interested in his own agenda.

While Agamemnon probably won’t get the world’s best boss award, his management of Achilles fails disastrously due to their conflicting personalities and motivations. And to think, all of this might have been avoided had the two been self-aware of their differences and motivational tendencies beforehand.

Introducing the Hogan EQ Report

Hogan News — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:57:00 GMT

Introducing the Hogan EQ Report. EQ, the ability to identify and manage your own and others’ emotions, determines success in nearly every job. Those who lack the ability to build effective relationships are destined to fail – no matter how smart they are. The Hogan EQ Report provides organizations with a scientifically validated tool to measure emotional intelligence.

Want to know more? Check out our ebook, Want a Better Job? Learn to Control Your Emotions.

Field Guide to SIOP II

Blaine Gaddis — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:36:00 GMT

The original Field Guide to SIOP blog post was a hit so I've added a few additional species you may encounter at SIOP this year. Please enjoy this second installment.

The Supermarket Sampler – Often confused with The Tourist, this similar species can be found in the exhibitor’s hall which it calls home. However, The Supermarket Sampler stalks the space in search of edible treats and may make repeated trips through favored booths, attempting to pass off such trips as their first.
The Eager Seeker – This adorable and younger form of The Card Dealer eagerly and broadly distributes his/her resume or CV to anyone wearing a SIOP name badge. This species is most typically observed at the placement center, but may also be found in search of opportunities in the exhibitor’s hall. In some cases, The Eager Seeker may have its own business cards printed to mimic the more-experienced Card Dealer.
The One-Upper – The easiest way to identify the One-Upper is to tell a story around them. Whatever the story, chances are they can quickly follow it with a similar story of higher achievement. If you published on a topic last year, chances are they will remind you that they published on the same topic in a better journal three years ago.
The Stalker – If you’re a SIOP fellow, you’ve probably encountered The Stalker. This species is typically seen waiting after sessions have ended or nervously pacing by the fringes of booths to meet the big names in the field. The Stalker may have an idea to offer, or may just want to meet the face behind the name. If you find yourself cornered by the Stalker, offer them your autograph – they may faint.
The “We Should Collaborate” – Like the casual acquaintance who suggests getting together more often after a few drinks, this creature makes plans with colleagues every year to collaborate on research for journal publication or future conferences. This creature is the Publisher’s Clearing House of the SIOP kingdom, so don’t plan on them actually following up on such offers.
The Sales Robot – Found in exhibitor’s hall and various parties, receptions, restaurants, and bars, the sales robot is a particularly aggressive creature. This species holds the notion that SIOP is the perfect opportunity to pitch their latest you’ve-got-to-hear-me-out-on-this, don’t-miss-this-opportunity product or service. You can identify them by their trouble with the words “no thanks."
The Spy – To The Spy, SIOP is an opportunity for covert intelligence operations on competitors. This sly creature may obscure his/her professional affiliation in an attempt to gain access to sensitive information they can later use as a competitive advantage against others. The Spy is often observed in the exhibitor’s hall, where they may attempt to find information before and/or after hours.
The Substitute – This species can be found in conference poster sessions and symposia, where they typically present research conducted primarily by other more senior professionals. Many members of this species are younger graduate students presenting research on which they collaborated with advisors, but this creature may sometimes endure into professional careers.
The Are-You-at-the-Right-Conference? – A rare find at SIOP, but not entirely unknown. With no apparent connection to the I-O community (or perhaps psychology as a whole), this species attends the conference but may appear lost or unfamiliar with their surroundings. This creature is easy to spot due to a lack of familiarity with even basic I-O concepts.

Armed with the full Field Guide to SIOP, we hope you enjoy the SIOP Conference this year. See you in Houston!

6 Advantages of Hogan’s Certification Program

Hogan News — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:30:00 GMT

1. Quality. Hogan’s assessments are based in decades of scientific theory and research. The Hogan Assessment Certification Workshop covers two days of intensive education and training designed to help users understand the science behind our products and how it affects their outcomes.

2. Consistency. Hogan provides assessments in more than 40 countries and languages. But no matter where our users are, our standardized training materials and curriculum guarantee they receive the same quality experience our clients have come to expect.

“We have been conducting Hogan workshops in Australia for the local market and on behalf of our global Hogan Partners for last 10 years,” said Shayne Nealon, managing partner at Australian firm Peter Berry Consultancy. “Our clients appreciate the consistency that applies with Hogan and the ability to offer a consistent global accreditation solution and ongoing support.”

3. Hands-on learning. The best way to learn is by doing. At Hogan’s workshops, participants analyze and interpret assessment results and give comprehensive feedback on our three flagship assessments, the HPI, HDS, and MVPI in both an individual and group setting.

Here’s what participants are saying:

“Great program, well structured, and excellent opportunity to practice case studies.”

“The content of the workshop
was right on point with giving
us the skills to be able to interpret and provide feedback to our customer's on their assessment. I learned a lot from my fellow participants and will stay in touch with many of them in the future.”

“I learned techniques that I will immediately apply to my report analysis and feedback sessions.”

4. Advanced interpretation. Understanding how an individual’s scores impact, buffer, and nuance each other is an essential foundation for development planning, executive coaching, and working with high potential employees.

“One of Hogan’s principal advantages, particularly for development, relies on feedback being administered right,” said Rahul Baswani, managing partner at Sierra Alta Consulting.

5. Validity. We go to extraordinary lengths to ensure our products work. By ensuring Hogan users are qualified and properly trained to use our products, we ensure the best possible outcomes at their respective companies. Proper training is also important to ensure that our assessments are legally defensible. In our 25 years in business, our assessment solutions have never been legally challenged.

6. Support. When Hogan was founded in 1987, it was a four-person test publisher in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We built our reputation based on two things: an outstanding product and an unparalleled level of customer support. Today, our global network of consultants, partners, and distributors carries on this legacy.

It’s All Greek To Me (Iliad Series Part I)

Natalie O'Neal — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:03:00 GMT

Ever wonder how your personality assessment results compare to well-known figures in history? What about ancient Greek heroes? In their article “Homer and Big 5,” Rastislav Duriš, an HR consultant, and Matus Porubjak, a philosophy professor, explore the socio-psychological aspects of Homer’s famous war epic, the Iliad, by putting the head-butting heroes, Achilles and Agamemnon, to the Hogan test.

Hellenic thinkers and orators, like Homer, dealt with subjects of the human condition and broached many topics which subsequently manifested as modern-day psychology. Ancient Greece is the cradle of one of the earliest personality typologies – Hippocrates’ division of people into sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic types. Although personality research has advanced since then, it is illuminating (not to mention fun) to retrospectively apply it to ancient Greek history. By applying current psychological models of personality to a close reading of the first song of the Iliad, uriš and Porubjak were able to make assumptions based on content analysis about the Greek heroes’ inner motivators and derailers.

When analyzed using the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) scales, Achilles, the Achaean warrior who flew off the handle and dragged his Trojan opponent’s lifeless body around for days after his best friend was killed in battle, is (not surprisingly) high on the Excitable scale. His moodiness and irritability are coupled with a low Adjustment score on the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) to make one pretty emotionally volatile and unpredictable Greek guy. High scores in Ambition (HPI) and Tradition also explain his competitive nature and intense loyalty to his friend’s memory.

Agamemnon, the Achaean king who stole the Trojan king’s daughter only to give her back and then steal Achilles’ girlfriend, has scores similar to those of Achilles. Add in low Prudence (HPI) and high Bold (HDS) scores and you’ve got a stubborn king who thinks he’s the bee’s knees. His values? Power and Recognition. All this coupled with high Skeptical and Mischievous scores (HDS) creates the potential for a power hungry, mistrusting ruler who would quickly kick his army to the curb and flee the scene as soon as the going got tough – which he almost did (a couple of times).

Field Guide to SIOP

Blaine Gaddis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:14:00 GMT

It’s April again, which means three things – taxes are due, my March madness bracket is hanging by a thread, and SIOP season is here! Every year, I look forward to SIOP for the opportunity to present recent Hogan research, the chance to attend sessions and learn about other advances in the I-O community, and the informal reunions with friends and colleagues. More than anything, however, I look forward to people watching at SIOP. There are certain types of people you can find in the exhibitor’s hall or attending sessions, but to date no attempt has been made to catalog these species. So, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, we provide the first ever field guide to people watching at SIOP.

The Tourist – Frequently seen in its natural habitat of the exhibitor’s hall, this creature wanders the booths with the sole purpose of gathering souvenirs from as many vendors as possible. This species is often noted for having a SIOP conference bag or other tote stuffed with its various finds.
The Loiterer – These curious squatters can be found in the exhibitor’s hall looking for available seating inside vendors’ booths. Confusing these seats for common hotel meeting areas, The Loiterer takes up indefinite residence without even attempting to engage vendors in conversation. They may catch up on emails, chat with colleagues, interview job candidates, or even nap, but make no mistake about it – these uninvited guests are hanging out until they’re good and ready to leave.
The Party Crasher – This nocturnal species is seen from the late afternoons through the very late nights. Lacking proper invitations to popular parties and receptions, they attempt to gain access by identifying invited guests they know, entering with groups of invited guests, or finding unguarded entries.
The Rager – Although long removed from graduate school, The Rager attempts to relive glory days and party like it's 1999. They may not actually attend conference sessions to learn, but can frequently be seen starting after lunch. Although The Rager and The Party Crasher are easy to confuse, telltale markers of Ragers are bloodshot eyes, complaints of headaches or lack of memory, and wearing the previous day’s clothes.
The Bro – These younger males often confuse SIOP with spring break and are relatively unconcerned with learning and developing their professional network. Known for their overly casual appearance, tight shirts, flip-flops, and indoor use of sunglasses, this creature wants everyone at SIOP to know just how cool they really are.
The Party Girl – The female counterpart to The Bro is The Party Girl. Scientists suspect that this species may also confuse SIOP for spring break as evidenced by a manner of appearance more typically seen in bars or dance clubs than professional conferences. Because of their striking appearance, The Party Girl is frequently surrounded by many Bros.
The Card Dealer – This creature just had 500 business cards printed, and between Thursday and Sunday will hand ALL of them out. They give out cards to former colleagues, eager students, presenters, waiters, bartenders, the maid, and drop them in containers for every drawing and contest they see.
The Lifelong Learner – This species is known for an overly serious approach. They attend all advanced workshops and CE courses, and their program may be torn and tattered from overuse.
The Contrarian – This curious creature attends many sessions at SIOP, but with the sole purpose of arguing against the topics discussed. This species mourns the loss of debate sessions at the conference, and may attempt to revive them informally by frequently arguing against ideas and those offering them.
The Human Acronym – This species is observed across herds of academics and practitioners. They may be known as Professor Dr. John/Jane Doe, Ph.D., or may hand you a business card that reads John/Jane Doe, M.S., MBA, PHR, ABD, BA. The Human Acronym frequently lists all their achievements since high school in an attempt to wow fellow SIOP attendees.

We hope this Field Guide helps you prepare for the conference jungle and all the creatures you may encounter there. The Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology is a phenomenal organization and Hogan is proud to sponsor the conference each year. We're looking forward to seeing you in Houston!

The Leadership Potential Report by Denison Consulting and Hogan

Hogan News — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:35:00 GMT

Developed in partnership by Denison Consulting and Hogan, the Denison Leadership Potential Report (DLPR) is a new product that provides a statistically valid prediction of leadership potential. This is accomplished by aligning an individual’s inherent leader attributes—as measured by Hogan assessment tools—to the twelve leadership competencies defined by the Denison Leadershhip Development Model.

The DLPR is generated from responses to the Hogan Personality Inventory, the Hogan Development Survey, and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory and depicts an individual’s potential to exhibit each of the twelve Denison leadership competencies based on his/her personality and values. Competencies are scored as either excellent, high, moderate or low potential and are grouped into the four traits of the Denison Model.

Clear As Mud

Morgan Meister — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:58:00 GMT

Effective communication lies at the heart of every successful organization. During an age characterized by hyper-connectivity, you would think that communication in the workplace would be clearer than ever. The truth is, the very concept of simple, effective communication is a dying art increasingly compromised by shallow buzzwords and one dimensional corporate speak.

Have you ever walked out of a meeting and asked yourself, “What exactly did we just spend 45 minutes discussing?” If you answered “yes,", you’re definitely not alone. Long winded diatribes, vague descriptions, and the inability to communicate a desired message effectively happens all too often within the workplace.

To put things into perspective, have you had an opportunity to “shift a paradigm” or “look for synergies” to “advance the cause” lately? Or have you successfully “peeled back the onion” or “circled the wagons” to “integrate value added processes” for a new client? I can’t say that I’ve participated in any of these metaphorical tasks or if I even fully comprehend what they mean. However, I can assure you that upon hearing these euphemisms, I’ve engaged in the following familiar action items: “zoning out,” “falling asleep at the wheel,” or “taking a mental vacation.”

The problem of talking without saying anything of substance has become rampant in recent years. Forbes recently published an article satirizing some of the most over-used and despised buzzwords prevalent in our everyday corporate lives. In the spirit of March Madness, they were creative enough to put the terms in an easy to follow bracket format with witty, comical definitions. Here are a few more of my favorites referenced in a similar article published by hr-heaven:

As you are aware	I’m patronizing you by insinuating that you don’t know what I’m talking about by reminding you what I’m talking about.
Break through the clutter	Can you cut through the BS and get to the point?
Dive deep	Passive/aggressive suggestion directed to others to let them know they didn’t do enough research.
Globalization	We’re going to try to sell our stuff to the world, but “export” doesn’t sound sexy enough
Take it offline	Could you just shut up in front of all these people
Go back to square one	Let’s start over – what we’ve got so far could be produced by Kindergartners.

Humor aside, managers are constantly looking for more effective ways to connect with their workforce. At the end of the day, it’s not just the most qualified or intelligent managers that set themselves apart, but also those managers who are able to articulate their message in a concise and actionable fashion that see results. With that in mind, the next time you sit across from a client or have an opportunity to take the lead on a project, set clear expectations and be transparent…unless you want to muddy the waters with a bunch of incoherent babble.

Hogan to Present at the 28th Annual SIOP Conference

Hogan News — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:23:00 GMT

If you're attending the 28th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in April, check out some of our esteemed Hogan colleagues as they present our latest research.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11

International Perspectives on Combining Personality and Multirater Feedback Data
Many organizations include personality assessments and multirater feedback instruments in selection batteries or development initiatives, but they rarely combine these sources of information to maximize developmental outcomes that mutually benefit individuals and the organization. Participants will share international perspectives on combining these sources of information and the ROI of doing so.
Blaine Gaddis

Comparability of Scores: Equivalence Issues in Testing Across Countries
This study considers approaches to a range of issues relating to score comparability in multinational testing. These range from use of DIF and generalizability theory through applications of SEM to more general considerations of the impact of cultural differences on attitudes to testing.
Kevin Meyer, Jeff Foster

Job Analytic Comparisons of Competency Requirements in Global Managerial Jobs
Existing research has examined similarities and differences in global leader behavior. However, these initiatives focus on the individual as their unit of analysis. This research uses jobs as the unit of analysis, analyzing archival job data to examine similarities and differences in competencies required for managerial jobs around the world.
Dara Pickering, Blaine Gaddis

Identifying Critical Job Family Competencies: Within and Across Job Families
This study used data-driven best practices to identify the most critical competencies for 4 job families: service and support; professionals, operations, and trades; and technicians and specialists. Although subject matter experts rated 4 competencies as critical across the 3 job families, other competencies were unique to each job family.
Ashley Palmer, Steve Nichols

A Sticky Topic: Using Personality Tests in Selection Settings
Industry remains hesitant to utilize personality tests in applicant screening due to low criterion validity in predicting job performance. An expert panel is consulted on the use of personality tests in selection settings toward improving criterion validity and offers recommendations promoting the use of personality data in selection.
Kevin Meyer

The Role of Theory in Advancing Personality Assessment at Work
Toward making innovations “stick,” 4 leading personality researchers discuss the role of theory in advancing personality test use in work settings. Key issues include why theory is especially important in this area, which theoretical principles are important, hurdles blocking utilization of theory, and the future of personality assessment at work.
Robert Hogan

FRIDAY, APRIL 12

Leadership Assessment: Contemporary Issues and Challenges in Demonstrating Value
Identifying and developing leadership talent continues to be a key concern for organizations. Recent advances in technology and research have spurred the development of automated assessments and models to leverage data, making leadership assessment more accessible and affordable. This session explores opportunities to demonstrate the value of assessment to organizations.
Ryan Ross

Why Is the Leadership Development Industry Failing?
Since 1995, leadership development has grown 30% into a $12B industry in the U.S. In the same time, public confidence in leadership has declined 30%, and most corporations report lacking adequate leadership capacity. This session discusses why the leadership industry seems to be failing and what to do about it.
Robert Hogan

Industry Differences: Mine Is Unique…Right?
Organizations believe important differences between industries exist and request industry-specific comparisons. This symposium will explore the size of differences in personality traits, values, competencies, and attitudes between industries. Job function and managerial level differences are also presented. Implications, including those for selection and development, are discussed.
Steve Nichols, Jeff Foster

Advances in the Use of Personality to Predict Workplace Criteria
Although research relating personality to work outcomes has progressed, more is needed to refine the criteria that are predicted by different traits and relevant boundary conditions involved. This session presents 4 papers that approach the issue of what is understood about using personality tests to predict criteria from different perspectives.
Ashley Palmer

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

Linking Personality and 360 Assessments to Coach and Develop Leaders
This session examines the combination of personality and 360 (multirater) assessment for the development of leaders. Two empirical studies demonstrate how coaching insights are produced by the convergence of the 2 types of assessments. In addition, 2 large-scale organizational case studies demonstrate the application and practical utility of the approach.
Rodney Warrenfeltz

Destructive Leadership: A Holistic View for Minimizing its Toxic Influence
This session focuses on consolidating current research on destructive leadership to support a more comprehensive definition. It emphasizes the importance of considering leaders, followers, and the environment in the destructive leadership process. Moreover, it examines this process in a specific context to gain insight into preventing destructive leadership in organizations.
Robert Hogan

MVPI Item Themes

Hogan News — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:24:00 GMT

The Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory identifies the core goals, drivers, and interests that determine what gets people to the office each day. The MVPI consists of 10 primary scales, which are further divided into five item themes. The MVPI item themes provide additional interpretive power by categorizing participants’ responses to the questions that compose each MVPI scale.

MVPI Item Themes:

Lifestyles - The manner in which a person would like to live
Beliefs - “Shoulds”, ideals, and ultimate life goals
Occupational Preferences - The work an individual would like to do, what constitutes a good job, and preferred work materials
Aversions - Reflects attitudes and behaviors that are either disliked or distressing
Preferred Associates - The kind of people desired as coworkers and friends