Use the Hogan Personality Assessment to Turn Information into Intelligence

By Jim Moody

You don’t possess all the skills necessary to lead a business. And neither does anyone else.?

How can I be certain? Personality encompasses everything, and there’s no such thing as a perfect personality. Sure, there are personality types better suited to lead a business, but even those folks can run a business off a cliff if they don’t have others around them to shore up the areas in which their personality makes them less than ideal.

Many would agree that top CEOs often possess a blend of imagination, charisma, sociability, and daring. However, these traits can also manifest in challenging behaviors. Such a personality profile may involve incessantly generating ideas, which can overwhelm subordinates. They may talk extensively but listen less, projecting an aura of arrogance. Attention to detail might not be their forte. They're like the majestic horse leading the parade, but without someone following with a bucket, chaos can ensue.

Understanding the concept that every personality comes with elements that serve the person well and elements that can derail them is an important part of emotional intelligence. From that, we also need to understand that personality plays a huge role in “fit” – does the person’s personality set them up for success in the role they are supposed to fill in the business, and do the person’s motives, values, and preferences line up with the company’s?

The Role of Personality Assessments in Business

For decades, companies have relied on personality assessments to inform their?hiring decision that consider these concepts into account. Numerous assessments exist, each rooted in scientific backing and offering unique perspectives. Ironically, the most widely known, Myers-Briggs, is often deemed the least reliable by top experts. Despite many of us sharing our Myers-Briggs types (I’m usually ENTJ), experts caution that repeated surveys can yield inconsistent results.?

At Misura Group, we favor the Hogan Personality Assessment. We think it uniquely provides information suited to assist with hiring decisions and with team building.

How the Hogan Personality Assessment Works

The Hogan focuses not on how we see ourselves but how others in the workplace perceive us. It provides results similar to a 360-degree review without the messiness that comes when people get overly defensive from feedback meant to be constructive. When we receive constructive feedback through a 360 evaluation, our initial reaction is often to speculate about the source of the comment.?We may dismiss it based on past conflicts or other biases, thus missing out on potentially valuable insights for enhancing our professional?selves.

The Hogan looks at how we are perceived when we are comfortable and able to be ourselves. It also looks at how we are perceived when we are stressed or triggered: What elements of our personality serve us well in moderate doses, but when we get stressed do we over-leverage them and tend to shoot ourselves in the foot? Finally, it looks at our values and preferences to help us understand the work environment that suits us best.

Turning Information into Intelligence

Hogan assessments offer businesses multiple benefits. While understanding your personality type is intriguing, companies often struggle to translate this information into actionable insights. Merely conducting Hogan assessments without a clear purpose isn’t our approach. Instead, we aim to leverage them to aid companies and individuals in making informed decisions, enhancing teamwork, and mastering emotional management skills crucial for navigating workplace challenges. Here’s how we achieve that:?

• Hiring decisions. We work with employers to understand what personality characteristics work best for the role to be filled. You don’t hire a sales personality to work in accounting and vice versa. We also seek a deep understanding of the culture of the company.?Then we ask finalists to complete the Hogan so we can see where they line up to the ideal.
• Onboarding. Even in companies that frequently use personality assessments in hiring, there is often a missed opportunity to share that information with the new hire. We like to do a deep debrief with the new hire and then follow that with four coaching sessions over the course of four months to ensure that the person is thriving in their new environment. In our industry, we see companies that do a great job of hiring but then the person is basically left to fend for themselves. We can leverage the Hogan to help them work through any conflicts that begin to arise with co-workers and managers while also navigating the new culture.
• Team-building. Every personality type has others they get along with well and others they do not. Understanding this helps make conflict that otherwise seems very personal more of a conceptual thing. If I can understand that your personality drives me nuts, but it makes you well suited to do your job, I can begin to respect you and find ways to work together. Using the Hogan?demonstrates these concepts and helps teams realize they need multiple personalities to fill in the blind spots we all have as individuals.?

If you’d like to discuss ways?Misura Group can use the Hogan Personality Assessment to improve your hiring, onboarding and teaming, contact Jim Moody. Jim is a certified Hogan interpreter and can help you turn information into intelligence.

PS. Here’s a resource on why Hogan is good:

What Are the Hogan Assessments? How to Interpret the Results?

And why personality assessments in general are a good thing:

Personality Tests Can Help Balance a Team

Evolve Strategically,

Jim Moody?