As the second-largest economy in Africa, South Africa plays a critical role in the region’s business landscape. The country has a diverse and well-developed economy, with key industries spanning mining, financial services, manufacturing, and technology. It is home to major multinational corporations such as Naspers (a global internet and media giant), Sasol (a leading energy and chemicals company), and Standard Bank (one of Africa’s largest financial institutions). Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub, serves as a major gateway for business in Africa, while Cape Town has emerged as a growing center for innovation and entrepreneurship. Given that leaders play a pivotal role in organizational success, analyzing how South African leaders build relationships, drive results, and find motivation helps uncover key insights into the leadership culture shaping South Africa’s institutions and businesses.
At Hogan Assessments, our benchmark data of more than 350 South African executives provide a snapshot of South Africa’s leadership trends. We collaborated with JVR, an authorized Hogan distributor in South Africa, for deeper insights into the leadership trends of the market. Understanding these personality trends is important because leaders determine the success of their organizations. By exploring how South African leaders navigate the realms of ambition, social cohesion, and personal fulfillment, we aim to uncover invaluable insights into the country’s evolving business landscape.
What Do South African Leaders Want?
Hogan’s Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) measures the core goals, values, drivers, and interests that determine what people desire and strive to attain.
Commerce
Executive leaders in South Africa have a clear motivator: Commerce, which concerns earning a profit. Compared to the global benchmark of executives, these leaders score 12 percentile points higher on this scale. Those who score high on Commerce value commercial activities and realizing a profit, and they orient their life around financial planning and opportunities. Likely, those around them perceive them as ambitious, active, and energetic. Additionally, they can come across to others as hardworking, planful, and practical, with a keen eye for spotting business opportunities. These individuals seriously view and value income as a form of self-evaluation, and they care deeply about financial and material success. For South African leaders, work environments and job opportunities that provide opportunities for making money will be most desirable. These leaders may create team and organizational cultures that promote results and profitability over employee well-being. They may also have an unconscious bias against those who prefer fun, ideas, or relationships over profitability.
Tradition
South African executives’ second highest motivator is Tradition, which refers to valuing established principles of conduct. In fact, these leaders score eight percentile points higher on this scale than the global benchmark of executives. Leaders who score high on Tradition tend to value history and conventions, and they have high, if not exacting, standards of appropriate behavior for themselves and their staff. They may come across to others in the organization as mature, commonsensical, and conservative. These leaders value rules and standards, and they care deeply about maintaining traditions and customs. As leaders, they are likely to create more formal cultures for their teams and organizations. They may have an unconscious bias against those who desire experimentation and change. For South African leaders, work environments that are stable and predictable would likely be preferred.
Affiliation
On the other hand, South African leaders’ lowest scoring value is Affiliation, which measures preferences for social contact and working with others. South African executives score 12 percentile points lower than the global benchmark of executives. Leaders who score low on Affiliation prefer working alone, and they value their private time. They may come across as self-restrained and generally unaffected by and unconcerned with others in their workplace, which may appear to be a lack of care about employees. South African leaders may be more comfortable with work environments where there is less social interaction and need for social approval, and these leaders may inadvertently work against opportunities for collaboration and creating organizational camaraderie. Combined with a strong focus on making money and a low value on connecting with others, these leaders could come across as overly task focused and uninterested in prioritizing employee morale or social approval.
According to experts at JVR, South African executives’ lower desire for frequent and varied social interaction may pose a challenge when it comes to training successors. Mentoring others and embracing new or adapted ways of doing business may not come naturally to this group. However, being aware of this tendency can help inform the design of targeted mentoring and leadership development initiatives. Since these behaviors may not emerge instinctively, intentional opportunities for connection and mentorship could become important focus areas in executive coaching and in developmental interventions aimed at preparing the next generation of business leaders.
How Will South African Leaders Get What They Want?
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) measures how we relate to others when we are at our best. It provides valuable insight into how people work, how they lead, and how they achieve success.
Ambition
South African executives’ highest personality strength is Ambition, scoring five percentile points above the global benchmark of executives. Leaders who score high on Ambition appear self-confident and competitive. They’re focused on driving results in their team and achieving successful outcomes for themselves, their teams, and their organizations. These leaders will quickly take the initiative, raise their hand to tackle a new project, and persist until the work is completed. They take on challenges with self-confidence and set audacious goals. However, because these leaders desire to advance, they may compete with or even intimidate peers and subordinates. Additionally, they may be less inclined to listen to employees or include feedback from others, thinking they already have the right answers.
Learning Approach
South African leaders’ second highest scoring scale is Learning Approach, and they score three percentile points higher than the global benchmark of executives. Learning Approach deals with staying current in business and technical matters and the overall enjoyment of traditional learning. Leaders who score high on Learning Approach tend to value education and learning as an end to itself. They enjoy remaining updated both in their field and on diverse topics, and they genuinely like connecting the dots between seemly unrelated ideas.
According to JVR, their recent research findings corroborate these strengths. JVR investigated 34 South African executive leaders’ work performance data along with their Hogan Assessment results. The study supported the above findings in that executives who took on new challenges with confidence were more likely to outperform others. Furthermore, these leaders demonstrated greater resilience when dealing with uncertainty. Additionally, leaders who value continuous learning and staying up to date were more likely to voluntarily take on tasks outside of their formal responsibilities, particularly those that benefit the broader team.
In considering South African leaders’ motivations and behavioral strengths, their drive and leaderlike behavior can fuel their desire for business success, and their self-confidence propels them to new organizational heights and successes. Additionally, these leaders’ interests in diverse concepts and the newest trends help them to stay up to date with the latest market trends. Their combination of being competitive and well-informed may come across to their peers and subordinates as self-important or pretentious.
What Will Get in South African Leaders’ Way?
The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) measures overused strengths that emerge in times of increased strain, pressure, or boredom. If not managed, these qualities can damage one’s reputation and relationships, derailing one’s career and success.
Imaginative
South African leaders’ highest scoring derailer is Imaginative at five percentile points higher than the global benchmark of executives. This scale relates to coming across as eccentric, impractical, and lacking focus in times of stress, pressure, or boredom. Leaders who score high on Imaginative tend to be perceived as unconventional and unpredictable. These leaders believe their own opinions matter the most, and they take great pride in their experimental thinking and novel ideas. However, leaders with this derailer may be easily distracted, such as moving from idea to idea, and lack follow-through to drive change in the organization. Additionally, lapses in judgment can compromise these leaders’ credibility. The employees on their teams may find them hard to work with due to eccentricity and attention seeking.
JVR experts shared additional insights into the executives’ higher Imaginative and lower Affiliation scores. According to local experts, these leaders should keep this common saying in mind: “He who thinks he is leading without anybody following is merely taking a walk.” This high Imaginative finding was also supported by the performance study conducted by JVR, in which executives who scored higher on Imaginative struggled to meet the standards required by their job as leaders, according to their superiors.
Diligent
Compared to the global benchmark of executives, South African leaders score high on Diligent, engaging in micromanaging, perfectionism, and nit-picking in times of stress or pressure. In fact, South African leaders score nine percentile points higher than other executives globally. These leaders likely maintain stringent standards for themselves and their teams when it comes to conduct and performance. They may even take pride in their strong attention to detail and conscientiousness. However, for these leaders, everything is a priority, which means nothing is a priority. They may have a difficult time delegating to their subordinates, which can create extra pressure for themselves and their staff. Their subordinates may find them difficult to work with due to their tendency to be critical, demanding, and controlling.
Dutiful
On the low side of the HDS, South African leaders score lowest on Dutiful, or being overeager to be pleasing and differential. In fact, these leaders score seven percentile points lower than the global benchmark of executives. Leaders who score low-risk or no-risk on HDS Dutiful tend to be independent, self-reliant, and tough minded. Alongside their high Tradition and low Affiliation, while they’re willing to support their employees, South African leaders prefer team environments that clearly define purposes for the team engagement and collaboration.
While the overall sample of South African executives showed low scores on Dutiful, JVR’s research adds an interesting layer to the story. Within the subset of 34 leaders who received performance ratings, those who were more eager to please and deferential, or those who were high Dutiful, were more likely to outperform others effectively and efficiently achieving their core tasks, according to their superiors. Broadly, South African leaders may not have the tendency to be pleasing and deferential, but those who do are rated as outperforming peers—at least when rated by their leader.
What Can We Learn from South African Leaders’ Personality Data?
South African executives are driven by a strong focus on financial success (high MVPI Commerce) and adherence to tradition (high MVPI Tradition), while placing less emphasis on social connection (low MVPI Affiliation). Their leadership style is marked by high ambition and a proactive, results-oriented approach (high HPI Ambition), together with a strong inclination toward continuous learning (high HPI Learning Approach. However, their tendency to be unconventional and unpredictable under stress (high HDS Imaginative), combined with independence and self-reliance (low HDS Dutiful), may present challenges in leadership effectiveness. While their confidence and drive push them toward business success, they may need to balance their strong task focus with a more inclusive and adaptable leadership style to foster long-term organizational growth and collaboration, especially considering succession planning.
Many thanks to our colleagues at JVR for sharing their insights on South African leaders’ personality trends and performance.
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