This is the final installment of Hogan’s three-part blog series on selecting and developing artificial intelligence (AI) professionals. In the previous two installments, we discussed the demand for personality insights for artificial intelligence jobs, as well as using Hogan’s Artificial Intelligence Professionals personality profile for selection. In this final part, we will explain how to identify and develop AI professionals who have the potential to become organizational leaders.
Due to the high demand for artificial intelligence skills, organizations might not have a large talent pool from which to choose AI professionals. This may mean sacrificing some desirable aspects of performance, such as managerial potential. Plus, many of the characteristics that make someone a good AI professional won’t necessarily translate to leadership roles. For example, AI roles often involve working independently without needing to rely on a team. Individuals who thrive in independent environments have the potential to become managers who struggle to manage social behavior, communicate expectations, or spend time developing their team members. Fortunately, however, there are evidence-based strategies employers can use to identify and develop artificial intelligence professionals for leadership roles.
Hogan’s personality assessments can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each employee’s unique personality characteristics. Measuring day-to-day personality (with the Hogan Personality Inventory), potential derailers (with the Hogan Development Survey), and values (with the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory) can give employees a holistic view of their personalities and an understanding of how their strengths and weaknesses compare to others’. A disparity often exists between how we see ourselves (identity) and how others view us (reputation); Hogan measures reputation, which helps to reduce that disparity. Learning more about how others view our strengths and shortcomings can help us develop strategic self-awareness so we can capitalize on our strengths and start to develop our weaknesses, leading to stronger performance.
Many organizations rely on past performance data to promote employees. However, past performance is an imprecise predictor of future success when roles increase in scope, scale, and complexity. Good managers need to have highly developed interpersonal skills, which involves honest, open, and frequent communication with staff. The best leaders focus on developing others and building effective relationships that garner trust and draw out the best in the people they manage. Good managers should be able to move past their own egos and focus on building and developing high-performing teams. Organizations can use the Hogan assessments to provide opportunities for their employees to gain strategic self-awareness, orienting the organization’s development of current employees toward future opportunities.
Once employees are aware of their reputations, they can begin working on specific behaviors that impact them. As the organization supports their development journey, feedback should be provided to these employees to help inform their efforts and help them understand how to adjust their goals over time. To develop AI professionals for leadership roles, the organization may need to provide additional support, coaching, and structure to help them develop interpersonal skills that might not come naturally.
Organizations can continue to use the results of the Hogan assessments to engage and develop employees throughout their careers and to improve the health of their talent pipeline. If development efforts are only reserved for the highest potentials, organizations might miss out on a larger, more diverse group of talent. If organizations decide on high-potential talent without assessments, effective employees may be overlooked in favor of those who are overtly political but maybe not as effective. Not to mention, waiting to develop talent until they reach the highest levels creates the risk of small problems that could be easily addressed earlier on in an employee’s career becoming bigger issues as stress and pressure increase with job level. By investing in development earlier in the employee life cycle, organizations can strengthen their future pipeline. Change takes time, and the earlier you develop employees, the more practice they will have in developing the skills and coping methods to improve performance based on their strengths, weaknesses, and values.
Employees also see development as a top reason to remain with organizations, so investing in development both prepares future leaders and improves retention among high-value employees. This is especially important for companies hiring for jobs that are in high demand, such as AI jobs. Being able to retain employees in these types of jobs will provide organizations with a competitive advantage and help them save money and become more successful.
Hogan can provide a variety of personality- and competency-based reporting options to help organizations evaluate candidates and improve their assessment processes. To learn more about the Hogan Artificial Intelligence Professional profile, contact your local Hogan distributor or email info@hoganassessments.com.