You work with a leader who talks a lot—and loudly. They tell long, dramatic stories; their voice usually dominates meetings; and they’re attracted to workplace drama. It’s true that they are highly entertaining, but their constant attention-seeking behavior can be frustrating. Worse, they can become easily distracted and struggle to get anything done.
This behavior, which Hogan calls Colorful, can be both an asset and a liability. Leaders who seem talkative, drawn to drama, and entertaining can be excellent at engaging and influencing others. However, if taken too far, their approach can also make them appear boastful, distractible, and attention-seeking.
Signs of Attention-Seeking Behavior
The Hogan assessments measure three aspects of personality: the bright side (everyday personality), the dark side (potential derailers), and the inside (motives and values). The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) describes dark-side personality characteristics that can cause career derailment when unmanaged. The Colorful scale on the HDS concerns behaviors that range from self-restraint and blending in to self-display and standing out. Colorful is just one of the 11 derailers described by the HDS.
Using their dynamic social skill to win a room is a clear strength of a Colorful leader. But that strength can stop being an asset if overused during stress, boredom, or complacency. A leader with unchecked Colorful behavior can act like an outlandish showboat, such as fictional soap opera star and matriarch Moira Rose of Schitt’s Creek. Attention-seeking behavior can damage a leader’s reputation and hinder productivity. Thus, it’s beneficial for leaders to have strategic self-awareness to adapt or modify their attention-seeking behavior based on their context.
An Expert Perspective on Colorful Derailment
In this video, Erin Lazarus, MS, senior director of business development at Hogan Assessments, explains how Colorful behavior can impact leader effectiveness.
How Excessive Self-Display Disrupts Teams
Talking loudly, expressively, quickly, and assertively can be appropriate and effective. But a leader who habitually interrupts, repeats themselves, wastes time, and feeds off attention will eventually cause friction that doesn’t serve them or their team.
A leader who has high Colorful behavior may expect others to find their public performances fascinating. To win attention, they might adopt a noticeable style of fashion or body language. At work, their outgoing nature and social skills can make them seem easily distracted or in need of constant stimulation. They may miss or ignore signals that they should share attention with others. Without control over these tendencies, they will likely seem unfocused and busy without accomplishing tasks.
Managing Colorful Behavior
As a derailer, Colorful can be more complicated than it might seem. Higher Colorful people often mistake attention for validation. Their theatrical behavior can mask underlying insecurity and self-doubt. Identifying the underlying need can help with managing the behavior effectively. Using the stop-start-continue framework, a leader might stop reading silence as an invitation to keep talking, start identifying the triggers that turn this strength into a derailer, and continue using their social skill to engage and influence others.
A socially skilled leader always accounts for the audience. Colorful leaders should let others know that they tend to be talkative and sometimes take a while to make a point. They should be mindful about how often and how long they speak. Leaders who develop strategic self-awareness monitor their own performance and learn when to lean into their Colorful behavior and when to dial it back.
Expert Contributor
Erin Lazarus, MS, is a senior director of business development on the talent solutions team at Hogan Assessments.