CEO X 1 Day

What if you had been the head of a company your junior or senior year of college? Do you think it would have changed your career trajectory or given you more insight into leadership? That’s the idea behind Odgers Berndtson’s CEO X 1 Day. This month, the leading global executive Canadian search firm launched its program that places third and fourth year university students in the shoes of CEOs at leading Canadian organizations for one day. By shadowing some of the biggest decision makers in Canada, CEO X 1 Day gives students “a tremendous opportunity to observe a talented CEO in action - providing them with inspiration, role modeling and a road map for their careers," said Carl Lovas, Canadian Chair at Odgers Berndtson, in a recent press release. It is “designed to uncover Canada's most promising future talent, while giving CEOs an opportunity to connect and better understand what drives this next generation of leaders,” he continued.As part of the application process, applicants are given the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and the Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) to assess their leadership aptitude. Characteristics factored into this aptitude include confidence, ambition, effective stress management, political savvy, values and the ability to develop new skills – all characteristics of a successful senior leader. Throughout their one day, finalists will spend valuable one-on-one time with CEOs learning about their background, career path, and how they create value in their organization. The objective is to create a meaningful experience for both students – who will learn what it takes to be the leader – and CEOs – who will benefit from the students’ nubile and fresh perspectives as well as get a glimpse of Canada’s next generation’s up and comers.Participating Canadian CEOs include: Elyse Allan, GE; Nitin Kawale, Cisco; Jim Gabel, adidas; Patrick Nangle, Purolator; Ellis Jacob, Cineplex; Ian Troop, Toronto 2015 Pan Am; Kirstine Stewart, Twitter; Marc Bertrand, MEGA Brands; Manon Brouillette, Videotron; Yannis Mallat, Ubisoft; and Thierry Vandal, Hydro Quebec. Performance Programs Inc., a Hogan partner, is working in conjunction with Odgers Berndtson during the applicants’ selection process.

Do You Know the Real You?

  For most people, there is a vast disparity between identity (how you see yourself) and reputation (how others see you). This disparity causes them to overestimate their strengths, ignore feedback, deny their shortcomings, and, ultimately, damage their reputations. Read More »

Hogan Represents at TED@NYC

Ideas worth spreading. TED’s tagline has been sending thrill-chills down the spines of knowledge-hungry dilettantes and the curious erudite alike. TED, one of the most well-established non-profit organizations that pedestals the pursuit of knowledge, showcases some of the greatest minds in the Technology, Entertainment, and Design sectors. In one short, neatly packaged talk, presenters share their current and sometimes futuristic perspectives on fascinating and ground-breaking ideas. Topics have ranged from enlightening Americans on the origin of General Tso’s chicken to proposing a self-repairing underwater architecture to keep Venice from turning into an Atlantis, and featured speakers from Malcolm Gladwell to Bill Gates.

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Reflect Named a Top HR Product of the Year

Reflect™ by GMAC, Powered by Hogan, a self-assessment and development tool that evaluates personal and professional soft skills imperative in today's workplace, was named a Top HR Product of 2013 by Human Resource Executive® magazine. GMAC and Hogan were honored with this distinction on Monday, October 7, 2013, at the 16th Annual HR Technology Conference & Expo's Top HR Products of 2013 Awards Luncheon at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

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Congress and the Leadership Equation

At Hogan we often speak of how leaders use their personalities to “get ahead” and “get along” at work. Both functions are equally important – effective leaders must be able to achieve goals, but must also be able to work with and through others to do so. It simply isn’t enough to be a hard-charging idealist, you must also be willing and able to compromise with, negotiate with, and influence others to be successful. Unfortunately, with the current state of the U.S. government, it feels as though the entire “get along” side of the equation has been lost.  

I believe that the balance between getting ahead and getting along is especially important, and particularly challenging, in government leadership, which is designed to include (at least) two opposing forces that possess virtually equal power at any given time. I would argue that the success of our political system depends in large part on our leaders’ ability to:

Engage in healthy, productive conflict while avoiding dysfunctional disagreements Promote their values and objectives while also collaborating and compromising with those who are actively promoting very different ideals Adhere to a platform and plan while also being able to recognize unproductive approaches and change course when needed Pursue the goals of their specific constituencies while also working for the good of the nation as a whole Work in a passionate and devoted manner while remaining objective and not letting decisions be clouded by bruised feelings or interpersonal vendettas Read More »

Don’t Cancel Your Own Show

I watch too much TV.  From my morning dose of sports and news to my evening schedule of news and comedy, the part of my day not spent at work is often spent in a familiar bluish glow. My wife has her dramas, I have my comedies, and with three kids we also have to endure our fair share of animation. So you probably think this blog is about my moment of clarity and a thoughtful effort to break this addiction to TV. Nope. Not a chance. BACK OFF.

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To Be, or Not to Be, Human

Through natural selection, psychological mechanisms have evolved to solve adaptive problems. In other words, the brain is not a general purpose apparatus, every animals’ brain is the result of its evolutionary history—and even though we’d like to think otherwise, humans are no different. Buss (1995) elucidated this point by noting, “all humans have a nature—a human nature that differs from cat nature, rat nature, and bat nature. That nature requires particular forms of environmental input for its development”. For this reason, animals with genetic similarities and environmental pressures have similar natures.

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