The relationship between employees and their bosses, as well as that between followers and leaders, is one of the most studied and discussed topics in business and psychology. Yet, it remains one of the least understood. Hogan conducted a survey of 1,000 respondents examining the relationship between employees, bosses, and personality.
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Middle managers are perhaps the most maligned individuals in the corporate world. Most view them as roadblocks whose sole purpose is to prevent efficiency or innovation. And when business consultants come in, middle managers are the first to go.At Hogan, we think middle managers get a bum rap. Rather than the useless bureaucrats they are made out to be, middle managers can be the key to an effective organization.A recent article on Slate illustrates my point.If there was ever an easy example of how layers of ineffective middle managers can break down organizational effectiveness, it’s the U.S. government and its public-facing agencies (think the IRS, the passport office, etc.). Five minutes in the DMV is all it takes to send the most levelheaded among us into a white-hot rage. But a recent article titled “The Most Efficient Office in the World” describes a Manhattan passport office that not only received rave reviews from the authors’ friend, a management consultant, but from the general public as well (the site has a startling 4.5 stars on Yelp).What is the secret to this lowly agency’s runaway customer satisfaction? Its manager, Michael Hoffman:
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The Hogan Certification workshop will be held in a new location this October. The Westin New York at Times Square will host the two-day workshop where participants will leave with an in-depth understanding of how to use and interpret the Hogan suite of assessments. Register for this popular workshop location before it fills up.
Everyone has made a bad hire, and considering they typically cost 150% of their annual salary, chances are you don't want it to happen again. This new book by Abhijit Bhaduri outlines how employers should weigh education, experience, competence, and personality to hire the right people and drive success at their companies.
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Workplace bullies are skilled manipulators and politicians who harass others not out of social frustration but to fulfill their professional ambitions. Take Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, for example. His bullying and coercive tactics were so legendary that they were termed “the Johnson Treatment.” Below you can see Johnson effectively giving Senator Theodore Green of Rhode Island the Treatment.
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Focusing on employee potential maximizes organizational performance. So why do so many companies lack a comprehensive plan to identify, retain, and develop their high potential employees? Current processes for identifying high-potentials produce mixed results. We surveyed more than 200 middle managers and executives to find out what works and what doesn’t.
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CEOs and executives helm the ship by encouraging their crew to work together and use resources at hand. Although some guide their teams safely to their destination, others end up lost at sea. Organizational and executive coaches can help leaders keep their teams on track when they begin to flounder.5 Suggestions from the Hogan Coaching Network for Building an Effective Development Framework1. Provide education and training. Formal programs, classes, or workshops; coaching; mentoring; webinars; or on-the-job training are all valuable resources to build and reinforce an employee’s skills and improve performance.2. Leverage strengths. If a leader lacks creative and innovative ability but excels in effective teambuilding, he or she can leverage his or her ability to create an environment that facilitates and nurtures the team’s new and different ideas.3. Compensate with alternative behaviors. Use positive behaviors to rebuild a reputation marked by counterproductive behaviors. As positive behaviors are demonstrated multiple times, the manager’s reputation will begin to change, and often new behaviors become the person’s natural behaviors.4. Support weakness with resources. When someone has a clear weakness, such as micromanaging, sometimes the most effective development strategy is to compensate by supporting the employee with additional resources, such as a direct report who excels at dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s.5. Redesign the job or assignment. More effective than allowing an individual’s performance to flag, it is sometimes possible to alter an individual’s job requirements to remove key roles or responsibilities and assign him or her elsewhere in the organization.Read the full paper.
There’s an old sales adage: the person who asks the questions controls the agenda.
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A quick-reference guide to understanding how validity relates to Hogan’s business model and marketing content.
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Everyone has worked with someone they could describe as a pistol, a live wire, or a short fuse. These excitable individuals’ energy and enthusiasm can energize their peers and employees, but their mood can turn on a dime, and when it does, they will have their employees walking on eggshells to avoid setting them off.
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