With one of the largest economies in Latin America, Mexico is renowned for its vibrant business landscape, which blends tradition and modernity. Home to many globally recognized companies, Mexico plays a pivotal role in telecommunications, manufacturing, energy, and food production. Mexico is a vital hub for international trade and investment with its strategic location, skilled workforce, and extensive trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Understanding these market dynamics helps us gain context for Mexican leaders’ motivations, behaviors, and leadership styles.
Hogan Assessments has collected personality data for employees and leaders across the world. Hogan’s benchmark of more than 2,700 executives in Mexico spans industries from banking and financial services to food and beverage and manufacturing. Reviewing the data of current leaders in Mexican organizations shows preferred leadership styles, the characteristics a country rewards by promoting and punishes by not promoting, and even the preferences and unconscious biases of organizational leaders.
We collaborated with HRTools, an authorized distributor of Hogan Assessments in Mexico, to get unique insights into Mexican leaders’ personality trends. By exploring how these leaders navigate the realms of getting along, getting ahead, and finding meaning, we can uncover invaluable insights into Mexico’s ever-changing and adapting economy.
What Do Mexican 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. This assessment helps to understand the inside of personality, or an individual’s drivers and motivators.
Tradition
On the MVPI, Mexican leaders’ highest scale is Tradition. Those who score high on Tradition value history and convention. These individuals likely have a high standard of conduct and well-established principles that drive their decision-making and behavior. Individuals are perceived as mature and commonsensical. They value rules, established procedure, and formality. They care about maintaining tradition, customs, and socially acceptable behaviors.
Security
Additionally, compared to global leaders, Mexican leaders score higher on Security—13 percentile points above the average. Leaders who score high on Security tend to come across as more risk-averse and may be less likely to reward those who take risks. These individuals care about safety and security——from physical to emotional to financial. Our findings suggest that Mexican leaders prefer to orient their working lives around structure and predictability, especially compared to other executives worldwide.
According to Victoria Zapata, CEO of HRTools, these MVPI elevations are very common to see in coaching executives. These leaders may perceive others on their team as disrupting what they have built with so much effort. On the other hand, they can be willing to move the business forward and look for new ways of leading the company without leaving the past behind. Zapata coached a leader who was building a new business strategy with fresh ideas. However, they also wanted to honor the company’s history. Although the leader knew they had to break away from some points, they were reluctant to move forward until they were comfortable answering questions about the uncertainties.
Leadership requires handling uncertainty and fast-paced progress in almost every industry. Mexican executives could be dealing with a paradox when making decisions and putting their businesses in a win position.
How Will Mexican 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
Regarding the bright side of personality, Mexican leaders’ highest scoring HPI scale is Ambition. Mexican leaders score 11 percentile points higher than the global average on this scale. Ambition pertains to appearing self-confident, leaderlike, and competitive. Those who score high on Ambition focus on achieving results, taking initiative on work tasks, and wanting to advance in the organization. However, they may also compete internally with peers or subordinates. They may assume they have all the answers and fail to seek others’ input for idea generation or strategic decision-making.
Adjustment
Mexican leaders’ second-highest HPI scale is Adjustment, the degree to which someone comes across as resilient, optimistic, and composed. Mexican leaders score 13 percentile points higher than the global executive benchmark. Those who score high on Adjustment appear self-confident, self-accepting, and stable under pressure. They likely adjust well to new and different environments and heavy workloads. They stay calm under pressure, avoid overreacting, and manage stressors well. However, because these individuals are naturally calm, cool, and collected, they may not realize when their team members or colleagues are stressed or when a problem needs urgent attention. Accordingly, they may appear to lack empathy, ignore critical feedback, or move on too quickly from their mistakes.
Zapata said, “Resilience and drive are a must to succeed in Mexico. Competition and winning are common goals for executives. We even have popular jokes about how a Mexican leader can easily challenge and win against other countries!” Common challenges in coaching sessions include competing internally in the organization, even with teammates. When leaders are aware of their situation, they understand that this competitive style can be challenging for team members to follow and can hinder team performance. When leaders understand the implications, it is easier for them to find ways to face the challenges. They begin to use the same strength to overcome the team challenge—instead of causing the challenge.
In combination, Mexican leaders’ energy and drive propel them to take initiative and manage challenging endeavors. However, these leaders should regularly account for and check in with their subordinates and teams’ workloads and stress levels, as those they lead may not be as ambitious or stress tolerant.
What Will Get in Mexican Leaders’ Way?
Mexican leaders demonstrate an interesting finding on the Hogan Development Survey (HDS). The HDS measures overused strengths, called derailers, that emerge during increased strain, pressure, or boredom. If not managed, these qualities can damage one’s reputation and relationships, derailing one’s career and success.
Bold
Mexican executives’ highest scoring derailer is Bold, a tendency to become entitled and arrogant in times of stress and pressure. These leaders score 14 percentile points higher than the global leader benchmark. Those who score high on Bold tend to be perceived as energetic, assertive, and visionary. However, when leaders overuse this strength, they overestimate their abilities, ignore their shortcomings, and blame their mistakes on others. These leaders can be hard to work for, as they feel entitled to special treatment, ignore feedback, and intimidate their subordinates with bullying behavior.
Cautious
On the other hand, Mexican executives’ lowest scoring derailer is HDS Cautious—11 percentile points lower than other global leaders. Leaders who score high on Cautious tend to be risk averse and overly careful. Conversely, leaders who score low on Cautious may be decisive, unafraid to make mistakes, and willing to accept challenges as they come. These individuals tend to be perceived as active, confident, and rational. However, they may sometimes be reckless in decision-making and dismissive of criticism. Interestingly, Mexican leaders’ high Security may be mitigated by their low Cautious. These leaders may tend to crave structure, stability, and order, but they are still willing to take risks if it makes sense to secure long-term stability.
Zapata shared another popular saying in Mexico: “I bend, but I don’t break.” When coaching high Bold and low Cautious leaders, Zapata and her team prepare to be patient and help the executive recognize the implications of their behavior. Patience and active listening, including mirroring, are must-haves to help develop awareness of the implications of behaviors. When leaders’ self-awareness arrives in the conversation, they understand that they are missing learning opportunities and that listening to feedback is necessary for them to keep growing. At last, these leaders start by taking actions to improve and understanding that they need some humility to succeed.
What Can We Learn About Mexican Leaders?
Zapata expands on a particular case study from her coaching practice. A new leader entered a new team within the same organization, and the team was composed of high Ambition, high Bold, and high Tradition members. This resulted in internal conflict. Despite the new leader meeting technical requirements and having successful experience in another part of the organization, this executive failed in leading this team and had to be removed. Why? The leader lacked the strength to overcome the team. The team’s culture of strong tradition combined with the competitive drive and entitled behaviors were too difficult for the new leader to manage.
In conclusion, understanding what motivates Mexican leaders, how they achieve success, and what potential obstacles they face provides valuable insights into their leadership style and effectiveness. Driven by the values of MVPI Tradition and Security, these leaders prioritize structure, stability, and adherence to established norms. Their HPI Ambition and Adjustment reflect a confident, composed approach to leadership, enabling them to excel in high-pressure environments. However, to sustain long-term success, they must remain mindful of the impact of their HDS Bold tendencies and avoid overlooking the needs and perspectives of their teams. By leveraging strengths and managing potential derailers, Mexican executives can continue to lead with integrity, resilience, and foresight.