Why Personality Assessments Matter

Know Yourself so you can Know Your People

Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash

How would it feel to know that, statistically speaking, due to your personality, your career could be unintentionally derailed?

If you are unknowingly engaging in confusing, divisive, and team-splitting behaviors that could harm both your reputation and your organization’s bottom line, you are likely heading for troubled waters. Yet, if you are like most people, you probably have no idea.

Dark behaviors are no laughing matter.

Have you ever heard the story about the frog in a pot of hot water? Well, it goes something like this: Place a frog in a pot of room-temperature water on the stove and turn on the heat. The frog will swim freely and leisurely until a certain point when the water becomes too hot, and whether knowingly or not, it dies. How traumatic! Here’s a frog swimming in a pot of water, thinking everything’s okay (aside from being in a pot), and then suddenly, the water gets so hot that the frog literally dies. Because, as the story goes, it will swim to its own death.

That’s what can happen in leadership due to career derailers, also known as “dark behaviors.” As the leader, you’re the frog, and your leadership environment is the water. The derailers, or “dark behaviors,” are the heat that will eventually boil the water you’re swimming in. If you’re like most people, you might think to yourself, no way. And that’s okay. Until it isn’t.

But the reality is that it’s true, and I’m sorry to break this news to you. It’s true because, even if you are a good leader, you remain who you are, and whether you care to admit it or not, you exhibit some degree of the eleven “dark” behaviors that can derail one’s career. So, what does that mean, and why should you care? Well, it’s simple. Researchers have identified eleven behaviors that leaders can subconsciously over-utilize and engage in, and if they’re not controlled, they can be what’s commonly referred to as “derailers.” This means they can literally derail your career.

Derailers.

According to the Institute of Organizational Development, a leadership derailer is a behavior that limits our effectiveness and potential career success. A derailer is a weakness or an overused strength that requires improvement to realize one’s potential. A true derailer or “flaw” is caused by a lack of insight or the inability to recognize it. It’s an interesting term to describe something in the context of leadership. When I hear it on its own, I envision a choo-choo train derailing from the tracks it’s supposed to glide upon. That’s a powerful visual when you consider it in relation to this article.

So, why should you, the people leader, care? Because you possess these traits. You might not recognize them, and honestly, many readers may not even admit it, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The very strengths and character traits that have brought you to where you are today make you unique. However, some of these traits represent blind spots, and when you overuse them, they can work tirelessly against you. Arrogance, mischievousness, diligence, cautiousness, boldness, leisureliness — the list goes on. All eleven of these traits are the reasons the authors of Why CEOs Fail published a book to articulate them. Additionally, Dr. Robert Hogan, the world’s foremost thought leader on these traits, founded his company, Hogan Assessments, in part to address them.

They’re present, and they aren’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get ahead of them; the time is now. These derailers, or “dark behaviors,” cause the most damage when the pressure is highest or, metaphorically speaking, when the water in that pot gets hottest. That’s why they titled the book with “CEOs” and not “managers.” Compared to managers, CEOs feel the most heat. Countless leaders have seen their careers derailed because they failed to recognize their dark behaviors, ultimately leading to undesirable career outcomes. The worst part is that they could have gotten ahead of them early to learn how to manage and prevent those outcomes.

So now that I have your attention, where do you start? First, determine which ones you have. While I personally recommend Hogan’s Assessment products, specifically their Hogan Development Survey (HDS), other options are also available. Once you identify which ones pose the highest risk, you can begin to manage them using the recommendations in Why CEOs Fail or any other dark behavior-mitigation strategy. Third, stay consistent in managing them. Aside from the fact that consistency helps build trust among your teams, as the pressure of one’s responsibilities increases over time, maintaining awareness of these factors becomes crucial. Finally, seek out a leadership coach who can help you formulate a plan and provide the support and accountability needed to keep your career on track.

You’ve worked too hard to get this far; now is the time to take the necessary steps to ensure your growth trajectory is directed precisely where you want it to go.

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