Derailers are important because they are the habitual behavioral patterns that can get in our way. Typically operating below the level of conscious awareness, these behaviors are often easy to ignore. But when overused, they hinder performance. Coaching people to learn to work with derailers and manage stress can be a gateway into new understanding and help them increase their effectiveness.

The Stress-performance Relationship

The relationship between stress and performance level can be summarized by the bell-shaped stress-performance curve, also referred to as Yerkes-Dodson law (figure 1).

The black swan of COVID-19 came from out of nowhere to disrupt daily life and derail an historically strong economy, with social and economic aftershocks that will reverberate for years to come. The pandemic has also revealed some things about the state of play in leadership that we have to face.

Gross disparities in how leaders have responded make it painfully obvious how unprepared many of them were for the crisis. Further, a distinguishing quality of those who were able to rise to the challenge is versatility: They drew on a broad range of mindsets and behaviors in leading their teams and organizations through constantly shifting, and often conflicting, priorities and challenges.

This highlights a distinct form of leadership that’s well suited for disruptive change and simultaneously exposes significant problems with the way leadership is typically defined, assessed, and developed.

Enroll for the demo session on the 29^th of October 10:00- 11:00

We’re excited to announce the official launch of the Hogan Candidate Assessment Suite the most robust talent acquisition solution in the industry.

Hiring used to be a shot in the dark. With the Hogan Candidate Assessment Suite, hiring is a fast and valid prediction of performance, packaging Hogan’s rigorous science in the simplest user experience. Whatever the role, this new platform identifies the best performers based on millions of workplace performance data points.

The new realities shaped by the disruptive and complex moment we are experiencing are completely different for each organization. This situation is forcing some companies to completely reinvent themselves, while others are unable to operate as needed. Others are seeing turnover grow at unexpected levels. The personality characteristics of the CEOs of the companies influence the consequences that each of the companies is experiencing as a result of the pandemic.

The Leader in Times of Crisis Program

This article will focus on how the CEOs scored on the Hogan Personality Inventory (bright side of personality), or HPI, which evaluates seven aspects of personality that tend to appear during everyday situations and the Hogan Development Survey (dark side of personality), or HDS, measures the 11 aspects of personality that can derail performance during times like these.

Earlier this year, before the global pandemic, I returned to the office after an extended business trip. When I walked into the building, the environment felt different. The building was the same, the furniture was where it had been before, and my colleagues were still the same lovely people, but the atmosphere felt somewhat unfamiliar. It was because there had been a break in my routine. Humans are creatures of habit — we rely on routines to help us manage our busy schedules, remain productive, and keep us sane. When our routines change, we must adapt, create new strategies, or run the risk of being ineffective, unproductive, or even misaligned.

Many of our clients use Hogan Assessments to support selection and talent development programs. Due to the pandemic, however, selection has (understandably) been cut back dramatically. Now, HR teams have to focus on more difficult people issues while learning and development programs may be put on hold.

However, we still speak to HR professionals and coaches on a daily basis about support for different types of people initiatives. Not surprisingly, at a time when leaders are making decisions in high-pressure circumstances, and with budgets tighter than ever, addressing difficult people issues is extra complicated. As a result, we are keen to encourage clients to use valuable resources that are already available to them.

Many have not thought about using existing resources to support pressing, often unavoidable interventions. Here are three of the most common situations where we have been able to recommend organizations take another look at the Hogan Assessment data they already hold.

Robert Hogan

C. Northcote Parkinson (1909—1993) was a British naval historian, lecturer, and novelist; he formulated his famous law in an essay in The Economist in 1955. Parkinson’s law was intended to describe the behavior of managers in the British Navy and British government, but it is also a pretty good description of work in most organizations. The July 11^th, 2020 issue of The Economist provides an update of Parkinson’s astute generalization about organizational behavior.

The law itself states: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” I think there are three psychological explanations for Parkinson’s law. The first is the human tendency to procrastinate, to put off doing things until the last minute. Procrastination itself has several causes including fear of failure, laziness, and, of course, passive aggression (“Don’t rush me!”). But the point is that procrastination is one way to explain Parkinson’s law. A second explanation for Parkinson’s law is the fact that if people complete a task promptly, they risk being assigned a second, and even more tedious, task. The reverse of this situation is, of course, “If you want to get something done, find a busy person.” A third explanation for Parkinson’s law is “impression management”; most people understand the importance of being seen to be working while at work. In this context, it makes sense to extend the duration of each task. Parkinson pointedly noted that managers help other managers look busy by shuffling papers back and forth for review, commentary, and alignment.

Lucrul de acasa si noile competente

Desfasurarea activitatii de acasa nu este o experienta noua pentru unii angajati. Aceasta tendinta este valabila in intreaga lume. Cu toate acestea, numarul real al persoanelor care lucreaza efectiv de acasa este mai mic decat numarul job-urilor care pot fi derulate de la distanta. Cel putin, aceasta a fost tendinta inainte de situatia curenta in care ne aflam generata de criza COVID-19. Ceea ce am vazut recent este ca pandemia a fortat multi angajati si organizatii sa faca trecerea, in mod oficial, la un mediul de lucru virtual.

Organizatiile s-au concentrat sa le asigure angajatilor lor toate resursele necesare pentru a-si desfasura activitatea eficient, asigurandu-se ca au tehnologia si infrastructura necesara (accesul la dispozitive inteligente, la platforme pentru conferinte video, securitatea internetului, etc.).

Cu toate acestea, este important sa nu neglijam comportamentele care devin necesare pentru ca oamenii sa poata lucra eficient de acasa, in mediul virtual.

In timp ce guvernele din intreaga lume sunt supuse unor presiuni tot mai mari de reluare a activitatii sociale si economice, liderii de pretutindeni iau decizii confruntandu-se cu incertitudinea si informatiile contradictorii. Deciziile care au dus la inchiderea afacerilor si carantinarea oraselor, desi au fost dificile, au reprezentat exercitii cu impact pe termen scurt si au fost mult mai usoare comparativ cu procesul decizional pe care liderii sunt nevoiti sa il ia atunci cand sunt implicatii pe termen lung.

Pentru a castiga ceva nou si important in viata, inevitabil ne confruntam cu alegeri. Nu vom pierde in greutate fara a ne schimba obiceiurile alimentare si nivelul activitatilor fizice. Nu ne vom consolida relatiile de familie fara a investi in timp de calitate cu cei dragi. Nu vom invata o limba straina fara a fi consecventi si a ne face timp pentru studiu si practica.

Pentru lideri, pana acum, 2020 a fost un exercitiu intens in luarea unor decizii dificile. Probabil ca si restul acestui an va fi pentru cei mai multi lideri si antreprenori un exercitiu de antrenare a constientizarii de sine, precum si un sir de alegeri si adaptari care sa permita supravietuirea si ridicarea organizatiilor pe care le conduc.

In multe dintre aceste decizii viitoare, identificarea alegerilor corecte si a celor gresite va fi dificila. In aceste timpuri, este critic pentru lideri sa reflecteze asupra unor intrebari cheie:

A global and local research on HR leaders personalities and implications

The primary task of human resources has historically been to handle employee benefits and grievances. As such, HR played a very minimal role in corporate strategy and an organization’s success or failure. Modern organizations now realize the critical role that talent (i.e., the people in the organization) plays in its success. That is, people aren’t just replaceable cogs in a machine; some employees are better than others, and employing top talent is a major factor in organizational success.

The role of HR has grown over the past decade and has become particularly important now, during these unprecedented times. HR has, in time, taken a more prominent role in organizations through building a sustainable competitive advantage acquired through management and acquisition of top talent. However, the pandemic has brought on even more critical functions: offering support to employees and leaders in managing their anxiety, forecasting in unpredictable times and offering strategic support to the business.

To understand how are HR leaders equipped to deal with all of these challenges, Hogan assessments looked at the personalities of more than 1,000 HR managers to see how they stack up against other workers around the world.