Personality and Application: Which do you use and in what context?

 Personality and Application:  September 12, 2013 MNODN Program Recap

I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to personality assessments.  I’m certified in several and for years have worked inside organizations, teams and with individuals assisting in self-discovery, leadership development and strategic team work.  I’ve seen first-hand how identity personality assessments have helped many discover their own or team’s roadmap to success. 

So in comes Scott Gregory, PhD to the September Minnesota OD Network meeting presenting the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and a few of the first things out of his mouth are statements such as, “the you, only you know, doesn’t matter to Hogan” and “the you, only you know is hardly worth knowing.” 

I was thinking to myself, “he’s a heretic” and was about to pick up my stone. I know for a fact that the personality assessments I use do in fact help others in leadership and team development.  Others in the room felt the same way (I could see their stones).

For the record, he didn’t actually bash on identity personality assessment s (such as DiSC or MBTI) he stated several times that there is a place for them in our tool kit.  Rather, he came to state the case for the need for what he called “Reputation personality assessments.”   Reputation personality is others’ observations of what you do.  So it isn’t so much what you know about yourself but what others see you as that defines personality.  Personality in this context is defined as how others see you.  Hogan instruments study what other people say about those who answer an item a particular way.

The Hogan Personality Inventory measures normal personality along seven scales:

1. Adjustment: confidence, self-esteem, and composure under pressure

2. Ambition: initiative, competitiveness, and desire for leadership roles

3. Sociability: extraversion, gregarious, and need for social interaction

4. Interpersonal Sensitivity: tact, perceptiveness, and ability to maintain relationships

5. Prudence: self-discipline, responsibility, and thoroughness

6. Inquisitive: imagination, curiosity, and creative potential

7. Learning Approach: achievement orientation, valuing education

So while I can’t do justice to personality assessments in a short blog and I know that many of you reading this know so much about personality assessments including the Hogan Personality Inventory.  We at the MNOD Network are interested in what you have to say about the differences of Identity personality assessments. Reputation personality assessments.  Which do you use and in what context? 

Stan Oawster