Hogan Assessment Systems
Hogan Assessments: Unlocking Potential Through Personality Insights
At bCoached, we use the Hogan Assessments to support individuals and organizations in understanding how personality influences performance, relationships, and leadership potential in the workplace. These scientifically validated tools provide deep insights into how people show up at work—day-to-day, under pressure, and in alignment with their values.
Why Personality Matters in Business
Teamwork, leadership, and organizational effectiveness are driven not just by technical skills, but by how individuals interact and respond to others. While resumes tell you what a person has done, personality assessments like Hogan reveal how they are likely to behave—how they collaborate, make decisions, handle stress, and lead.
That’s why many businesses today are incorporating personality assessments into hiring, leadership development, and succession planning. Hogan Assessments stand out in this field for their strong psychological foundations, predictive validity, and practical relevance to organizational success.
What Makes Hogan Different?
Hogan Assessments are among the most widely respected personality assessments used in business settings. Developed by Drs. Joyce and Robert Hogan, the tools were created with one goal in mind: to bridge the gap between personality theory and real-world business outcomes. Today, Hogan’s solutions are used in over 50 countries by companies ranging from startups to more than half of the Fortune 500.
That’s why many businesses today are incorporating personality assessments into hiring, leadership development, and succession planning. Hogan Assessments stand out in this field for their strong psychological foundations, predictive validity, and practical relevance to organizational success.
Together, these assessments help organizations look beyond skills and experience, uncovering potential, risks, and alignment with company values and goals. They offer a 360° perspective on how people show up at work: how they perform when things are going well, what might get in their way during times of stress, and what drives and motivates them internally.
The assessments focus on three key areas
Day-to-Day Behavior (HPI – Hogan Personality Inventory)
How individuals typically behave in work environments—what energizes them, how they interact with others, and where they thrive.
Behavior Under Stress (HDS – Hogan Development Survey)
What might derail performance when people are under pressure—habits that can challenge relationships or hinder success.
Core Values (MVPI – Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory)
What drives a person, what they find meaningful, and the type of organizational culture where they’re most likely to be engaged.
Together, these assessments help organizations look beyond skills and experience, uncovering potential, risks, and alignment with company values and goals. They offer a 360° perspective on how people show up at work: how they perform when things are going well, what might get in their way during times of stress, and what drives and motivates them internally.
Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)
How you typically behave at work
The HPI focuses on everyday personality—how people tend to relate to others, approach tasks, and manage themselves in work settings. Based on the widely accepted Big Five personality model, this tool is often used in hiring and leadership development to predict workplace performance.
It takes about 15–20 minutes to complete and generates instant results.
| Name of scale | Typically, low scorers are … | Typically, high scorers are … |
|---|---|---|
| Adjustment | Open to feedback, candid, honest, moody, and self-critical | Steady under pressure yet resistant to feedback |
| Ambition | Great team players, happy for others to take the lead, and complacent | Energetic, restless, forceful, and competitive |
| Sociability | Able to work alone, quiet, and socially reactive | Outgoing, talkative, and attention seeking |
| Interpersonal Sensitivity | Direct, willing to confront, cold, and tough | Friendly, warm, and averse to conflict |
| Prudence | Open-minded, flexible, and impulsive | Organized, dependable, and inflexible |
| Inquisitive | Practical, not easily bored, uninventive | Imaginative, quick witted, yet poor at implementation |
| Learning Approach | Hands-on learners, self-interested, averse to technology | Interested in learning, insightful, intolerant of the less informed |
Hogan Development Survey (HDS)
What might derail you under stress
The HDS explores what Hogan calls the “dark side” of personality—traits that may be strengths in moderation but can become problematic under pressure or strain. It’s particularly useful in leadership coaching, as it highlights potential blind spots that could impact relationships or effectiveness.
Like the HPI, the HDS takes about 15–20 minutes to complete and has been validated by hundreds of research studies.
In an interview a candidate may re-iterate to be highly ambitious but if you were to ask several of his former colleagues they may tell how little interested the candidate normally is in competing with peers. As a matter of fact, there may be discrepancies between the way we describe ourselves and the way others describe us.
| Name of scale | Typically, low scorers are … | Typically, high scorers are … |
|---|---|---|
| Excitable | Are calm and may appear to lack passion | Exhibit emotional highs and lows |
| Skeptical | Can appear trusting yet naïve | Are negative and cynical, expecting to be betrayed |
| Cautious | Are risk takers, often without appropriate assessment | Are unwilling to take risks even after assessing them |
| Reserved | Are too concerned about others’ feelings | Are indifferent to others’ feelings |
| Leisurely | May seem to lack agenda or direction | Are passive-aggressive and agenda driven |
| Bold | Appear to lack resolve and self-confidence | Appear assertive, over-confident, and self-promoting |
| Mischievous | Are conservative, compliant, and unadventurous | Are impulsive and sometimes devious |
| Colorful | Are modest, unassuming, quiet, and self-restrained | Are socially prominent, dramatic, and attention seeking |
| Imaginative | Prefer routine, are practical, but may lack new ideas | Can seem impractical and unpredictable but may offer unusual ideas |
| Diligent | Have poor attention to detail and often over-delegate | Are picky, overly conscientious, and typically micromanage |
| Dutiful | Are highly independent and may resent authority | Are excessively keen to please superiors |
Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI)
What drives you from within
The MVPI looks beneath behavior to uncover what people truly value—their goals, core motivators, and the work environments in which they will thrive. Understanding what energizes or disengages someone is critical for job satisfaction, team alignment, and cultural fit.
This assessment also takes around 15–20 minutes and is based on extensive research into motivation and values in the workplace.
| Name of scale | Typically, low scorers are … | Typically, high scorers are … |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition | Prefer to share credit and avoid too much attention | Value public acknowledgment and high-visibility projects |
| Power | Prefer to let others lead and avoid confrontation and competition | Value leadership positions and are keen to get ahead |
| Hedonism | Value business-like professional settings and formal working environments | Value entertaining, fun, and open-minded environments |
| Altruistic | Place value on their own work over morale | Value helping other people and customer-focused environments |
| Affiliation | Prefer working alone and independence | Prefer working with others and social interaction |
| Tradition | Prefer flexibility and autonomy and challenging established procedures | Prefer the status quo and avoid people who do not share beliefs |
| Security | Value risk taking and experimentation | Prefer consistency and predictability over risks |
| Commerce | Value relationships over profitability | Prefer environments that focus on the bottom line |
| Aesthetics | Value practicality over appearance | Value innovation and creativity, individual style, and appearance |
| Science | Prefer people over technology and value intuition and experience | Value analysis, problem-solving, and working with data and objective facts |
How Organizations Use Hogan
The Hogan suite of tools supports a wide range of strategic talent decisions, including:
- Hiring & Selection: Identifying candidates who align with role requirements and organizational culture.
- Leadership Development: Highlighting strengths and development areas to support individual and team growth.
- Succession Planning: Spotting high-potential individuals and preparing them for future leadership roles.
- Team Effectiveness: Understanding interpersonal dynamics to build balanced, high-performing teams.
- Coaching & Executive Development: Using personality insights to tailor coaching engagements for long-term impact.
One of the key benefits of Hogan is that it uses a consistent framework and language across all its tools, allowing organizations to build a shared understanding of behavior and development needs. Once assessed, an individual’s results can generate multiple reports—tailored for selection, development, or team integration—without needing to re-test.
Why We Use Hogan at bCoached
As certified Hogan practitioners, we value the depth and practicality the assessments bring to our coaching engagements. These assessments are not just data points—they’re conversation starters, development tools, and decision-making aids.
At bCoached, we use Hogan to help individuals understand themselves more deeply, and to support organizations in aligning talent with roles, culture, and strategy.
Whether you’re a leader navigating change, a team looking to enhance dynamics, or an organization seeking to grow strategically, Hogan insights can guide you toward lasting success.
Whether you are a leader or work in talent management, reach out to us for an initial conversation on how we can support you in using the Hogan Assessment System.