The Hogan Assessments report examined the role of a leader in the workplace and the importance of aligning goals with the expectations of today’s workforce.
A new global study from HR consulting platform Hogan Assessments has shown that the characteristics and behaviors often displayed by leaders in the workplace do not match the qualities that many employees say they want and expect from their leaders.
The Leadership Divide: Global Insights on Who Leads vs. Who should report collected data on more than 21,000 managers and 9,794 full-time employees, in 25 countries. What was found was that there is a “clear mismatch between what organizations reward and what employees value”.
Until then, it was found in the report that there is no conflict between the top five skills that are often indicated by managers and the five characteristics that employees say they want in their organization’s leaders.
Participating managers are found to stand out better in their company by inspiring others, competing with their peers, presenting their ideas publicly, taking initiative and driving innovation. By comparing the employees who participated in the research they explained that they prioritize a set of completely different qualities in a leader, communication, integrity, accountability, making sound decisions and the ability to lead effectively.
“Organizations have long loved to reward visibility, confidence and ambition in leaders,” said Allison Howell, CEO of Hogan Assessments. He added, “But the workers told us they wanted something more important, leaders they can trustleaders who speak clearly, and leaders who create conditions for teams to succeed.”
A growing divide
According to Hogan Assessments research and the position many organizations take, leadership is a team resource and should be treated as such. However, the data finds that managers often come with their own agenda that may not align with the views of many employees.
The report said, “Today’s leaders tend to focus on their individual vision, aspirations, and work. These behaviors and characteristics often get people promoted. But, in contrast, our survey respondents told us they want leaders who focus on accountability, team success, and other team-supportive behaviors.”
By modeling the most valued skills of employees, the report suggested that those in leadership can create a culture of trust. Because leadership is the ability to build and maintain a high-performing team, trust is the foundation of leadership success, the report found that “leaders who earn trust create the conditions for teams to perform at their best, which gives the organization a sustainable competitive advantage”.
Of those who took part, 72pc of respondents said mood swings and insecurity had a negative impact on confidence, while passive aggressiveness (62pc), arrogance and entitlement (59pc) and extreme caution (56pc) were also identified as qualities that undermine trust, increase disengagement and weaken teamwork.
Despite this managers often stand out with confidence and self-assurance, the report notes that the confidence that can help leaders develop “may, if overused or left unattended, come across to teams as arrogant, weakening trust and contributing to loss”.
Finally, the Hogan Assessments report found that many of the behaviors that allow leaders to excel, have the potential to alienate many employees and create a culture of distrust. With that in mind, organizations may benefit from looking beyond the obvious, tangible, and attractive qualities that mean l.the ability to eat and instead put more emphasis on self-confidence-building behaviors.
“That change must be reflected in the way leaders are selected and developed, with a greater emphasis on training, accountability, and work processes that reward accountability, transparency and follow-through.”
Howell said, “Leadership pipelines are strongest when organizations align the way they identify and develop leaders with what employees truly value. These findings show that trust, accountability, and sound judgment are not secondary qualities. They are central to team success and long-term performance.”
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