Going Global with Team Hogan Assessments

The Client

A C-suite leader building a new global leadership team.

The Problem

The organization is both evolving and, in many ways, reinventing itself. Moving from a historically regional model, primarily in the U.S., to a global model with operations across the world. This change requires that leadership leverage new and different skills and it increases complexity in almost every area:

• Setting Strategy
• Structure
• Processes - How decisions get made and who makes them
• Metrics and rewards
• Talent implications
• Communications – Interpersonal and organizational

My Challenge

This client knew that setting a vision for the changes in roles and responsibilities was important. The added complexity and urgency for change, with lots of oversight, meant that team members were going to be outside of their comfort zones quickly. In some cases, they would be tested by work they had no experience doing. The goal was to help the leadership team create a shared foundation and sense of culture to promote trust, collaboration, and resilience. We wanted to minimize potential resistance and, as can happen with change, paralysis. Considerations:

• Creating a clear vision of what was changing and why it was changing was critical
• As a publicly traded company, board of directors visibility was high
• An open and transparent process for assessing current state and future state together would reduce tension
• As trade-off decisions are made, tough decisions on budgets and personnel are required
• Opportunities for the global team to come together in person are limited

The leader hired me because of my specific expertise in talent management consulting, change management, executive coaching, and organizational design. I have a strong understanding of how teams operate and how resistant and emotional people can be to change, especially when they’re personally feeling fear. My insights allow me to be both strategic and practical in my recommendations. “People change what they do less because they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that influences their feeling.” John Kotter, The Heart of Change

My Role

During my time with the client, I functioned as a strategic thought partner and consultant. I do follow-up work with this client on a regular basis.

What We Did

The first thing I did, after getting clearer on the overall scope of the client’s need, was a Team Hogan assessment. Each team member took the Hogan Lead Series individual assessment and then each received an individual interpretation session with me prior to the team report out, along with some coaching recommendations. These results are then mapped into a sophisticated report that I revealed in an interactive workshop with the leadership team. Workshop Objectives:

• Build a foundation for understanding the results of the Hogan Team Report
• Understand the implications of each component of the report for team performance including:
• Team roles
• Team derailers
• Team culture
• Individual scores and how they relate to each other
• Identify themes to be addressed to improve team performance
• Identify opportunities for team members to be stronger contributors to team performance

Why such a focus on teams as it relates to leadership and change?

• Over the last decade, organizational use of teams has increased dramatically
• Few objectives are accomplished solely through individual work
• 54% of individuals spend at least 30% of their day in a team setting
• Evidence suggests that teams “work” approximately half of the time
• Personality is significantly related to team performance and viability

The Result

Since my time with the client, they have continued to build on the strategies we identified to help the leadership team achieve its full potential. As they face the expected demands as global leaders, they’re better able to leverage the mix of skills on the team. Understanding how best to work together, especially when under stress and pressure, has helped them avoid some issues that could hinder performance. With a set of motives and values that are shared and an awareness of shared challenges the team faces, they’re moving more effectively through the necessary steps together and in turn leading their own teams with more influence. Organizational design and change management are always challenging. Working with tools to enhance team effectiveness as you tackle these can be highly impactful.