Hogan Assessments The Key To Career Satisfaction: Leadership Development

In an increasingly challenging work environment, Hogan Assessments has analysed the essential factors to professional fulfilment

The current working climate has been fraught with a growing number of challenges and difficulties for workers, causing employees to take more time to evaluate and assess their lifestyles. This period of reflection has caused many to search for a greater level of fulfilment when it comes to their work, resulting in companies seeing substantial levels of disengagement among their staff.    

According to the experts at Hogan Assessments – the global leader in workplace personality assessment and leadership consulting – personality is a robust predictor and driving force behind employee satisfaction. “Employees who feel unsatisfied in their current job often lack the tools needed to examine the reasons behind feelings of unfulfillment, resulting in career stagnation, higher levels of professional detachment, and a less productive workforce for employers,” analyses Dr Scott Gregory, CEO at Hogan Assessments. In this sense, leadership development and coaching when paired with personality tests can have a significant impact in terms of employee satisfaction. In fact, not only do they provide professionals with constructive advice to establish a more fulfilling routine and career path within their company, but they also enhance conversations that build clear goals.

Finding the drivers behind career satisfaction 

A global workspace report found that 19% of global employees are actively disengaged with their current job, with Europe being the region with the deepest levels of career dissatisfaction. This not only negatively affects working professionals, but also has an adverse effect on their employers. In fact, research into how employee satisfaction reflects on company performance shows that there is a strong link between a satisfied workforce and the financial performance of a company. Therefore, employers need to ensure that they are meeting their staff’s basic needs by examining the driving forces behind career satisfaction, like helping their teams achieve a better work-life balance. 

Work-life balance plays a pivotal role when it comes to professionals feeling satisfied in their careers. A study of over 32,000 European employees across 30 countries found that those who had poor work-life balance were twice as likely to report health problems and were more likely to suffer from stress, fatigue, impaired health, and were at a greater risk of substance misuse. An improved level of work-life balance can both positively impact an individual’s health and wellness, while also contributing toward a more productive corporate workforce.

While work-life balance stands out as a major contributor to job satisfaction, other factors may enhance professional fulfilment. Feeling engaged with a job, performing well in a chosen field, helping individuals beyond the corporate setting, and having a good relationship with colleagues are all factors that help enhance an employee’s feeling of satisfaction. “Understanding which aspects are most important to an individual can help them to establish a path toward feeling happier and more engaged when it comes to fulfilling their role within a company” Gregory explains. “Recognising and addressing personal strengths and shortcomings is essential for anyone seeking to find meaningful employment within their company, which is why leadership development has a crucial role for anyone seeking to find career satisfaction.“

Unlocking career fulfilment with leadership development  

Leadership development can help professionals amplify their strengths and identify their blind spots, allowing them to better assess their shortcomings and establish key goals and methods to address any concerns when it comes to their careers. Coaching further aids in this endeavour as it provides individualized support for employees looking to move into new roles or perform better within their company.    

Personality is an important driver when it comes to figuring out which role will give employees the most purpose. Therefore, combining personality assessments with coaching programs is the best way to ensure a perfect professional fit. Achieving strategic self-awareness can be a useful tool for understanding scenarios where professionals may over-rely on their strengths to deal with stressful situations. Personality data is not only key to better diagnose these situations, but also to provide poignant feedback allowing professionals to develop meaningful and effective strategies to better deal with these issues. As a result, they will feel more confident that they are best addressing the demands of their position.  

In this sense, Hogan leadership development and coaching makes it easier for businesses to set their employees on the right path to finding purpose within their careers. Furthermore, leadership development and coaching allow professionals to achieve a better level of self-understanding when it comes to their working strategies, helping them establish and develop a list of specific personal and professional values needed for them to thrive in a working environment. Gregory summarised the advantages of leadership development, “By working with the expert network of coaches brought by Hogan Assessments, professionals gain an objective and seasoned perspective on their career, as coaches provide essential data to guide them toward ways they can best leverage their skills, resulting in greater levels of career fulfilment and work-life balance.“

“Our clients gain a great deal of insight and increased self-awareness in their leadership profile as a result of their Hogan profiling. The following one-to-one coaching then facilitates the individual in moving beyond this insight into data-led development actions and decisions to work toward their identified future career aspirations. We find that our clients’ engagement with their organisation is further strengthened by their appreciation of the investment in their development and the opportunity to work with a Hogan Qualified coach“, explained further Christine Champion, Hogan Coaching Network.