But by How You Handle Your Patterns**
By Søren Leth-Nissen, NDUNA – Executive Advisor to the Chief
For more than two decades, I have integrated Hogan Assessments into leadership development processes across Europe. My own first encounter with Hogan came in 2010—and it shaped the way I operate as a leader and advisor today.
The data showed something important:
great potential, significant interpersonal strengths, and a set of derailers that could limit my leadership impact if I ignored them.
I didn’t ignore them.
I learned to work with them.
The Hogan Insight That Changed My Approach
Hogan does not measure intelligence or competence.
It measures something far more decisive:
How your personality behaves under pressure, ambiguity and relational complexity.
My own profile—Ambition 100, Bold 100, Mischievous 99, Colourful 99, Prudence 34, Reserved 94—revealed a combination of:
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high strategic capability
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strong influence
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ability to energize rooms
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and a set of risk factors that could undermine trust, precision and relational timing
Not good or bad.
Just real.
Working With the Data (Not Against It)
Bold → Courage with accountability: Speaking to contribute, not to control.
Mischievous → Creativity with discipline: Improvisation when appropriate, structure when needed.
Colourful → Influence without performance: Presence as a leadership tool.
Reserved → Staying present under pressure: Curiosity instead of self-protection.
Low Prudence → Self-designed systems: Structure as freedom.
The goal was not to “fix” myself.
It was to become predictable—because predictability builds trust.
Why This Matters for Executive Leadership
The leaders who reach the next level are not the ones with the fewest derailers.
They are the ones who can say:
“I understand how my patterns impact the people around me.”
Hogan helped me see blind spots, slow down the unnecessary impulses, and use my personality more consciously.
The result has been:
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better stakeholder alignment
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deeper client trust
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stronger collaboration
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and a leadership identity rooted in clarity rather than performance.
If You Want to Lead at a Higher Level
Start with the version of yourself that appears under pressure.
That is where credibility is either built—or lost.
If you want support interpreting your own Hogan profile or integrating it into your leadership practice, let’s talk.
