The manager you wouldn't want to work for!

Adam Temperton his positive attributes

Adam was a senior supervisor in his 40's who had been with his organisation for 5 years. He was described as competent, experienced and a valued member of staff. He has been involved in a number of cross functional development projects and was hoping to be promoted into a management position.

Adam Temperton problem areas

However, he had been known on occasion to behave unpredictably and be prone to emotional outbursts. These outbursts would not be restricted to members of his own team but also anyone else in the company whose work impacted on his own. One such example was where he angrily confronted a member of the accounts team for an error in wages, the episode took place in full view of the office and left the individual in tears. Throughout this Adam seemed unaware the impact of his words and actions had on others and did not appear to recognise that his outbursts were unacceptable within the culture of the organisation. Normally he was described as a hard working and motivated individual, however during these occasional outbursts he would behave very inappropriately and his words and actions were causing offence to those on the receiving end of them. This was affecting levels of morale and trust in his team.

Using the HDS

The HDS was used to explore Adam's interpersonal skills and provide a framework for his personal development through a series of coaching sessions. Based on the research from the derailment of managers, the 11 scales of the HDS identify an individual's most distinctive characteristics often the reason for their career success. However, under times of pressure these normally positive characteristics are likely to become increasingly dysfunctional and are likely to interfere with working relationships, team effectiveness, and the achievement of the organisation's objectives.

Adam's HDS profile

Adam's profile was quite extreme and highlighted a number of issues:

1. The profile confirmed that Adam was able to develop very strong enthusiasms for people, projects or organisations. However in times of particular stress or pressure small things had a tendency to bother him, and make him feel very disappointed and hurt this manifested itself in volatility and anger towards other members of the organisation.
   
   
2. Adam's ability to work self sufficiently and speak up on sensitive issues are likely to have aided his career to date. However, when unable to manage his self impression as well as usual he appeared detached and indifferent to the moods and feelings of others. This left his team feeling that he was unapproachable, which in turn is likely to have left them demotivated.
   
   
3. The profile also confirmed that Adam tended to have clear career goals and a charming and competent manner, all of which are likely to have helped his promotion to supervisory level. However, in times of pressure the confidence and competence may appear to others as arrogance. On such occasions, individuals with high scores on this scale tend to come across as self opinionated, demanding and perhaps intimidating. In a managerial role this is especially problematic, as subordinates may be afraid to make or admit to any mistakes for fear of the reaction, resulting in a 'fear culture'.
   
   
4. The final set of behaviours highlighted by the profile were, on the positive side associated with apparent social skills. Though not necessarily outgoing he appeared competent and made a good first impression. However, he acknowledged that on particularly stressful occasions he found it difficult to handle negative feedback, an example he cited was the time he walked out of work halfway through the day after being overlooked for promotion.

HDS based coaching

The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)and the Hogan Development Survey (HDS)were used within the coaching process to help Adam address his confrontational style and develop strategies for developing more productive management strategies. Other methods used to achieve this included anger management training and one to one counselling. The HDS coaching aimed to allow Adam to recognise in principle and later on a personal level, that our strongest and most effective features may also be the cause of our downfall. As the individual gains an appreciation of the self defeating aspects of those dispositions, they are able to initiate strategies for change. Adam found his profile to be very accurate and although he did not like or want to appear in these negative ways to his team, he became aware of how his reactions and behaviours might be interpreted by others.

The development process

The role of the coach was to use the HPI, HDS, anger management and the coaching process to help Adam achieve insight into his areas for development. This was achieved after a number of coaching sessions and several points for development were uncovered and implemented. Many of the developmental points raised involved awareness of the negative aspects of the HDS scales he scored highly on, acknowledging how he may come across to others, and strategies for dealing with those dispositions. The course of coaching finished and Adam's progress is informally reviewed every 6 months. Reports from both Adam and his manager have been very positive. Adam's manager said that there was a considerable difference in his behaviour, that he was much more rational and gave an improved contribution to the team. Adam felt that his management style was much improved, and he reports being more relaxed and at ease with himself.

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