Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-01-27)

◼ STRATEGIES Bloomberg Businessweek January 27, 2020

Blessedarethehumble.Increasingly,researchshowsthat

leaderswhosharecreditanddon’tseekthespotlighthave

better-performingteamsthatproducebetterresults.That’s

backedupbydatafromTulsa-basedHoganAssessments,

whichdevelopspersonalityteststopredictworkplace

performance.“ACEOwhomakesbigpromises,whoisa

narcissist,canruina company,”saysHoganChiefScience

OfficerRyneSherman.“Thecuretoallthatishumility.”

—DimitraKessenides

STRONGLYDISAGREEDISAGREEAGREESTRONGLYAGREE

PLAY IT LOW-KEY

41

THEBOTTOMLINE GroupssuchasDeclare,Enrich,andtheYPO

lettopmanagersairgrievancesandseeksolutionstoproblems

they’refacingonthejoborathome.

Do you have enough humility to lead? Take our quiz. Indicate the extent to which you

agreeordisagreewitheachstatement.Workquicklyandrespondtoeverystatement.

big help as her finance startup struggled last year.

“We meet once a month, and everybody is gener-

ous by offering connections for fundraising and

suggestions for partnerships,” Sobieski says.

A more venerable provider of such services

is the YPO—Young Presidents’ Organization—a

70-year-old group that’s adapting to the digital

age. It started in 1950 as a gathering of 20 busi-

ness leaders in New York, and today it has 27,000

members worldwide, whose companies have a

combined revenue of $9 trillion. For an annual

fee of $3,750, members get access to international

events, local meetings with peers, mentorship,

and online coaching. Leah Busque, a founder of

TaskRabbit, a web platform for finding service

workers, joined in 2012. When she was negotiat-

ingthesaleofhercompanytoIkeain2017,she

says,herYPOpeersservedasa sortof“personal

advisory board of directors.” People who had sold

their companies “advised me how to think about

it, and that was incredibly helpful,” says Busque,

who now works at venture fund Fuel Capital.

Without their support, “it would have been a lot

harder, and I would have not been as confident.”

�Serena Saitto

① I appreciate other people’s advice at work

② It’s not my job to applaud others’ achievements

③ People lose respect when they admit their limitations

④ I am entitled to more respect than the average person

⑤ I do many things better than almost everyone I know

⑥It annoysmewhenothersignoremyaccomplishments

TOTAL

questions ② – ⑥for ① questionfor score:yourTally

4 points 1 point DISAGREESTRONGLY

3 points 2 points DISAGREE

2 points 3 points AGREE

1 point 4 points STRONGLY AGREE

Score 6–16:

LOW HUMILITY

Other people are likely

to describe you as

confident and self-

assured, as not paying

attention to feedback,

and as taking yourself

too seriously

Score 17–19:

MODERATE HUMILITY

People will say that you

have a nice mixture of

diffidence and confidence,

and that you know when

to listen and when to

speak up

Score 20–24:

HIGH HUMILITY

Others might describe you as

modest and unassuming, as

respecting others’ opinions, as

willing to listen to (and profit from)

feedback, and as regarding yourself

with some ironic detachment

QUIZ: HOGAN ASSESSMENTS