Hogan Development Survey
The Dark Side — the derailers that emerge under stress and pressure.
Overview
The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) describes the dark side of personality — qualities that emerge in times of increased strain and can disrupt relationships, damage reputations, and derail peoples' chances of success. These derailers are often strengths that become overused.
The HDS is the only business-focused personality assessment that measures these career-derailing tendencies. By assessing dark-side personality, you can recognize risk factors before they become a problem — for individual coaching, team effectiveness, and executive selection.
The 11 Derailment Risks
Excitable
Moody, easily annoyed, hard to please, and emotionally volatile
Skeptical
Distrustful, cynical, sensitive to criticism, and focused on the negative
Cautious
Unassertive, resistant to change, risk-averse, and slow to decide
Reserved
Aloof, indifferent to the feelings of others, and uncommunicative
Leisurely
Overtly cooperative, but privately irritable, stubborn, and uncooperative
Bold
Overly self-confident, arrogant, with inflated feelings of self-worth
Mischievous
Charming, risk-taking, limit-testing, and excitement-seeking
Colorful
Dramatic, attention-seeking, interruptive, and poor listening skills
Imaginative
Creative, but thinking and acting in unusual or eccentric ways
Diligent
Meticulous, precise, hard to please, and micromanaging
Dutiful
Eager to please and reluctant to act independently or against popular opinion
When to Use the HDS
- Executive selection risk screening
- Leadership derailment prevention and coaching
- Succession planning due diligence
- Stress-behavior awareness for high-pressure roles
Sample Reports
Request report examples published by Hogan Assessment Systems — see exactly what you receive.
HDS Insight Report (Sample)
Development-focused interpretation of all eleven derailment risks, with behavioral implications.
HDS Subscale Interpretive Guide
Deep-dive guide to interpreting HDS subscales for certified practitioners.
Summary Report (HPI, HDS & MVPI)
Results-based overview of strengths, values, and challenges in a concise format.
Ready to run the HDS?
All assessments are administered by our certified team with a professional debrief available for every participant.
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