Leadership excellence starts with self-awareness—the ability to understand your strengths, challenges, and behavioral tendencies. Awareness alone isn’t enough. Leaders also need self-advocacy—the confidence to communicate their needs, strengths, and development goals effectively.

This is where executive coaching and the Hogan Assessment come together. Hogan’s suite of personality assessments provides deep insights into how leaders think, work, and interact with others. Executive coaches use these insights to guide leaders toward greater self-awareness and empower them to advocate for their growth, development, and success.

Following is a three-step process to how ImprovEdge coaches leverage Hogan to help leaders develop a clear understanding of themselves and confidently navigate their leadership journey.

Step 1: Using Hogan to Build Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership. It enables leaders to recognize their strengths, understand their potential blind spots, and make intentional adjustments to their behavior. Executive coaches use Hogan’s three core assessments to provide a well-rounded view of a leader’s personality:

1. Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) – Everyday Strengths

The HPI identifies leadership potential by assessing how people typically behave in the workplace. It highlights key characteristics such as ambition, sociability, learning approach, and prudence—factors that influence decision-making and leadership style.

• Coaching Application: An executive coach helps leaders see how these traits show up in their leadership. For example, a leader with high ambition may be naturally driven and goal-oriented and may also need to ensure they support and recognize their team’s contributions.

2. Hogan Development Survey (HDS) – Potential Derailers

The HDS reveals personality traits that can become challenges under stress or pressure. These derailers—such as being overly cautious, bold, skeptical, or diligent—can hinder performance if left unmanaged.

• Coaching Application: A coach works with leaders to recognize how their derailers might show up in high-pressure situations. For instance, a leader with a high Skeptical score may struggle with trust, causing tension with colleagues. The coach helps them develop strategies to balance caution with openness.

3. Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) – Core Drivers

The MVPI assesses what motivates a leader, such as recognition, power, security, or altruism. Understanding these values helps leaders align their career path with what energizes them.

• Coaching Application: A coach helps leaders leverage their motivators. If a leader is highly driven by learning and development, they might advocate for leadership training or mentoring opportunities that align with their passion.

By combining insights from all three assessments, executive coaches create a holistic picture of a leader’s personality, behaviors, and motivations.

Step 2: Developing Self-Advocacy Through Coaching

Once a leader has greater self-awareness, the next step is self-advocacy—the ability to confidently communicate their strengths, development needs, and aspirations. Coaches help leaders build this skill in several ways.

1. Articulating Strengths with Confidence

Many leaders struggle with either overstating or understating their strengths. A coach helps them find the balance—owning their capabilities while remaining open to growth.

🔹 Coaching Strategy:

• A leader with strong interpersonal skills might practice how to express their ability to build relationships and drive collaboration in leadership conversations.
• A leader with a strategic mindset might refine how they position themselves as a forward-thinking problem solver.

This enables leaders to advocate for promotions, leadership roles, or new responsibilities with clarity and confidence.

2. Managing and Communicating Development Areas

Derailers and development areas should not be seen as weaknesses – instead they are opportunities for growth. A coach helps leaders reframe these areas in a constructive way.

🔹 Coaching Strategy:

• If a leader is prone to micromanaging (Diligent derailer), they might work with a coach on how to frame this in a conversation: “I’m highly detail-oriented, which ensures quality work, and I’m working on trusting my team more and delegating effectively.”
• If a leader is naturally reserved, a coach may help them develop a strategy to communicate their ideas more assertively in meetings.

By equipping leaders with language to express their development goals, coaches help them advocate for the right support and resources.

3. Aligning Work with Motivations

A key part of self-advocacy is ensuring a leader’s role aligns with their values and motivators. Coaches help leaders use MVPI insights to push for assignments, projects, or career moves that fuel their passion.

🔹 Coaching Strategy:

• A leader who values recognition and achievement may seek high-impact projects to showcase their abilities.
• A leader motivated by affiliation may advocate for leadership roles that involve mentorship or team building.

This helps leaders find fulfillment in their roles and drive performance in a way that feels authentic.

4. Preparing for High-Stakes Conversations

Leaders often need to advocate for themselves in critical conversations—performance reviews, salary negotiations, or career discussions. Executive coaches use Hogan insights to prepare them for these moments.

🔹 Coaching Strategy:

• If a leader’s HDS reveals they may struggle with assertiveness, a coach may help them practice clear, confident communication in advocating for a promotion.
• If a leader is highly Cautious, they may work on taking more strategic risks and asking for leadership opportunities.

Through role-playing and feedback, leaders gain the skills to advocate for themselves effectively.

Step 3: Turning Insights into Action

Executive coaching is not just about understanding personality—it’s about applying it for real growth. Coaches help leaders:

• Track Progress: Measuring how they apply self-awareness and advocacy in leadership situations.
• Refine Leadership Presence: Strengthening how they communicate strengths and development needs.
• Build Accountability: Creating action plans for leadership growth and career advancement.

With a Hogan-based coaching approach, leaders develop the self-awareness to understand themselves and the self-advocacy to shape their careers proactively.

The combination of Hogan Assessments and executive coaching provides leaders with a powerful framework to:

• Gain deep self-awareness of strengths, derailers, and motivators.
• Navigate leadership challenges with intentionality.
• Advocate for themselves in career growth, role alignment, and leadership opportunities.

Ultimately, the most successful leaders are those who understand themselves and communicate their needs effectively. With the right coaching, Hogan insights become more than data—they become a roadmap to leadership excellence.