This article was written by Hogan Assessments.
Welcome back to our saga on the eight most common personality types found via the Hogan suite of assessments. We have already taken an in-depth look at Rebels, Marketers, Proletarians, Congenials, and Overachievers. This week, we continue our dive into these personality types by closely examining the personality profile of Networkers.
Networkers make up approximately 13% of the working population. Their Hogan profile is highlighted by slightly above average scores on Recognition, Power, Affiliation, and Aesthetics on the MVPI, but below average scores on Security; very high scores on Sociability and very low scores on Prudence on the HPI; and high scores on the Bold, Mischievous, Colourful, and Imaginative on HDS with low scores on Diligent and Dutiful. See Figure 1 below for the full profile.
Figure 1: Hogan personality profile of Networkers
The Reputation of Networkers
We had eight Hogan consultants with a combined 82 years of experience provide independent, written interpretations of the Networkers profile shown above. Some of the words our experts most frequently used to describe Networkers were “risky,” “social,” “outgoing,” “innovative,” and “manipulative.” Additionally, we examined the workplace reputation of Networkers by drawing on Hogan 360 data gathered with Hogan distributor Peter Berry Consultancy.
Colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates said Networkers are assertive and energetic, have strong influencing and negotiation skills, are passionate, and competitive and driven. At the same time, Networkers’ work colleagues also said that they have questionable ethical standards, frequently produce work with errors, are sometimes unprofessional, and do not always treat people fairly and without favouritism. In other words, Networkers are socially skilled, influential, and charming, but also prone to taking risks and breaking the rules.
Lastly, our job performance archive also tells us that Networkers are seen as high-performers when it comes to presenting to others, managing conflict, driving strategy, communicating, and inspiring others. Networkers also tend to receive high overall performance ratings from their supervisors. To summarise, Networkers are interested in climbing the corporate ladder and use their social skills to do so rapidly.
Common Careers for Networkers
Networkers prefer careers where they can connect with other people and rely on their social skills. They like meetings, delivering presentations, and working on group projects. They enjoy roles in which they can take the lead and be the centre of attention. Our data show Networkers are over-represented in managerial and sales jobs.
They are also over-represented in executive roles (as opposed to individual contributor roles), suggesting they prefer work where they have the most power, influence, and command over the room. Because of their ability to connect with others and to sell themselves, Networkers are often drawn to entrepreneurship and start their own businesses. In popular media, characters such as the Thor (Marvel), Tom Haverford (Parks and Recreation), and Anna (Disney’s Frozen) are prototypical Networks — social, spirited, and energetic.
Advice for Networkers
If you are Networker, you should first recognise you have a real talent for connecting with people, playing corporate politics, and standing out front. Your manager will see you as an energetic and enthusiastic high-performer. However, your colleagues may see you as a bit of a showoff and as someone who takes more credit than deserved. Because of your skill at rubbing elbows with the right people, you are primed to move up rapidly in your company. Unlike Overachievers, you are more willing to play corporate politics and to take shortcuts to get to the top, which means you will likely get to leadership positions quickly.
In leadership roles, you will tend to focus on your efforts on continuing to fast-track your career. You will focus on big objectives that can make a splash and leave the details for achieving those objectives to your team. Be sure to give credit to your team when they deliver on your promises, otherwise they will start to resent you as their manager which will ultimately result in your best employees leaving. While they will respect your ability to get the attention of senior management, no one enjoys someone else taking credit for their work.
How to Deal with Networkers
If your boss has the personality profile of a Networker, you should know that he or she will constantly be looking to build new and strong ties with the upper echelons of the company. In other words, he or she will spend more time managing up than managing down. Your boss will present you with an agenda and a vision for what he or she would like to see done but have no interest in the details regarding how it gets done. And, it will be up to you to get things done. The most important thing for your Networker boss is that you make him or her look good. If you care about getting credit for your work, you will need to document exactly what you did because your boss will often get the credit otherwise.
If any of your employees are Networkers recognise that these people have a real talent for making contacts and charming others, including you. They will prefer to be assigned to big projects and they will enjoy opportunities to present their work in front of a large group, especially if that group includes power members of management. While your Networker will be energetic and ambitious, it will be incumbent upon you to make sure he or she is actually getting work done. Many Networkers advance on social skill alone generating little to nothing in terms of productivity. It will be up to you to find tasks and objectives that maximise your Networker’s natural skill-set.
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