The Hogan 360 Leadership Model and 14 Core Competencies
Self-Management	Relationship Management	Working in the Business	Working on the Business
Integrity Resilience	Communication People Skills Team Player Engaging	Capability Efficiency Results Customer	Accountability Motivation Strategy Innovation

The Communication competency within the Relationship Management quadrant on the Hogan 360 taps into how an individual communicates with others. Higher scores tend to be very clear and precise when they communicate and generally are seen as outgoing and willing to share information with others. Those scoring low often hesitate to share new information and tend to shy away from negotiations or sharing their opinion on topics. We might expect to see those scoring lower on Communication simultaneously scoring higher on Excitable, Cautious, Reserved and/or Leisurely. When coaching those with lower scores, there are two areas to focus on that could help them work on their communication.

The first is around speaking effectively. Lower scores on the Communication competency tend to have trouble presenting ideas and concepts in a clear, well-defined manner. This could be during either one-on-one conversations or in a group setting. This likely is because they tend to speak too verbosely, loudly or softly, or they may just have poor grammar. One coaching tip could be to help them first think about the main point they are trying to convey. What are the steps leading up to that point? Have them organise their thoughts so that there is a clear concise message that leads up to the main point. If they find that others are still having a hard time understanding their message, have the individual ask themselves, did I provide enough information, too much information, or what may have clouded my message? Another thing they can try is to ask a trusted friend what they thought about the message. When speaking in groups, one tip could be to have the individual pick a designated person in the crowd to listen for any miscommunications during the discussion. If they do notice that the individual is going off track or saying something that doesn’t make sense, have that individual signal the speaker. In preparation for a speech or when the individual knows they are going to be speaking in front of a group, help them prepare by doing a few exercises. The first will be to determine who their audience is and their background. Then determine whether the framing of their questions is appropriate for the audience. Also, make sure they use direct words that make an impact. Lastly, have them practice delivering their message a few times.

The second area to focus on is helping them foster open communication. Often times lower scorers tend to be more closed off when it comes to sharing information. Sometimes they don’t communicate enough, which leads others to believe they might be holding back information. As such, help them find out what kinds of information their team, colleagues and other departments might be interested in knowing more about. What are their current priorities and responsibilities? Do they overlap with those of the lower scorer? Are there areas that they can collaborate with others? If so, have them reach out to form a team so they can all share knowledge and benefit from one another. Another area that might help foster open communication is if/when there is a change that is developing that they know about, have them share that with their team so that their team doesn’t hear it from someone else. The same can be said about anything upcoming that might be of interest; keeping others up to date will be key. This will help them to be seen as more open and honest about what’s going on around them. The last coaching tip is to have them review how they communicate with their supervisor. Does their manager know exactly what projects or tasks they are currently working on? Have them reach out to their manager to determine what kinds of information they would like to hear more about. Is there anything they might be leaving out, say bad news? Work with the lower scorer to identify what details are being left out and why and what details may help them communicate more effectively/openly. Then devise a plan with them to openly share with their manager on an on-going basis.