An Exploration in the Dark Side: Becoming a Hogan Practioner

I spent last week training in the dark side.
No real lightsabers. No robes. Just a lot of uncomfortable self-awareness.

And now I’m happy to share that I’ve officially completed my Hogan Assessment Certification and am now a Hogan Coach. This means I’m trained to predict how leaders are likely to behave when stress is high, patience is low, and the pressure to deliver never lets up.

In Hogan, the dark side traits aren’t villains.
They’re the behaviors that surface under pressure. Micromanaging. Skepticism. Overconfidence. Withdrawal. (Usually invisible to the person doing them.)

Left unchecked, they can quietly derail teams and business outcomes.
Understood? They become one of the most useful leadership upgrades available.

And before you assume I went full Sith, I also studied the bright side + inside, interpreting the strengths, values, and motivations that power leaders at their best.

This is how I’m using Hogan in my consulting work:
→ Helping leaders deeply understand how they show up under pressure
→ Deploying talent more intentionally by aligning strengths to real business needs
→ Reimagining roles to unlock new value as AI becomes embedded in everyday workflows

So while AI continues to expand capability at lightspeed, self-aware leaders are the essential force that transform aligned and motivated teams into sustainable advantage.

That’s not science fiction. That’s strategy.