Red Zone Study
Some believe many fail due to a lack of skill, intelligence, or experience. However, people often fail because qualities that helped them get promoted become overused and backfire.
That insight is key to a landmark study by Robert and Joyce Hogan, published in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment. Their work transformed how we think about leadership by emphasizing what they called the dark side of personality, showing that strengths pushed too far become weaknesses.
The Hogans based their research on decades of leadership data and executive assessments. Instead of measuring what people excel at, they identified eleven derailment tendencies—traits like bold, cautious, diligent, or charismatic. None of these traits is problematic on its own. In fact, many are what help someone succeed initially. Problems occur when pressure, fatigue, or authority causes these traits to become overactive.
Confidence turns into arrogance. Caution becomes paralysis. Charisma shifts into manipulation. Attention to detail devolves into perfectionism.
Stress functions like a volume knob. When under pressure, leaders tend to revert to their most familiar style and turn up the dial.
If this sounds familiar, it should. It directly relates to the Red Zone concept in my latest book, Personality Intelligence.
The Red Zone by Style
🦅 Eagles embody confidence, decisiveness, and bold action. In the Red Zone, that confidence can turn into arrogance, their decisiveness may become controlling, and their directness can become overly blunt and offensive.
🦜 Parrots bring enthusiasm, optimism, and charisma. In the Red Zone, impulses might override careful thinking, and attention can become distracted. The positivity might become unrealistic and disconnected from reality.
🕊 Doves bring empathy, harmony, and support. In the Red Zone, harmony can become avoidance, decisions stall, and progress slows under the weight of trying to keep everyone comfortable. The care for others can become smothering.
🦉 Owls bring precision, analysis, and planning. In the Red Zone, detail can overshadow momentum, overthinking replaces action, and rigidity often sneaks in. They can become overly critical of themselves and others.
The Hogan research emphasizes a truth many leadership programs overlook. Failure rarely stems from what leaders lack; it arises from overusing what they have. This is where Personality Intelligence becomes essential.
Why Personality Intelligence Matters
The four A’s of Personality Intelligence provide leaders with four essential capabilities.
Awareness of your strengths and recognizing when behavior shifts out of balance.
Acceptance of your style and that of others.
Adaptability to respond differently under pressure.
Authenticity in displaying the appropriate style at the right time.
Personality intelligence enables leaders to recognize when they are crossing the invisible line between their optimal zone and their Red Zone. The traits that elevate should be your ticket to success, not the reason you get escorted out of the company.
* Hogan, R., & Hogan, J. (2001). “Assessing Leadership: A View from the Dark Side” (International Journal of Selection and Assessment).
*This Blog originally appeared on Merrick Rosenberg’s website.
