Leadership Blind Spots (HDS)

What the HDS measures

While most corporate personality tests (like the Big Five or MBTI) measure the "bright side" of personality when an individual is at their best, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) measures the "dark side." Based on Karen Horney's psychoanalytic model, these are coping mechanisms that occur when leaders are stressed, bored, tired, or let their guard down. In low doses, these traits are strengths (e.g., being confident). Under stress, they become toxic derailers (e.g., being arrogant and un-coachable).

The dimensions it assesses

• Moving Away (Distancing):
• Excitable: Moody, volatile, easily disappointed.
• Skeptical: Cynical, distrustful, anticipates betrayal.
• Cautious: Fearful of making mistakes, decision-paralysis.
• Reserved: Aloof, uncommunicative, ignores people's feelings.
• Leisurely: Passive-aggressive, privately resentful, stubbornly independent.
• Moving Against (Dominating):
• Bold: Arrogant, entitled, overconfident, ignores feedback.
• Mischievous: Risk-taking, limits-testing, manipulative.
• Colorful: Attention-seeking, dramatic, poor listening skills.
• Imaginative: Eccentric, eccentric, lacks practical execution.
• Moving Toward (Ingratiating):
• Diligent: Perfectionistic, micromanaging, cannot delegate.
• Dutiful: Overly eager to please, sycophantic, refuses to act independently.

What to do with your result

1. For High "Diligent" (The Micromanager): You are suffocating your team and burning yourself out. You must learn the "80% Rule": if a subordinate can do the task 80% as well as you can, you MUST delegate it and accept the 20% drop in quality in exchange for scaling the business.
2. For High "Bold" (The Arrogant Leader): You confuse confidence with omniscience. Your team no longer warns you about impending disasters because you punish messengers. You must institute a "Red Team" rule, actively demanding that someone poke holes in your plan before you execute.
3. For High "Leisurely" (The Passive-Aggressive): You say "yes" to your boss but harbor deep resentment and drag your feet. You must learn to engage in productive conflict. Say "no" upfront instead of sabotaging the project later.

Common questions about the HDS

What does the HDS measure?

Measurement of the "Dark Side" of personality: the interpersonal behaviors that emerge under stress and derail leadership careers.

Can the HDS diagnose me?

No. Leadership Blind Spots (HDS) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. Grief, burnout, a thyroid problem, medication side effects, chronic pain and months of bad sleep are not among its questions, and any of them can move a score. Telling those apart is what a professional assessment is for.

Is this HDS test really free?

Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.

Are my answers stored or shared?

No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.

How often should I retake the HDS?

Most of these questionnaires ask about the past one to two weeks, so retaking sooner than that mostly measures the same period twice. Every two to four weeks is a reasonable rhythm if you are tracking change. A direction of travel over several weeks tells a doctor far more than any single score.

How accurate is the HDS?

Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.

Why can I not take the HDS here?

Commercial instrument restricted to certified users. We will not reproduce a questionnaire we have no right to reproduce, so this page explains what it measures instead. Derailer constructs overlap heavily with maladaptive-trait models; PID-5 (APA, free) covers similar ground.