Career success is full of inequalities. We don’t all start at the same place, and we don’t all end up at the same place. Some climb the corporate ladder and attain significant wealth, while others struggle to make ends meet in jobs with nearly unlivable wages. So what determines who gains career success and who does not?

During everyday social interactions, people try to influence how others view them. Some people make this effort deliberately, while others do so unconsciously. In social psychology, this behavior is called impression management. This article explores what impression management is, who impression managers are, and why it matters.

Impression management is the process of trying to control the impression others have of you.¹ It’s an intentional attempt to influence your reputation, or how you seem to others. If you want to seem friendly, you’ll probably make eye contact, smile, start a conversation, use people’s names, and remember details about their lives. An impression manager chooses to present in a certain way to create a specific image of themself.

“Impression management has a lot of advantages,” said Alise Dabdoub, PhD, director of product innovation at Hogan Assessments. “It can help you get a job, do better in the workplace, make sales—all kinds of things.”

Our personality can affect our sleep, and our sleep can affect our personality. Given that we spend about one-third of our time asleep, the psychology of sleep may have a greater influence on our well-being than we tend to believe.

Recently on The Science of Personality, Zlatan Krizan, PhD, an award-winning researcher and professor of psychology at Iowa State University, spoke about the psychology of sleep and its relation to personality. How exactly does sleep deprivation affect our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, both personally and professionally?

When psychologists talk about the Dark Triad, they mean narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. But that list doesn’t cover all the dark-side personality characteristics.

Recently on The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, chief science officer, and Blake Loepp, PR manager, spoke with Peter Harms, PhD, professor of management at the University of Alabama, about dark-side behaviors not covered by the Dark Triad.

Occupational well-being is an essential part of overall well-being. Effective leadership coaching will personalize developmental feedback to the leader’s needs based on the context of their role, function, and organization and on their personality. Individual differences in personality reveal how people experience well-being at work and how they manage stress. Leadership development should investigate how everyday personality characteristics, stress responses, and values can affect a leader’s well-being—and ultimately the well-being of the leader’s team and other stakeholders.

Finding a fulfilling career is no small matter. The average adult will work for about 90,000 hours, or one-third of their life. Most of us would prefer to spend that time doing our ideal job. We say we have the greatest job satisfaction when our work feels purposeful and significant. But what is a dream job, anyway?

A dream job isn’t one-size-fits-all. Job satisfaction is as unique as the personality of every individual—and it’s rooted in values. Leaders’ values determine organizational values. Workers whose values align with those of the organization feel the greatest job satisfaction, engagement, and belonging. They are more likely to be productive organizational citizens. Meanwhile, those whose values differ will probably feel unfulfilled and may seek work elsewhere.

Before we explore the organizational implications of meaningful work, let’s look at why we can seem so driven to pursue a dream job.

“I hope nobody finds out I’m really a fraud.” That’s an extremely common worry for high performers. Imposter syndrome haunts many of us despite (and sometimes because of) our successes. The three types of imposter syndrome all relate to anxiety. But the goal shouldn’t necessarily be to overcome it. Instead, we can benefit from it by allowing it to motivate us.

Recently on The Science of Personality, Michael Sanger, director of assessment solutions for Leadership Development Worldwide, spoke about the topic. Currently based in Atlanta, Michael has lived in New York, Amsterdam, and Shanghai. “I’ve always known how it feels to be secretly insecure,” he said, referring to his global experience.

Imposter syndrome doesn’t have to be bad, though. In this article, we’ll cover what it is, three types of imposter syndrome, the possible benefits, and how to use imposter syndrome to improve performance.

Knowing how to develop high-potential employees starts with identifying them. A high potential is usually considered to be someone with the personality characteristics, experience, and readiness to step into senior leadership. So, how can organizations build an effective high-potential development program?

Derailers, in Hogan terms, are everyday personality strengths that can become overused—particularly during times of increased stress, pressure, or complacency. When we stop monitoring our strengths, our behaviors can become detrimental. Someone who tends to be supportive and loyal to authority, for example, could begin to seem excessively deferential and ingratiating. Derailment in the individual sense could hold a person back from performing well or achieving occupational goals. But what happens when the whole team derails?

Values affect our personal and professional lives in ways we aren’t often aware. They influence our work performance and organizational effectiveness. The importance of values can’t be overstated — values explain quite a lot about the nature of human nature.

Recently on The Science of Personality, Robert Hogan, PhD, founder and president of Hogan Assessments, spoke about the importance of values. “Values have shaped human history,” he said.

In this article, we cover what values are, how organizations establish values, and the relationship between values and organizational effectiveness. Let’s explore the impact of values.