The Axiogram - Part 3

Masterclass Part Three: Bringing the Axiogram to Life with Jonathan Chiampi

The final part of the Axiogram Masterclass brings together the foundations explored in Parts One and Two and moves into practical interpretation. Jonathan (Jon) Chiampi, President and VP of Research at the Robert S. Hartman Institute, works through a series of real-world examples to demonstrate how the original Axiogram can reveal patterns and relationships within an HVP that may be difficult to see when scores are presented separately.

Jon begins by explaining why returning to Hartman’s original Axiogram is valuable. While many ASDs and practitioners have developed their own ways of displaying HVP information, the original format makes certain relationships between scores immediately visible. As Jon puts it, “When you want to understand Hartman, then I think going back to the original is really valuable.”

A Practical Framework for Reading the Axiogram

Building on the earlier sessions, Jon introduces a practical approach based on the Three Rs: Raw, Relative, and Relational.

He begins with the gestalt, or overall picture, asking how tightly or broadly the scores are grouped across Part One, Part Two, and the combined profile. From there, he looks at:

• Raw: What are the individual scores showing?

• Relative: How do the three dimensions compare with one another within each part?

• Relational: How do Part One and Part Two interact with one another?

This approach provides a quick way to identify where attention should be focused without becoming overwhelmed by the many individual scores on the report.

A key theme is that the first three columns, Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Systemic, contain an extraordinary amount of information. By looking at just these six dimensional scores and their relationships, it is possible to identify patterns such as waterfalls, peaks, crossovers, and splits before moving into the more detailed scores.

Seeing Patterns and Constellations

Much of the session focuses on patterns that emerge visually, particularly horizontal splits, vertical splits, and crossovers.

Jon demonstrates how a horizontal split can highlight significant differences between a person's worldview and self-view, while a vertical split can create a particularly strong polarization within a dimension. He also explores crossovers, where a dimension is stronger in one part of the profile than the corresponding dimension in the other.

The examples show how these patterns can provide hypotheses about where a person may experience difficulty, what situations may bring particular tendencies to the surface, and where their strengths may be most effectively used.

Importantly, Jon stresses that these patterns should not be treated as fixed diagnoses or automatic conclusions. Context matters. A particular constellation may be helpful in one environment and challenging in another. The purpose is to understand where potential strengths or difficulties might emerge and then explore whether that interpretation fits the person's actual experience.

One particularly useful theme is the importance of considering stress and situation. Jon shares examples where profiles that initially appear very strong can reveal significant behavioural differences when an individual comes under pressure. In these cases, the Axiogram can help practitioners anticipate where conflict or difficulty may arise.

Moving from Retrospective to Prospective Interpretation

Jon also introduces an especially practical idea: using the HVP prospectively rather than only retrospectively.

Rather than waiting for a difficulty to occur and then returning to the HVP to see whether it might have been anticipated, he suggests documenting potential areas of challenge in advance and revisiting them later. This creates an opportunity to compare the interpretation with what actually happened and, over time, develop a deeper understanding of the patterns revealed by the Axiogram.

He also emphasizes that the Axiogram can be useful even when someone is using a different HVP reporting format. If the underlying scores are available, practitioners can look for the same patterns themselves. The Axiogram helps make those relationships visible, but the patterns can be explored in other reports too.

Key Takeaways

Part Three is ultimately about turning numbers into a meaningful picture of the person. The Axiogram provides a visual language for identifying relationships, patterns, strengths, potential challenges, and areas that warrant further exploration.

The three-part series moves from understanding the foundations, to understanding the Score Form, and finally to seeing how the information can be interpreted in practice. As Jon explains, the goal is to gain “another level deeper of what we've learned through Hartman and his work” and to continue developing broader perspectives on how the HVP can be understood and applied.

This masterclass also highlights an important opportunity for the Institute: as practitioners continue working with these patterns and sharing what they observe, our collective understanding can continue to develop.

Would you like to see more? This is currently the final part of the Axiogram Masterclass series, but we would love to hear from you. If you would like to see additional masterclasses on the Axiogram, or have suggestions for other topics you would like the Institute to explore, please email membership@hartmaninstitute.org and let us know what would be most valuable to you.