‘What's Your Leadership Style? Page 1 of 4 Lest Review / Update: 2006-01-08 Self-Assessment Tool: What's Your Leadership Style? ‘The self-assessment tools are intended as a first step in helping you to define issues that may be important (o your effectiveness in a leadership capacity. “The value in these assessments is in answering them as honestly as you can, and then following ‘through on the learning that they might indicate. Remember that leadership skills can be learned. Your current assessment need not be the same as your future assessment. ‘Think of this as a learning opportunity. ‘Would you like to know what Ikind of leader you are? ‘The following questions analyze your leadership style according to the Ohio State model. Read each item carefully. Think about how you usually behave when you are the leader. Then, using the following key, circle the letter that most elosely describes your style. Circle only one choice per question, A = Always ° Often 2 = Sometimes s Seldom N = Never 1. Ttake time to explain how a job should be carried out. A 0 7 8S N 2. — Lexplain the part that co-workers are to play in the group. A 0 ? N 3. Imake clear the rules and procedures for others to follow in A 0? 8 N detail 4, Lorganize my own work activities. A 0? S$ N 5. Lot people know how well they are doing, A 0 7 S$ N 6. Tet people know what is expected of them, Ae eepaee Se 7. Tencourage the use of uniform procedures for others to followin A O ? S N detail. 8. Imake my attitude clear to others, A 0 ? S N 9, Lassign others to particular tasks. A 0? 8 N 10, Tmake sure that others understand their part in the group. A 0 7? S N 11, schedule the work that I want others to do. A 0 ? 8 N 12, Task that others follow standard rules and regulations, A 0 ? 8 N http:/Avww.pao.gov.ab.ca/toolkit/toolswhats-your-leadership-style.htm 8/9/2005What's Your Leadership Style? Page 2 of 4 13. Imake working on the job more pleasant. A 0 ? S$ N 14, Igo out of my way to be helpful to others. A 0? S$ N 15, Lrespect others’ feelings and opinions. AanOu vad aN 16, Lam thoughtful and considerate of others. A 0? S$ N 17, I maintain a friendly atmosphere in the group, A 0? SN 18, Ido little things fo make it more pleasant for others to be a A 0 8 oN member of my group. > ° a Zz 19. Ltreat others as equals, 20. Tgive others advance notice of change and explain howitwill A © 7? § N affect them, 21, [look out for others' personal welfare. A 0? 8 N i 22, Lam approachable and friendly toward others. 4 07 $ N Scoring Form The following boxes are numbered to correspond to the questionnaire items, In each box, circle the number next to the letter of the response alternative you picked. Add up the numbers you eitcled in cach of the columns, Interpretation ‘The questions scored in Column 1 reflect an initiating structure or task leadership style. A score of greater than 47 would indicate that you describe your leadership style as high on initiating or taske structure. You plan, diteet, organize, and control the work of others, ‘The questions scored in Colum 2 reflect a considerate or relationship style, A total score of, ‘greater ‘than 40 indicates that you ate a considerate leader. A considerate leader is one who is concerned with the comfort, well-being, and personal welfare of his or her subordinates, A leader who emphasizes initiating structure generally improves productivity, at least in the short run, However, leaders who rank high on initiating structure and low on consideration generally have large numbers of grievances, absenteeism, and high turnover rates among employees, Column 1 Column 2 14 ARs O=4 |ittp://vww.pao.gov.ab.ca/toolkit/tools/whats-your-leadership-style.htm 8/9/2005 |‘What's Your Leadership Style? Page 3 of 4 es 3 15 Ass A=5 O=4 o=4 2=3 253 s=2 S=2 N=l1 Nel \s w ~ | A=5 A=5 O=4 o=4 2-3 153 8 8=2 N N=1 7 A 3 Zar~op + Za~o> L Total Column 1 = | Total Column 2 = From Organizational Behavior by Hellriege!, Slocum, Woodman, and Brining. Reprinted with permission of ITP Nelson. [Creating Your Learning and Development Plan] [On-the-Job Learning] {Developing Yaur Comactencies) (Courses and Resources} [Toolkit Site Hap] PAO Home | Search | Contact Us | Privacy Statement | Site Map | How To Use Our site “The user agrees to the terms and conditions sot out In the Copyright and Disclaimer statement, © 2004 Government of Alberta hitp:/Avww.pao.gov.ab.ca/toolkit/tools/whats-your-leadership-style.htm 8/9/2005LEADERSHIP PROFILE What value(s) do you find important for a leader to possess? From the following list, select 5 values you think are the most important and rank them in order of importance from 1 - 5 with number one being the most important to you. Self respect Group Values ~ Wisdom ____ Amibition Broad minded ___ capable Cheerful _____ Assertive Passive 1 _____ Communication committed i Skills ____ Enthusiastic Dynamic ____ courageous Forgiving _____ Helpful Understanding ____ Honest Imaginative ____ Independent Inspiring ____ Sel£-controllea organized Gees Pale Responsible _____ logical caringLeadership Style Survey Page 1 of 5 Leadership Style Survey Directions This questionnaire contains statements about leadership style beliefs. Next to each statement, citcle the number that represents how strongly you feel about the statement by using the following scoring system: 3 Almost Always True - 5 # Frequently True - 4 § Occasionally True - 3 # Seldom True - 2 & Almost Never True - 1 Be honest about your choices as there are no right or wrong answers - itis only for your own self-assessment. Leadership Style Survey Almost |] Frequently | Occasionally || Seldom || Almost Always | True Thue True | Never True True 4, || lalways retain the final decision | 5, 3 2 4 ‘making authority within my depariment or team. | always try to include one or more | § 4 3 2 1 ‘employees in determining what to do and how to do it. However, 1 maintain the final decision making authority. 3, | and my employees always vote | 5 4 3 2 1 ‘whenever a major decision has to be made. 4, | do not consider suggestions 5 4 3 2 ‘made by my employees as | do not have the time for them. 5, | I ask for employee ideas and input | 5 4 3 2 1 ‘on upcoming plans and projects, 6. | Foramajor decision to passin my |5 | 4 3 2 1 department, it must have the approval of each individual or the http:/Avww-.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/survstyl.html 8/9/2005Leadership Style Survey Page 2 of S majority. | | Utell my employees whathas tobe | 5 [4 done and how fo do it. Toren things go wrong andineed [5 [4 to create a strategy to keep a project or process running on schedule, {call a meeting to get my employee's advice, 9. | To get information out, I send it by | § ‘ ‘email, memos, or voice mail; very rarely is a meeting called. My ‘employees are then expected to ‘act upon the information. 10. | When someone makes a mistake, | 5 4 3 2 1 [tell them not to ever do that again and make a note of it. 14. | !wantto create an environment 15 (4 3 2 1 where the employees take ‘ownership of the project. | allow them to participate in the decision making process. 42. [allow my employees to 5 4 3 2 1 determine what needs fo be done and how to do it _| 413, | New hires are not allowed to make 2 1 any decisions unless itis approved by me first. 14, | | ask employees for thelr vision of 2 1 where they see their jobs going and then use their vision where appropriate, | 15. | My workers know more about their 2 1 jobs than me, so allow them to carry out the decisions to do thelr = +—_—| 16, | When something goes wrong, Itell] § fq 3 2 1 my employees that a procedure is not working correctly and | establish anew one. 17. | lallow my employees to set | 4 3 2 1 priorities with my guidance, 18. | ! delegate tasks in order to 5 4 3 1 implement a new procedure or process. | 19, | | closely monitor my employees to | 5 4 3 2 1 ensure they are performing correctly. ——$+tr r q http:/Avww.nwlink.com/~donelark/leader/survsty!.html 8/9/2005Leadership Style Survey Page 3 of 5 20.|| when there are differences in role [5 | 4 2 1 expectations, | work with them to resolve the differences. 21, | Each individual is responsible for {5 4 2 1 defining their job. 22. | Ike the power that my leadership [5 | 4. 2 1 position holds over subordinates. 23, | like to use my leadership power 15 4 2 1 to help subordinates grow. 24, | I like to share my leadership 5 4 2 1 power with my subordinates. 26, || Employees must be directed or threatened with punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives. 26. | Employees will exercise sel 5 |4 2 1 direction if they are committed to the objectives, 27. | Employees have the right to 5 |4 2 1 determine their own organizational objectives. 28, | Employees seek mainly security. | § 4 2 1 129, | Employees know how to use 5 la 2 4 creativity and ingenuity to solve organizational problems, 30, | My employees can lead 5 |4 2 1 themselves just as well as | can In the fill-in lines below, mark the score of each item on the questionnaire. For example, if you scored item one with a 3 (Occasionally), then enter a 3 next to tem One. When you have entered all the scores for each question, total each of the three columns. hitpy/www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/surystyL html Item Score Item Score Item Score 4 2 3 4 5 6 8/9/2005Leadership Style Survey Page 4 of 5 f ip Styl 7 see 8 Saeed || 8 __ 10 ieee 11 saecaecaececi 42) a 13 14 es a 16 ea 7 Soe ceeee ee aerctct 19 see 20 aan ay seer 22 dese 23 fas seen 25 dete 26 Gate) 27. ae 2 fsx deena a )-a0 aera TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL Authoritarian Participative Delegative Style Style Style (autocratic) (democratic) (free reign) This questionnaire is to help you assess what leadership style you normally operate out of. The lowest score possible for a stage Is 10 (Almost never) while the highest score possible for a stage is 50 (Almost always). The highest of the three scores indicates what style of leadership you normally use. If your highest score is 40 or more, itis a strong indicator of your normal style, The lowest of the three scores is an indicator of the style you least use. If your lowest score is 20 or less, it is a strong indicator that you normally do not. operate out of this mode, Iftwo of the scores are close to the same, you might be going through a transition phase, either personally or at work, except: 3 If you score high in both the participative and the delegative then you are probably a delegative leader. If there is only a small difference between the three scores, then this indicates that you have no clear perception of the mode you operate out of, or you are a new leader and are trying to feel out the correct style for you. Final Thoughts hitp://www.nwlink.com/~donelark/leader/survsty|.htm! 8/9/2005Leadership Style Survey Page 5 of S Normally, some of the best leaders operate out of the participative mode and use the other two modes as needed. An example of an exception would be a leader who has a new crew or temporary work-force. That leader would probably need to operating out of the authoritarian mode most of the time. On the other hand, a leader who has a crew of professionals or a crew that knows more than she or he does, would probably operate out of the delegative mode, Leaders who want their employees to grow, use a participative style of leadership. As they "grow' into their jobs, then they are gradually given more authority (delegative) over their jobs. Reliability and Validity Since this survey is a training tool, it has not been formally checked for reliability or validity. However, since | have had a lot of feedback from various training classes, other trainers, and various sources, | feel that itis fairly accurate. IF did a formal reliability and validity analysis, | would probably have to charge for it. Please feel free to send me your feedback (donclark@nwlink.com). Notes Created July 15, 1998. Last update February 24, 2002. Return to Leadership Training and Development Outline donclark@nwlink.com http:/Awww.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/survsty|.html http://vrww.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/surysty].html 8/9/2005"Blake/Mouton’s Managerial Grid” ‘The following items describe aspects of leadership behavior. Respond to each item according to the way you would be most likely to act if you wore the leader of a work group. Cirele whether ‘you would be likely to behave in the described way always (A), frequently (F), seldom (S), or never (N). — AF SN 1. I would most likely act as the spokesman of the group —— AF § N 2. 1would allow members complete freedom in theit work _ AF $ N 3, [would encourage the use of uniform procedures A F SN 4, would permit the membérs to use their own judgment in solving problems. —— AF SN 5. [would push members for greater efforts, —— AF 8 6. Iwould let the members do their work the way they think best. —— AF SN 7. Iwould keep the work moving at a rapid pace —— AF §.N 8. I would turn the members loose on the job, and Let them go to it, —— AFSN 9. Lwould settle conflicts when they occur in the group. —— A FS N10. I would be reluctant to allow the members any freedom of action, -— AF $ N11. I would decide what shall be done and how it shall be done, __ AF $.N 12. I would push for increased production, —— AF SN 13,1 would be wiling to make changes. _. AF §.N 14, would assign group members to particular tasks. —. AF $.N 15, Lwould schedule the work to be done. AF §.N 16, I would refuse to explain my actions, _— AF $.N 17, Lwould persuade others that my ideas are to their advantage. A E S$ N 18. [would permit the group to set its own pace,“CREATING A WINNING TEAM" LEADERSHIP GRID DIRECTIONS: To score this questionnaire: STEP T- STEP 2- STEP 3 - STEP-4 - STEP 5 - STEP 6- Circle items 5, 10, and 16, Puta 1 in the margiri by circled items answered seldom (S) or never (N). For all the other items put a | in the margin for items answered always (A) or frequently (F). Circle the I's for items 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, and 18, Count the circled 1s; this is your PEOPLE SCORE. Count the uncircled 1’s; this is your TASK SCORE. In order to locate yourself on the grid below, find your score for Concern for Task on the horizontal axis of the grid. Next, move up the column corresponding to your Task score to the point of the intersection with your Concern for People score. Place an X at the intersection that represents your two scor in the parentheses correspond to the major styles on the gri - Numbers c | 9) @9) 9 ania N c E R N FOR (5,5) ae E 0 P L E Ha 1) 1) = 1 3 4 5 id Sao, CONCERN FOR TASK