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LEADERSHIP STYLE INVENTORY

Directions: Assume you are involved in each of the following situations. Each situation has alternative
actions you might initiate. Think about what you would do in each circumstance. Circle the alternative
action choice which you think would most closely describe your behaviour in the situation presented.
Circle only one choice.

1. Shyam is a new joinee in your team. He is new to the work content and the technological platform.
He is enthusiastic about this new assignment and is willing to learn.
A. Talk to Shyam and check if there are any concerns; give task-related inputs.
B. Intentionally do not intervene and let Shyam learn new things by himself.

2. Mohan is a star performer and very committed to his work. You have been working well together. He
is professionally very competent and has learnt all the necessary skills needed to excel in his career.
He is being assigned to a new responsibility. He is, however, a little nervous about the new
responsibility.
A. Educate Mohan about the new work skills needed to excel at work.
B. Encourage Mohan to take up the new responsibility and be supportive of his efforts.

3. You are the team leader for a project whose members have been showing improvement in
performance on the assigned tasks. A team member who is working under your supervision for last
year has shown very poor performance and also seems to be demotivated at his work.
A. Do what you can to make the member feel important and involved; do not bother too much
about task at this stage.
B. Engage in discussion, understand his problems and provide support; also provide guidance at
work.

4. As the leader, you are planning a change in your organization. You plan to develop a change plan
with your top management team. The members of the team have worked with you for a long time and
you are confident about their willingness and ability to undertake this work.
A. Encourage team members to develop a change plan themselves and own up responsibility.
B. Talk to the team members and tell them how to manage change.

5. You are sitting in a room and suddenly you observe that there is a short-circuit in the room. Things
have caught fire. Your subordinates are in the room and have not been trained in safety procedures.
You want to ensure their safety and have been trained in fire safety procedures.
A. Inform the subordinates about safety procedures and ask them to move out of the room
immediately.
B. Talk to the subordinates and understand their concerns; ask them to move out of the room.

Prepared by Professor Vishal Gupta, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

© 2021 by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
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6. Meera has been one of the good and diligent performers of your team. She has come up with an idea
of a new product that she considers has potential of being a revenue generator for the organization.
A. Inform Meera about how she should implement the idea.
B. Discuss the idea with Meera and give her the necessary freedom to explore her idea; be
supportive of her efforts.

7. Raj has been working with you for 5 years now. His performance is very good and he has learnt all
skills required to excel at work. Of late, he seems to be bored and finds that there is nothing exciting
at work for him.
A. Leave Raj alone as he is mature enough to find what will keep him motivated.
B. Understand what is troubling Raj and discuss solutions; do not bother about work too much.

8. Ashok has been learning under your guidance for about a year. While he is doing well at work, he
needs a lot of improvement still. Of late, he is feeling a little nervous and unsure of how he should
plan his career in the organization. He has approached you for guidance.
A. Talk to Ashok, understand his concerns; provide him support as well as work-related
guidance.
B. Talk to Ashok and provide support; do not bother about work too much.

9. Radhika reports to you and has worked under your supervision on various projects. She has become
proficient at her work. However, in her last performance appraisal she did not get a very good rating.
She finds the appraisal unfair and now is unsure if she will like to continue working like this.
A. Give Radhika inputs on the areas she needs to improve upon at her work.
B. Participate with Radhika in developing the understanding of the appraisal outcome and
improvements she needs to make; ensure her your support.

10. The performance of your group is increasing. However, the group still require your task-related inputs
and guidance. The group members are enthusiastic and motivated at work.
A. Allow group members to resolve their work issues; do not push your involvement.
B. Talk to the group and jointly decide the steps that will be followed to complete the work on
time.

11. Your organization is a market leader in home appliances. The workplace relationships are also very
good. You wish to explore what can be done to better the performance further. You have called
meeting of the top managers who are very talented and motivated.
A. Allow the group freedom and encourage the members to prepare their own change plan.
B. Talk to the team and give the group directions on how to prepare the change plan.
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12. Laxman is a senior member of your team and you have worked together in the same organization for
some time. In the last promotion cycle, while you were promoted however Laxman missed making
the rank. Laxman now reports to you. Despite your friendly approach towards Laxman, his negative
attitude and poor performance in the past few months have begun to impact team morale and
productivity. Your friendly conversations with him also have had no effect.
A. Talk to Laxman, understand his concerns but also emphasize the necessity of task
accomplishment.
B. Make yourself available for discussion; don’t bother about work.

13. Kapil is a subordinate in your team. He has been showing good improvement in his work. He is a
team player and always wants to learn and improve. You are considering putting him onto a new
work for which Kapil does not have competence.
A. Explain the new work clearly to Kapil and give him all task-related guidance.
B. Provide encouragement to Kapil; do not worry about task at this time.

14. Akshita reports to you and has worked under your supervision on various projects. She has become
proficient at her work. The CEO has decided that she be made to lead an independent project from
now on. She is unsure if she is ready.
A. Talk to her and provide her support in developing the understanding for a change in roles.
B. Largely leave her alone; she will be able to overcome these feelings by herself.

15. Your organization’s football team has reached the finals of the prestigious all-India inter-organization
football tournament. Vimal is the leader of the football team. He is very talented and committed to
team’s cause. You plan to meet him today evening over tea.
A. Talk to Vimal and understand his concerns; give him inputs about how to plan for the match.
B. Trust Vimal that he knows his job the best. Talk to him and give him your best wishes,
support and encouragement.

16. The performance of your team members has been declining rapidly over the last few months. You
have been trying to talk to them and understand their concerns. However, they have not been
responding well to your friendly conversations and concern for their welfare.
A. Provide the team task-related guidance.
B. Talk to them again to understand their concerns and emphasize the necessity of task
completion; give task-related guidance.