The Psychological Assessment of Political Leadersthe task done and the other extreme an emphasis on group mainte-
nance. Task focus suggests the relative emphasis a leader places in
interactions with others on dealing with the problems that face the
government as opposed to focusing on the feelings and needs of rel-
evant and important constituents. For leaders who emphasize the
problem, moving the group (nation, government, ethnic group, reli-
gious group, union, etc.) forward toward a goal is their principal
purpose for assuming leadership. For those who emphasize group
maintenance and establishing relationships, keeping the loyalty of
constituents and morale high are the central functions of leadership.
Research (e.g., Byars 1972, 1973; Hermann and Kogan 1977; Bass
1981) has suggested that charismatic leaders are those who fall in the
middle of this continuum, focusing on the problem when that is
appropriate to the situation at hand and on building relationships
when that seems more relevant. The charismatic leader senses when
the context calls for each of these functions and focuses on it at that
point in time. Table 8.4 summarizes this discussion.
In coding for task focus, just like in coding for conceptual com-
plexity, attention is directed toward counting specific words, in this
case words that indicate work on a task or instrumental activity, as
well as words that center around concern for another's feelings,
desires, and satisfaction. Examples of the task-oriented words are
accomplishment, achievement), plan, position, proposal, recommendation,
and tactic. Illustrative of the group-maintenance types of words are
appreciation, amnesty, collaboration, disappoint(ment), forgive(ness), harm,
liberation, and suffering. The score for task focus is determined by cal-
culating the percentage of task-oriented words relative to the total
number of task-oriented and group-maintenance words in a particu-
lar interview response. The overall score is the average percentage
across the interview responses examined.
TABLE 8.4. RULES FOR ASSESSING MOTIVATION FOR
SEEKING OFFICE
Score on Task Focus Motivation for Seeking Office
High Problem
Moderate Both problem and relationship
depending on the context
Low Relationship