Assessing Leadership Style: Trait Analysis

Assessing Leadership Style

nomic issues}. Generic topics that are often discussed by heads of state
are military issues, economic issues, relations with another country,
relations with an enemy, domestic political stability, and regional
politics. Topics that are covered only sporadically in the material are
good candidates for combining into more generic categories.

Nature of Audience

Interviews with political leaders are done in a variety of settings and,
thus, are often targeted toward different audiences. To examine the
effects of audience on a leader's scores, it becomes important to note
who is doing the interview and in what setting. For example, in
profiling a head of state, an analyst will want to record if the inter-
view involves the domestic or international press. If it is the domes-
tic press, is the interviewer closely affiliated with the particular
leader, more affiliated with that leader's opposition, or neutral in ori-
entation? If it is the international press, to whom is the interview
likely to be reported—people in an adversary's country, an ally's
country, a country whose government the leader would like to
influence, or a fairly neutral source? Of interest is whether the
leader's trait scores show a pattern of change across these various
types of audiences.

Effects of Events and Tenure in Office

Consider whether there have been any events (e.g., negotiations,

crises, scandals, international agreements) that have occurred during

the tenure of the leader under examination. By noting when these

events happened and by choosing interview responses that span these

points in time, it is possible to explore whether the leader's scores are

affected by specific types of situations. In democratic societies, such

an analysis might be conducted for periods before and after elections.

For leaders with a long tenure in office, one might consider whether

there are any changes that have occurred across time or whether the

leader remains very much the same as when he or she began.

Determining whether Changes Are Significant

If the analyst wants to assess mathematically whether the changes in

scores across time, topic, or audience on any of the personal charac-

teristics for a leader are statistically significant, an analysis of vari-