The Psychological Assessment of Political Leadersplexity attend to a wider array of stimuli from their environment
than do those who are low. They have a sense that issues are more
gray than black or white and seek a variety of pieces of information
through which to organize the situation in which they find them-
selves. These leaders remain highly attuned to contextual informa-
tion since they do not necessarily trust their initial response to an
event. In order to understand a situation and to plan what to do, such
individuals perceive that there is always room for one more piece of
data or point of view. Thus, such leaders often take their time in
making decisions and touch base with a large number of actors in the
decision-making process. Flexibility is seen as the key to being effec-
tive in politics.
Is the Leader Motivated by Problem or Relationship?
In politics, the literature suggests that leaders have certain reasons
for assuming their positions of authority that have to do with them
and with the relevance of the groups with whom they identify. Lead-
ers are driven, in general, either by an internal focus—a problem,
cause, specific set of interests—or by the desire for a certain kind of
feedback from those in their environment—relationship, be it accep-
tance, power, support, or acclaim. They also appear to be activated
by needs to protect their own kind. Whereas leaders who are more
closely identified with particular groups work to ensure such enti-
ties' survival, those who are less strongly tied to a specific group view
the world as posing potential opportunities for working with others
for mutual or their own benefit. Task versus interpersonal focus indi-
cates the former type of motivation, and a combination of in-group
bias and distrust of others indicates the latter type.
Leaders like Clinton who have moderate scores on task versus
interpersonal focus have the facility to direct their attention to the
problem when that is appropriate to the situation at hand or to build
relationships when that seems more relevant. Such leaders sense
when the context calls for each of these functions and focus on it at
that point in time. Depending on the circumstances, they can push
toward their goals or center their attention on keeping the loyalty
and morale of important constituencies high. In effect, they can
fulfill both functions considered important to governance—accom-
plishing something and maintaining coalitions. With the ability to