The Psychological Assessment of Political Leadersthat the other party is not ready to go to the bargaining table. Some
have called this behavior of Clinton's an "artichoke" reaction to stress,
peeling off one layer at a time and in bits and pieces. But his scores on
in-group bias and distrust of others suggest that it may take a num-
ber of times for the threat quality of the situation to be perceived.
Leadership StyleClinton's pattern of scores on the seven traits helps us determine the
kind of leadership style he will exhibit. By ascertaining that he is
likely to (i) generally respect constraints in his political environ-
ment, (2) be open to, and to search out, information in the situation,
(3) be motivated by both solving the problem and keeping morale
high, and (4) view politics as the art of the possible and mutually
beneficial, we know from extensive research that Clinton will exhibit
a collegial leadership style. His focus of attention is on reconciling
differences and building consensus, on retaining power and author-
ity through building relationships and taking advantage of opportu-
nities to work with others toward specific ends. Clinton's leadership
style predisposes him toward the team-building approach to politics.
Like the captain of a football or basketball team, the leader is depen-
dent on others to work with him to make things happen. Such lead-
ers see themselves at the center of the information-gathering process.
With regard to the advisory process, working as a team means that
advisers are empowered to participate in all aspects of policy-making
but also to share in the accountability for what occurs. Members of
the team are expected to be sensitive to and supportive of the beliefs
and values of the leader.
Given Clinton's ability to move between building relationships
and solving problems, he can, at times, evidence a more opportunis-
tic leadership style as he takes advantage of a situation to move
toward his goals. Although his predispositions lean toward the col-
legial style of leadership, when circumstances call for it, Clinton can
become more focused on the task and what needs to be done, using
the event to accomplish something on his agenda.
Among the 122 leaders from around the world who formed the
comparison group for this profile, Clinton's pattern of scores is clos-
est to those of Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union) and Chou En-Lai
(China). Both these leaders retained their positions because they