8. Assessing Leadership Style:
Trait Analysis
Margaret G. HermannMore often than not when conversation turns to politics and politi-
cians, discussion focuses on personalities. There is a certain fascina-
tion with analyzing political leaders. As a result, biographies on cur-
rent political figures become best-sellers and the triumphs as well as
the tragedies of political leaders become newspaper headlines. A
major reason for our curiosity about the personal characteristics of
such leaders is the realization that their preferences, the things they
believe in and work for, and the ways they go about making deci-
sions can influence our lives.
But how can we learn about the personalities and, in particular,
the leadership styles of political leaders in more than a cursory fash-
ion? It is hard to conceive of giving people like Tony Blair, Saddam
Hussein, or Boris Yeltsin a battery of psychological tests or having
them submit to a series of clinical interviews. Not only would they
not have time for, or tolerate, such procedures, they would be wary
that the results, if made public, might prove politically damaging to
them.
One way of learning more about political leaders that does not
require their cooperation is by examining what they say. Only movie
stars, hit rock groups, and athletes probably leave more traces of
their behavior in the public arena than politicians. U.S. presidents'
movements and statements, for example, are generally recorded by
the mass media; little of what a U.S. president does escapes notice.
Such materials provide a basis for assessment.
By analyzing the content of what political leaders say, we can
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