Assessing Leadership Style: Trait Analysis

Profiling the Operational Codes of Political Leaders

TABLE 9.4. KEY VICS INDICES FOR ISRAELI LEADERS RABIN AND PERES, 1970S VS.
1990S

Diagnostic Propensities

P-l. Nature of the political universe

P-2. Realization of political values

P-4. Control over historical development

a. Self s control

b. Other's control

Other's Predicted Quadrant Type

Choice and Shift Propensities

1-1. Strategic approach to goals

1-2. Tactical pursuit of goals

1-4. Flexibility in timing of action

a. Conflict/cooperation

b. Words/Deeds

Self s predicted quadrant type

1970sa

Rabin Peres

-.48 -.60

(definite)

-.36 -.47

(somewhat) (definite)

.69 -39

(high) (medium)

.31 .61

(low) (medium)

DBF B

+ .71 +.34

(very) (somewhat)

+ .47 +.11

(definite) (mixed)

.28 .79

(low) (very)

.74 .93

(high) (very high)

C A

1990sa

Rabin Peres

+ .04

(mixed)

-.05

(mixed)

.72

(high)

.28

(low)

A or DEF

+ .53 +

06

03

66

,34

.68

(definite) (very)

+ .40 +

(definite)

.44

.40

.34

(medium) (low)

.82

(high)

C

.70

C

Source: Data from Crichlow 1998.

aVICS indices are mean scores.

state's leaders and decisions to explaining the outcomes of interac-

tions between states, which is not the focus of the present volume.

Level i. Simple Assessments of Single Cases

It is possible simply to calculate the VICS indices for a particular

leader, for example, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and extrapolate a

narrative profile of his operational code in the future tense that trans-

lates his VICS indices into a forecast of his general diagnostic, choice,

and shift propensities. The following text illustrates this kind of

forecast, organized as "answers" in the future tense to George's

(1969) ten questions in figure 9.1 and based on the VICS indices in