Goleman And Boyatzi’s Quiz On Leadership Style
Good leaders are not just born for it. They do this by showing empathy and learning how to inspire people to reach their full potential. To that end, Daniel Goleman has created a quiz on leadership style that can help people understand their own style and make improvements.
Goleman and Boyatzi’s leadership style quiz has a concrete purpose: to evaluate the impact that certain types of leadership have on our emotions. These experts introduced this quiz for the first time in their book, Primal Leadership, which was published in 2011. The idea was to highlight one particular personality in particular: the distinct leader.
Quiz on leadership style
Daniel Goleman argues that the organizational world and the economy need to place more emphasis on the emotional aspects of human capital.
He believes that a good leader is capable of not only making a successful company, but also having an impact on all employees. A good leader can positively influence people’s work environment, their well-being and their motivation.
It is thus interesting that Goleman as well as Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee agree with the idea of the clear leader. It is a leader with enough self-awareness to know what is good and what is bad in a given situation. It is a person who can override his own negative emotions to inspire enthusiasm, confidence and empathy in others.
Therefore, evaluating people’s leadership skills can provide information on what they want to pass on to their colleagues. A good leader is ultimately not the one who possesses the most power, or the one that the board points to to lead. Instead, it is a man or a woman who is able to bring out the best in people around them.
Goleman and Boyatzi’s quiz on leadership style
In Primal Leadership , Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee talk about six leadership styles. These styles are the basis of the quiz on leadership styles that they developed. This quiz is an extremely useful resource for any manager, HR department or others who are interested in understanding and learning about management.
It is important to state that the leader is not just a facilitator of his team’s success. It is more a person who provides resources, training and necessary guidance to achieve the goals of the organization. They will also have an important impact on many others such as, for example, friends, family or neighbors.
Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee believe that the most positive and clear leaders know how to nurture and improve things. They do not go around issuing orders or chasing people around. It is a more holistic approach, which provides more positive change and creates a work environment that rewards everyone.
Therefore, this leadership style quiz does not just provide information about the leader you are. It also gives you guidance on what you can improve.
What does this leadership style quiz consist of?
Goleman and Boyatzi’s quiz on leadership styles consists of a scale divided into six areas. Each area measures a kind of leadership using nine questions. The test person can score low, medium or high on each leadership style.
In total, the quiz consists of 54 yes and no questions. Let’s take a closer look at the six different types of leaders that the quiz measures.
The authoritarian (visionary) leader
The visionary leader uses his experience, motivation and enthusiasm to inspire his people. They know their priorities and they can pass them on to others in a positive way. This leader also tends to give his people considerable freedom to arrive at their goals in his own way.
2. The coaching leader
This kind of leader acts as a personal trainer. They work with each one on a personal level. They listen to them and help them with their personal development within the organization.
3. The affiliating manager
This leadership style is defined by empathy. These leaders are sensitive to the problems of others and prioritize people over goals. They are good at creating harmony and a balanced work culture.
4. The democratic leader
This style works with the need to always reach consensus. The democratic leader encourages flexibility and quality within the team. They keep an eye on each individual need and make use of encouragement.
5. The peace-making leader
This kind of leader sets himself as an example. They expect everyone else to follow them and do as they do because they see themselves as superior and effective. Their goal is to reach short-term goals, they tend to go into detail, and they each monitor a move in the team.
6. The restrictive (commanding) leader
This leadership style uses and abuses power. This kind of leadership requires others to obey them and respect their authority. They demand that they do what they are asked to do, and preferably as soon as possible.
It is important to note that restrictive leaders do not listen to other opinions. The things that need to be done need to be done because it is now tradition and custom. Any kind of innovative or original ideas are considered a threat to their authority.
How should you understand this leadership style quiz?
The result of this quiz provides a lot of different information. First of all, people will usually score relatively high in a few different areas. In general, a person who scores high on the restrictive leader will also score high on the authoritarian leader. Others will tend to go against the coaching and democratic style.
According to Goleman, the effective leader is well-founded in at least three of these six leadership styles. The most respected are the visionary leader, the democratic leader and the coaching leader. These styles are worth thinking about and keeping in mind in other facets of life as well.
After all, everyone is part of a social group (friends, family, colleagues), and you exert some kind of influence on other people. If you work at it, you can become the kind of person who inspires others and brings out the best in them.
