Leadership/Management Aptitude: What makes a good leader and manager often depends on such contextual factors as the organization's culture, function, sector, industry, and the level of the job position. Management and leadership have different orientations, but both exert an influence over people (usually subordinates) and most positions include a combination of the two. Leadership: The desire to lead, establish direction and assume primary responsibility for establishing the overall directives and objectives. Emphasis is on directing and influencing. Management: The desire to manage, develop others and assume responsibility for the overall execution of directives and objectives. Emphasis is on development and resource utilization. The scales measured in this assessment are applicible to both management and leadership.

Leadership Definitions

1. Assertion

   1. Must be able to identify and resolve conflict. There are always more options than resources to pursue them. In managing there is always the possibility of people conflicts and priority decisions.

2. Confidence

   1. Confidence is a cornerstone of both leadership and management (without arrogance). A leader is confident in establishing a strategic direction. A manager is confident in executing the plan, using resources wisely, and getting work done through others.

3. Adaptability

   1. A leader must adapt to environmental changes with little direction from others. A manager must adjust to differing styles from superiors and be sensitive to the diverse needs of subordinates.

4. Calm/Patience

   1. A leader must sell/enforce the strategic direction and inspire others to embrace a particular direction. A manager must deal with internal demands, limitations of the organization, and the individual abilities/skills/styles of subordinates.

5. Competence

   1. No one likes to be led or managed by a person whom they feel is incompetent. Skill sets are specific (e.g., education, background) but the person must exude competence, take conflict in stride and foster open communication but yet give direction.

6. Extravert

   1. This is a dichotomy where most managers are extraverted (enjoy working with others) and leaders run the gamut from introvert (strong, individual, driven) to extravert (charismatic and inspiring). This variable will define type and style preference when combined with other variables.

7. Leader Dynamic

   1. This person is motivated by exercising control in a social situation and is willing to assume group responsibility for getting things done through others. Their goal is to take charge of a social setting and achieve a social agenda. Usually the Leader is more into social control (higher score for Leader) and the manager has a more diverse orientation, (e.g., relationship oriented, likes to develop/coach/mentor others, seeks structure, loyal to a company).

8. Anchor Cherry Picking (ACp)

   1. Some people use extreme scores creating a True/ False test which may not invalidate it. However, with a HIGH overall score (>85%) and an ACP score is  (>80%), they may be "Cherry-picking" answers that may not reflect their real style.