Personal leadership style assessment through Type A and Type B orientation analysis

Leadership

Type a versus Type B Leadership

The ability to guide and direct a group, department or entire organization is predicated on being able to balance task and relationship orientation through transformational leadership. The most effective leaders balance short-term transactional strategies for getting immediate results with transformational leadership skills, intermediating between each using emotional intelligence (EI) to guide their decision making (Ivey, Kline, 2010). The foundational elements of transformational leadership include individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation (Ismail, Mohamed, Sulaiman, Mohamad, Yusuf, 2011) and idealized influence. Transformational leaders are able to use situational awareness and EI to selectively apply each of these approaches at the most opportune time to get the best results (Ivey, Kline, 2010). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate how these techniques can be used for assessing scores from the Type A versus Type B tests taken. I received a score of 38 on Type A and 46 on Type B, indicating my tendency to look more at the entire person in a position and what their needs are first, then consider how we can accomplish tasks together. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate these scores in the context of transformational leadership.

Analysis Of Scores

The most effective leaders are capable of balancing task and relationship orientations, frequently using EI to delineate when each is most needed. From personal experience, this leads me to believe that no single orientation, task or relationship, is best overall. Rather, it is the ability to successfully interpret a situation and quickly respond with the best possible leadership response. From personal experience, I have found the most effective leaders to blend these two aspects successfully and gain trust by being transparent in the process. Transformational leaders have the ability to interpret situations and choose a direction that is both consistent with the needs of the subordinates while also being transparent and honest, thereby further strengthening trust (Ismail, Mohamed, Sulaiman, Mohamad, Yusuf, 2011).