Strong Interest Inventory®: What's the Leadership Style Scale?

This is a new scale in the latest version of the Strong. It shows whether you prefer to direct, persuade, or lead others versus leading by example or doing things on your own rather than telling someone else to do so.

There are correlations between this scale and the Myers-Briggs Extraversion - Introversion scale. Those who score towards the directs others pole are likely to be Extraverts, and score higher on the Enterprising Basic Interest Scales, particularly the Public Speaking, Law/Politics, and Organizational Management scales. The opposite is also true: those who score towards the leads by example pole tend to be Introverts, and have low scores on these scales.

In college, those who prefer the directs others pole tend to study subjects such as journalism, social sciences, law, and history. Those who prefer the leads by example pole tend to study the machine trades, physical sciences, mathematics, biological sciences, and agriculture.

Here are some jobs for those who prefer the directs others pole: Broadcaster, Corporate Trainer, Elected Public Official, High School Counselor, Minister, and Public Administrator. In contrast, jobs at the leads by example end of the spectrum include Auto Mechanic, Chemist, Farmer, Mathematician, Physicist, and Plumber.

Once again, be careful about choosing an occupation based on your score on this scale. Avoid using your score as an excuse or reason to do something. If you scored towards the directs others pole, you can still be an auto mechanic, for example. Likewise, if you came out near the leads by example pole, you can still study law. In many occupations, there is a wide range of role you can take regarding leadership. You might be a team leader who does the same work as everyone else, or you might be an executive over thousands of others.