Leadership Style Assessment - Maven Global Advisors

Maven Leadership Assessment

This assessment is designed to help identify your natural leadership style across six common categories: Autocratic, Servant, Democratic, Transformational, Laissez-Faire, and Blended. Understanding your leadership tendencies can provide valuable insight into how you influence others, make decisions, and build teams; critical elements in aligning your leadership approach with organizational goals and culture.

Instructions:
Read each question carefully and select the answer that most closely reflects how you typically lead in real-world scenarios. There are no right or wrong answers. Answer honestly based on your instinctive or habitual behavior. The assessment takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Your results will indicate your dominant leadership style or a blended style if you exhibit traits across multiple categories.

Results

Autocratic

1. Why You Scored This Way:
Your responses indicate a preference for control, clarity, and decisiveness. You naturally take charge, prioritize efficiency, and ensure the team stays aligned with organizational goals.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

High decisiveness under pressure
Strong execution and goal orientation
Excellent in crisis or high-risk environments
Reduces ambiguity for teams who require structure

3. Consider Improving:

Emotional intelligence and empathy in team dynamics
Encouraging innovation and bottom-up feedback
Building trust through collaboration rather than control

4. Recommended Resources:

“Primal Leadership” by Daniel Goleman
Harvard Business Review: Developing Emotional Intelligence
Executive coaching focused on inclusive leadership styles

Democratic

1. Why You Scored This Way:
You value shared input, group decision-making, and open dialogue. Your answers reflect a strong belief in team collaboration and mutual respect.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

Encourages innovation and diverse thinking
High employee engagement and participation
Creates a psychologically safe environment
Strong at stakeholder alignment

3. Consider Improving:

Avoiding analysis paralysis when decisions are needed fast
Strengthening conviction when consensus isn’t possible
Becoming more comfortable making unilateral calls when necessary

4. Recommended Resources:

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek
Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”
MIT Sloan Management Review: Leading When There’s No Consensus

Servant Leader

1. Why You Scored This Way:
Your answers reflect a people-first philosophy. You focus on team empowerment, individual growth, and shared accountability. You prioritize support over authority.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

Builds strong loyalty and trust
Develops high-morale, high-engagement cultures
Great at developing others into leaders
Encourages collaboration and respect

3. Consider Improving:

Assertiveness when quick decisions are required
Setting firmer boundaries when the team underperforms
Balancing service with strategic influence at executive levels

4. Recommended Resources:

“The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership” by James C. Hunter
Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership: https://www.greenleaf.org
Simon Sinek’s talks on servant and empathetic leadership

Laissez Faire Leader

1. Why You Scored This Way:
Your answers reflect a belief in individual autonomy and minimal interference. You place trust in your team’s ability to manage themselves and value creative freedom.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

Builds independence and initiative
Encourages ownership and experimentation
Often excels in highly skilled, self-managing teams
Fosters a flexible, low-stress environment

3. Consider Improving:

Proactively setting expectations and performance boundaries
Providing feedback and accountability systems
Engaging more actively in strategic alignment and vision

4. Recommended Resources:

“Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman
Gallup’s “Strengths-Based Leadership”
Coaching on accountability frameworks (OKRs, KPIs)

Transformational Leader

1. Why You Scored This Way:
You’re a visionary leader focused on big-picture change and long-term impact. Your responses show a tendency to inspire, challenge, and uplift others through a compelling mission.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

Inspires loyalty and emotional buy-in
Drives innovation and breakthrough thinking
Helps teams see purpose beyond the task
Strong leadership presence and influence

3. Consider Improving:

Grounding visionary thinking with operational follow-through
Actively listening to quieter voices and dissenting perspectives
Avoiding burnout from over-ambition or perpetual change

4. Recommended Resources:

“Transformational Leadership” by Bernard M. Bass & Ronald E. Riggio
John Maxwell’s “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”
Stanford GSB’s Leading Through Culture and Vision courses

Blended Leader

1. Why You Scored This Way:
You exhibit a dynamic leadership style that adapts to your team, the task, and the environment. Your answers reveal a situational, balanced approach that pulls from multiple leadership models.

2. Strengths & Advantages:

High emotional and strategic intelligence
Strong at managing across complexity and ambiguity
Versatile in dealing with different personalities and priorities
Can lead across functions, generations, and cultures effectively

3. Consider Improving:

Clarifying your leadership identity and values for consistency
Avoiding over-adaptation, which can appear indecisive
Ensuring team members understand your style and expectations

4. Recommended Resources:

“Leadership and Self-Deception” by The Arbinger Institute
“Leadership Agility” by Joiner & Josephs
Korn Ferry or Center for Creative Leadership assessments for advanced style calibration

QUIZ START

#1. When a team faces a tight deadline, how do you usually respond?

I make the key decisions quickly and assign tasks accordingly.

I ask the team how they’d like to approach it and support their choice.

I inspire urgency and emphasize the mission to motivate action.

I step back and trust the team will figure it out.

I assess the team’s readiness and adapt — directing when needed, supporting when possible.

#2. How do you typically assign tasks to your team?

I facilitate a group discussion to decide how tasks should be assigned.

I assign tasks based on my own assessment of who should do what.

I let the team decide among themselves.

I collaborate with team members to assign roles that suit their strengths.

I combine my judgment with input from the team to balance clarity and autonomy.

#3. What’s your response when a team member makes a mistake?

I coach them on what went wrong and how to improve.

I encourage open dialogue and seek to understand the context.

I assume they’ll learn from it and don’t interfere unless necessary.

I address it directly and make it clear what should have been done.

I offer both accountability and support depending on the situation.

#4. What motivates you most as a leader?

Results and discipline.

Inspiring change and innovation.

Helping others grow.

Building consensus and team harmony.

Balancing impact, development, and strategic outcomes.

#5. How do you handle conflict within your team?

I step in immediately and lay down rules.

I mediate and help them resolve it together.

I hold a team discussion to explore perspectives.

I let the team figure it out on their own.

I choose an approach based on the nature and severity of the conflict.

#6. How often do you involve your team in strategic decision-making?

Rarely—I know what needs to be done.

Occasionally—I provide the vision and let them run with it

Whenever possible—I want their insights.

Frequently—we make decisions as a group.

I involve them selectively — when it benefits the outcome and their growth.

#7. What best describes your communication style?

Empathetic and coaching-focused.

Directive and clear.

Visionary and inspirational.

Open and collaborative.

Purposeful and adaptive — a mix of clarity, empathy, and vision.

#8. How do you define success as a leader?

Achieving consensus and team cohesion.

Meeting organizational goals efficiently.

Creating meaningful transformation in the team and culture.

Developing strong, empowered individuals.

Achieving results while building empowered, aligned teams.

#9. How do you support your team’s development?

I set ambitious goals and challenge them to stretch.

I mentor and actively remove barriers.

I direct them toward areas of improvement.

I ask them what they want and support accordingly.

I tailor my support based on individual potential and goals.

#10. When introducing change, what’s your first instinct?

Ask the team how the change will impact them and how to support them.

Hold a discussion to gain team buy-in.

Decide what needs to change and roll it out.

Share the vision and energize the team.

Combine vision with collaboration and planning for a smoother transition.

#11. How often do you step in to correct course on a project?

Frequently—leaders should monitor and control outcomes.

When a team member asks for help.

When the team agrees support is needed.

Rarely—I prefer autonomy and trust.

I monitor regularly but intervene strategically only when necessary.

#12. What kind of team culture do you foster?

Independent and self-directed.

Inclusive and participative.

Caring and growth-oriented.

Structured and disciplined.

A balanced culture with clear expectations and space to thrive.

#13. What’s your stance on policies and procedures?

Useful, but flexible if someone needs accommodations.

Essential to ensure alignment and compliance.

Should be shaped by team input.

Mostly guidelines; teams should govern themselves.

Necessary as a framework but adaptable for evolving realities.

#14. What feedback do you often get from your team?

“You’re decisive and get things done.”

You really care about us.”

“You listen and make us feel heard.”

“You trust us to do our jobs.”

“You know when to lead, when to listen, and when to step back.”

#15. How would others describe your leadership in two words?

Supportive & Empathetic

Commanding and Straight-forward

Collaborative and Open

Visionary and Balanced

Adaptive and Responsive

Finish

Maven Global Advisors – Strategic processes to transform profits Innovative Solutions with Seamless Execution Building Leaders & Transforming Organizations

Maven Leadership Assessment

Results

#1. When a team faces a tight deadline, how do you usually respond?

#2. How do you typically assign tasks to your team?

#3. What’s your response when a team member makes a mistake?

#4. What motivates you most as a leader?

#5. How do you handle conflict within your team?

#6. How often do you involve your team in strategic decision-making?

#7. What best describes your communication style?

#8. How do you define success as a leader?

#9. How do you support your team’s development?

#10. When introducing change, what’s your first instinct?

#11. How often do you step in to correct course on a project?

#12. What kind of team culture do you foster?

#13. What’s your stance on policies and procedures?

#14. What feedback do you often get from your team?

#15. How would others describe your leadership in two words?

Company Information

Our Services

Quick Links

How to Reach Us