Characteristics 

• Hard working and task-oriented when motivated. 

• Capable of strong leadership. Often interested in justice for themselves and others. 

• Willing to fight for what they want or what they believe in, not afraid of conflict. 

• Demanding of personal respect, fair treatment and direct communication. 

• Capable of great warmth, generosity and protectiveness towards others. 

• Basic self-perception emphasises the need to be capable of doing whatever they want. 

• Want to avoid weakness or vulnerability. 

Strengths 

• Capable of excellent leadership; they can see the big picture, take a position and motivate others to join in the group effort. 

• Enthusiastic and forward-moving toward projects and people. 

• Capable of sustained hard work; want to do things well and to completion. 

• Self-directed and persevering; able to meet challenges and obstacles. 

• Often warm and generous towards friends and colleagues; able to support other people’s success. 

• Fierce fighters for what they believe in with a passion for fairness and justice. Can be champions of the weak or vulnerable. 

Potential Problems 

• Can be rigid or driven; may be impatient with hesitation or a slower pace on the part of others. 

• Can be overly dominating and engender resentment and resistance. 

• Sometimes too aggressive or confrontational. 

• Difficulty in tolerating the faults or weaknesses of others. 

• Tendency to overwhelm people; problems with adapting to the needs of the situation. 

• Can refuse to acknowledge personal limits and overextend to the point of burnout. 

• May refuse to ask for help, support or appreciation even when it’s crucial. 

General Focus 

Assert control over themselves and the environment, known for being powerful in the world and living with intensity. This may lead to excessive conflict and disrupted working relationship. 

Application to Your Leadership Style 

Major Assets 

You bring enthusiasm and energy to your work and have great capacity for providing clear and direct leadership for others. You have the ability to see the big picture and move forward to accomplish what needs to be done. Your generosity and warmth combine well with a willingness to engage people and confront obstacles. 

Major Challenges 

Work to combine independence and strength with asking for support when you need it. Contain your angry or impatient reactions. Accept the differences in other people and recognise that they may have a communication or work style very different from your own. Choose your fights carefully or those you feel comfortable with. Watch out for adopting a model of scarcity; incorporate the possibilities for abundance. 

Preferred Learning Style 

• Wants to see the big picture and how the parts relate to the whole. 

• Wants a balance of theory and application. 

• Wants clarity, focus and defined structure in establishing the learning environment. 

• Wants to move quickly to the substance of the material after a brief initial opening. Impatient with people who lose focus. 

• Wants an energetic and lively learning situation, no tolerance for boredom. 

• The enjoyment of the process may be as important as the actual content. 

• Expects the instructor to engage in dialogue and to tolerate some amount of conflict, even while holding their own position. 

• Doesn’t want to feel confined, likes to be able to get up and move around the room. 

• Prefers multi-dimensional learning and/or body-based learning. 

Suggestions for Your Professional Development 

• Keep your attention on the big picture, learn to let go of control and compromise over less important issues. 

• Moderate your confrontiveness as appropriate to the situation. Coming on strong may alienate people. Don’t set up patterns where people are afraid of you or avoid you. You will need information from them as well as their cooperation. 

• Confronting and getting angry takes time and energy. Don’t let people manipulate you into getting angry or acting out when it’s not in your interest. 

• Expect that people can do better over time and with the right support and appreciation. Use your personal power to listen to other points of view and include people rather than discount or dominate them. 

• Work with developing your staff’s potential by applying your talent to empower others. Avoid your tendency to take a threatening or blaming tone to achieve results. 

• Avoid making up for the shortcomings of the organisation or staff by trying to do too much yourself. Work instead to create team efforts. 

• You have the tendency to promise to protect or take care of people beyond what is appropriate and then be burdened with too much responsibility. Empower others to take care of themselves. 

• Your appearance of strength and toughness can mislead people into thinking that you don’t have needs or feelings. Give people ways to appreciate or take care of you. Try to receive this even when it’s done imperfectly. 

Suggestions for the Leader 

• Communicate conviction and enthusiasm for your subject matter. 

• Keep things moving in terms of content and process. 

• Pay attention to the process as much as the content. 

• They like to move quickly into action: make sure they hear all the necessary information. 

• Demonstrate strong leadership at the beginning, with a clear opening and intended direction or agenda. 

• Encourage active participation but keep the talking time focused. 

• Stay in contact even if it seems confrontational. 

• They are enthusiastic and like to challenge as part of their learning process; respond to their points without escalating conflict.