The 8 Types of Leaders in the White House (and Which One Are You?)

April 16, 2018 by Paul Smith comments (0)

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Are certain leadership styles more prevalent than others in among Presidents of the United States? Which Presidents fit into which categories? What attributes of leadership do those types have? How can we find out which type of leader we are? And how can knowing that help us be a better leader?

Those are the questions I asked leadership expert, Cash Keahey on my podcast this week. (Click the play button above to listen.)

Cash combined his expertise in the Myers/Briggs and Jungian personality theories, along with an assessment of U.S. presidents by 120 presidential historians, to classify the 8 leadership types in the White House. The full results of his research can be found in his new book, Eight Leadertypes in the White House: Discover and Leverage Your Oval Office Leadership Style.

Below is a summary of the 8 leader types. (Most leaders exhibit more than one trait.)

Prudent: a stabilizing, conscientious guardian who leads with information and practicality (Washington, Truman)
Proactive: an action-oriented realist who leads with a sense of urgency and pragmatism (Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Trump)
Innovating: a pioneering, transformative catalyst who leads into the ‘new’ with inspiration (FDR)
Visionary: an enigmatic, inventive prophet who leads with prescience and purpose (Jefferson)
Inclusive: a caring, self-deprecating servant who leads with values and empathy (Lincoln, Obama)
Persuasive: a tactful, collaborative influencer who leads with dialogue and encouragement (Truman)
Take Charge: a delegating, results-oriented driver who leads with principles and conviction (Teddy Roosevelt)
Independent: a resolute, self-reliant thinker who leads with clarity and critique (Adams, Obama)

I took the assessment and found out my predominant leadership types are 1) Independent, 2) Prudent, 3) Proactive. To find out which type you are (and what you can do about that), click here.

You can learn more about Cash Keahey and the 8 leader types at leadertype.com.

Use these links to subscribe to this LWAS podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or Podbean.

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Paul Smith is one of the world’s leading experts on business storytelling. He’s a keynote speaker, storytelling coach, and bestselling author of the books Lead with a Story, Parenting with a Story, and Sell with a Story.