To better understand how behavior was determined for the person you have chosen, we recommend that you read about Psychological Associates’ Dimensional Model of Behavior.

Q4 Manager: Initiates/High Regard Behavior

Based upon your responses, when scored against our Dimensional Model, your manager most often exhibits an initiates/high regard style of behavior. This style of management would be positioned in the Q4 quadrant of our Dimensional Model. In our terminology, your manager is displaying Q4 behavior.

Key Characteristics of Q4 Manager Behavior

Q4 tries to set up a working partnership between direct report and manager. The manager provides instruction, some autonomy, and increasing responsibility and support. The direct report owes the manager hard work, straight talk, full disclosure, and a desire to reach full potential.

See if any of these Q4 behaviors seem familiar:

• Showing openness to ideas. An attentive, courteous listener, Q4 is receptive to the ideas of others. When the idea is unacceptable, Q4 provides honest feedback.
• Treating people as individuals. Realizes each direct report has different personal goals, skills, aptitudes, behavior, and needs. For example, Q4 will closely supervise someone who needs it‚ while others are given more autonomy.
• Motivating with benefits. Knows people work best when they understand: “What’s in it for me?”. Makes sure people understand the benefits they will receive for being productive.
• Providing feedback. Makes discriminate use of both positive and negative reinforcement — emphasizing positive over negative whenever possible to focus on what is being done right.

Other indicators of Q4 behavior:

• Providing commitment to top performance
• Promoting self-direction
• Seeking direct reports’ views
• Involving direct reports in problem-solving.

Suggestions for Dealing with a Q4 Boss

• Stress mutual benefits—you, me, and the organization. Emphasize meeting organizational goals.
• Be open, candid, above board.
• Express opinions. Don’t be afraid to disagree.
• Be ready with backup data.
• Keep the boss informed. Avoid surprises.
• Use open-end questions and summary statements. Go easy on leading questions and closed-end probes.

Q4 Leadership: The People Skills Advantage™

What you discovered from the questionnaire is just a sample of the kind of insight you gain from Psychological Associates’ flagship workshop, Leadership Through People Skills. Click to find out more about the program.

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Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this questionnaire and all documents related to it, the content is of a general nature only and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Psychological Associates does not give any warranty or other assurance as to the operation, quality, or functionality of the site. The information herein is not necessarily comprehensive or complete and in no way constitutes professional or legal advice. If you need specific advice, you should always consult a suitably qualified professional.