Recently, an article was published in Time Magazine discussing the importance of temperament of the two presidential candidates http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1850921,00.html. I found the article intriguing in two respects. First, how likely is the electorate able to assess the temperament of politicians and second, how aware are business professionals aware of their own temperament?

Temperament is character personified under duress. It reveals a leader’s ability to manage themselves in a crisis. It’s simply impossible to manage a crisis situation effectively if a leader is unable to manage themselves effectively first. Temperament is at the heart of “Executive Presence.”

Assessing your temperament and the temperament of others examines the totality of the person. Nancy Gibbs, the author of the Time Magazine article quoted Mark Twain—“Every man is a moon.” There is a bright side and dark side to each person, but temperament isn’t defined in terms of black and white extremes. It’s true for each positive quality there is a corresponding negative quality, but a range exists between the two choices. Can “composure” be interpreted as “unassertive?” Can “urgency” be perceived as “frantic?” It all depends on how one perceives the situation and how the leader expresses his or her character in that situation. It’s at that point temperament is revealed. The fact is temperament is somewhere between the two extremes. It comes down to having the right blend of the two extremes in a specific situation to do the right thing.

How a leader processes information, both intellectually and emotionally, determines how a leader eventually acts. The more you know about yourself and the more you know about your leaders’ temperament, the better able you’ll be able to predict behavior. The key question for every executive is, “are your emotions dictating your decisions or are your decisions dictating your emotions?” It’s fine to use calmness or outbursts to bring about a response from a group of followers. It’s a sign of inconsistency when leaders are unaware of how their emotions not only how they act personally, but also how their people act collectively. Temperament is about judgment—the combination of the brain and the heart.