LPC Leadership Survey Template for Managers
Use this LPC (Least Preferred Coworker) leadership survey to score a manager's task vs relationship orientation and capture the situation around them (trust/working relationship, task clarity, and decision authority). You will leave with a simple scoring workflow and a 2-4 week coaching/role-fit experiment plan that focuses on what to change next -- not labeling anyone as good or bad.
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When to Use This LPC Leadership Survey (3 Best-Fit Moments)
Coaching kickoff baseline (before you pick a development plan)
Goal: Get a clean starting point on whether the manager tends to be more task-focused or relationship-focused.
Do this: Send the survey in week 1 of coaching, score it the same day, and use the situational items to pick 1-2 coaching themes.
Watch out for: Do not frame the score as a performance rating; in Fiedler's contingency model it is a style/orientation measure that you interpret with the situation. Source: Fiedler's contingency model overview (APA PsycNet record)
Example: A manager with a more task-leaning score can still succeed -- you just focus coaching on trust-building behaviors if the team relationship is shaky.
After a reorg or team reset (when "fit" questions show up)
Goal: Separate "style mismatch" from "situation changed" so you do not over-correct with the wrong intervention.
Do this: Run the survey 2-4 weeks after the reorg, then use the situation items to decide what to tighten (goals, roles, decision rights) before you coach personality-style fixes.
Example: If task structure dropped after the reorg, tighten handoffs and definitions first, then re-check the team climate.
New-manager onboarding (to shape a 30-60-90 day support plan)
Goal: Build the right support around a new manager instead of waiting for friction to appear.
Do this: Run it in the first 30 days, then pair results with a simple operating cadence (weekly 1:1s, a team rhythm, and clear escalation paths).
Example: If decision authority is low, you can add sponsor check-ins and define decision rights before expecting faster execution.
When not to use: Keep this out of hiring, promotion, and compensation decisions, and do not use it as a substitute for a performance review. Treat it as a development and situation-design tool.
Do this now: Pick one of the three moments above, set a send date, and schedule a 30-minute debrief on the calendar right away.
Who Should Take the LPC Survey (and How to Add Light Team Context Safely)
This template is designed to keep the LPC score as a manager self-assessment, while still capturing enough situational context to make coaching and role-fit support decisions responsibly.
- Goal: Get a manager self-score you can coach from, plus enough context to avoid guessing why things feel hard right now.
- Do this: Have the manager complete the LPC portion as a self-assessment, then (optionally) collect a short, non-identifying team-context check from direct reports on trust/working relationship, task clarity, and decision authority.
- Watch out for: Do not turn the add-on into a full 360 unless you are ready for a heavier process and stronger privacy controls.
Recommended respondents (keep roles clear)
- Primary taker: The manager (self-assessment). You will score this and use it for coaching and role-fit decisions.
- Optional add-on (5-8 items): Direct reports answer only situational items (not the LPC adjective ratings). Keep it focused on conditions, not opinions about the manager.
- When you need full multi-rater feedback: Use a dedicated 360 feedback survey for managers instead of expanding this template until it becomes a different tool.
- Rule 1: If the team is small, skip open comments from direct reports or make them strictly non-identifying (no names, no "as the only person in X role").
- Rule 2: Keep direct-report input separate from the manager's self-score. Debrief it as themes about the situation, not as a referendum on the manager.
- Rule 3: Share only aggregated results and be explicit about how you will store and use the data (access, retention, and purpose). For general professional norms on reporting and disclosure, see: AAPOR Standard Definitions.
How to debrief the optional team context
- Example: Ask direct reports "Our goals and priorities are clear week to week" on a 5-point agreement scale, then share the team average and 2-3 themes in the debrief.
- Next: Decide if you will run manager-only (fastest) or manager + team-context add-on (more accurate on the situation), then lock the invite list.
Question Areas to Include (Keep the LPC Core Intact + Add Situation and Actions)
"Think of the person you least enjoyed working with. Rate them on: Friendly to Unfriendly."
Why it matters: Goal: Preserve the core LPC logic so your score means what you think it means. Do this: Keep the exact adjective-pair format and a consistent rating scale across runs. Watch out for: If you edit the core adjective items heavily, you will change what the score reflects.
When to use: Include in every baseline and any follow-up where you want a comparable LPC score.
"Rate them on: Supportive to Hostile."
Why it matters: A spread of adjective ratings reduces over-reliance on one impression and makes the summed score more stable run to run.
When to use: Use alongside the full set of LPC adjectives (not as a single standalone item).
"I have a high-trust working relationship with most of my team."
Why it matters: This is your trust/working relationship (leader-member relations) input. It helps you avoid blaming style when the real issue is low trust.
When to use: Always. Use it to choose whether you focus first on relationship repair vs execution structure.
"Our team tasks are well-defined with clear steps and quality criteria."
Why it matters: This is your task structure input. Low structure often shows up as churn, rework, and "we are not aligned" conversations.
When to use: Always. Pair it with an action item like clarifying definitions of done or tightening handoffs.
"I have the decision authority (position power) I need to deliver on my team's goals."
Why it matters: Low decision authority blocks execution and can create conflict that looks like a "leadership style" problem.
When to use: Always. Use it to trigger a decision-rights reset with the manager's leader or sponsor.
"In the last 2 weeks, I clarified priorities and roles when work changed."
Why it matters: This behavior item turns the style result into a coaching plan you can practice this month (planning/clarifying).
When to use: Add after scoring so you can set 1-2 concrete habits to test for 2-4 weeks.
"When conflict shows up, I address it directly and keep it focused on the work."
Why it matters: Conflict handling is where "task vs relationship" preferences often show up in day-to-day moments.
When to use: Use as an action anchor if trust is low or if you see recurring friction between functions.
"Where am I most effective as a leader? (Describe the situation: team maturity, urgency, clarity, constraints.)"
Why it matters: Open text helps you capture patterns that the situation items cannot (like rapid-change environments or heavy stakeholder load).
When to use: Keep it optional and short. Use responses to write a one-paragraph role-fit hypothesis you can test.
- Keep: One idea per question, neutral wording, and consistent response options so managers do not guess what you mean. Source: Pew Research Center questionnaire design guidance
- Add (optional): A short team process module if you suspect coordination is the real bottleneck; a team effectiveness survey template gives you ready-to-use items.
Do this now: Copy the four modules (LPC core, situation, actions, open text), then delete any optional items you will not act on in the next 30 days.
Administration + Customization Checklist (Baseline, Follow-Up, and Ethical Use)
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Goal / Do this / Watch out for: Run a development-focused baseline and a short follow-up. Send a purpose note that says "coaching and role-fit" (not evaluation), schedule the debrief before you launch, and do not reuse the score for performance ratings.
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Pre-brief in 3 sentences: Tell the manager what you will do with results, who will see them, and what will change in the next 2-4 weeks based on the debrief.
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Run the baseline (15 minutes): Keep the LPC core intact, then add the situation items and 4-6 action items so you can build an experiment plan right away.
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Customize safely with Keep / Change / Add: Keep the core LPC adjective items and scoring direction. Change examples to match your role context (frontline vs manager-of-managers). Add only modules you will act on (team clarity, workload, decision rights).
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Reduce drop-off: Put required questions first, keep the survey on one screen per module, and remove anything that is "nice to know." Source: Dillman et al., Tailored Design Method (book page)
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Re-run a short follow-up in 4-8 weeks: Keep it to situation + action-plan progress, then use an employee temperature check pulse if you need a lightweight read on team climate between coaching sessions.
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Close the loop: Share 2-3 changes you will try, name an owner for each change, and set a date to check progress. Next: Draft your debrief agenda (10 minutes scoring review, 10 minutes situation review, 10 minutes experiment plan).
Scoring and Interpretation Guide: LPC Score + Situation = What to Change Next
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Set up your scoring sheet
Goal: Score the LPC cleanly and translate it into a decision about what to change next.
Do this: Create a simple table with each LPC adjective item, the numeric rating selected, and a total row. Record the scale direction (which end is "high").
Watch out for: Do not force a "good/bad" label. Treat the score as an orientation that you pair with trust, task structure, and decision authority.
Example: You can write "more relationship-leaning" or "more task-leaning" instead of naming a type.
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Add up the LPC score (and handle missing items)
Add up: Sum the numeric ratings across all LPC adjective items you included.
Check: If any items were reverse-coded (because of how your scale is labeled), fix those before you sum.
If missing: If more than 10% of LPC items are blank, re-send to complete; if 1-2 are missing, you can average the answered items and multiply by the total number of items to estimate a comparable total (and note that you estimated).
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Interpret directionally: high, mid-range, low
High LPC (directionally): Often signals a more relationship-oriented lens in this model. Use it as a coaching clue, not as a capability score.
Low LPC (directionally): Often signals a more task-oriented lens in this model. Pair it with situation results before you pick interventions.
Mid-range: Treat as mixed. Your next step is to lean more on the situation scores and the behavior/action items to choose what to test.
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Combine LPC + situation to decide what to change
Translate situation items: Convert the three situation areas into plain-language flags:
- Trust/working relationship (leader-member relations): low / medium / high
- Task structure: unclear / mixed / clear
- Decision authority (position power): limited / shared / strong
Choose one primary move:
- Change leader behaviors: If the situation is mostly workable but execution is inconsistent, pick 1-2 habits (clarify priorities, delegation, feedback cadence) and practice them.
- Change the situation: If trust is low, tasks are unclear, or authority is limited, fix structure and decision rights first so coaching has something to stick to.
- Change support: Add a mentor, sponsor check-ins, training, or an operating cadence when the manager cannot change the situation alone.
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Run a 2-4 week experiment plan, then re-check
Plan: Pick 2 actions max, define what "better" looks like, and set weekly checkpoints.
Run again: Re-survey only the situation and action items after 4-8 weeks so you do not create survey fatigue.
Debrief responsibly: Use the results as one input and document limits and intended use. Source: Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA)
Next: If you want a behavior-level measure to track day-to-day changes, pair this with a manager effectiveness survey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the LPC (Least Preferred Coworker) score actually measure?
The LPC score is a style/orientation indicator in Fiedler's contingency approach. You use it to see whether a manager tends to lean more task-focused or more relationship-focused, then you interpret it alongside the situation (trust, task clarity, decision authority). It is not a leadership quality score.
How do I score the LPC survey and what counts as high vs low?
Add up the numeric ratings across all LPC adjective items, making sure the scale direction stays consistent. Treat "high" and "low" as directional guidance (not hard cutoffs), and treat mid-range scores as mixed rather than forcing a label. If too many items are missing, ask the manager to complete the unanswered items so your total is comparable.
Can we use this LPC survey for hiring, promotion, or performance reviews?
No. Use it for development, coaching, and role/situation design, not as a gate for talent decisions. If you need to make staffing decisions, combine multiple inputs (performance outcomes, structured interviews, work samples, and well-defined role requirements) rather than relying on one survey score.
Should direct reports take this survey too?
Keep the LPC portion as a manager self-assessment. If you want input from direct reports, add a short team-context check on trust, task clarity, and decision authority, and report results only in aggregate. Keep comments non-identifying or skip comments for small teams.
How often should we re-run the LPC survey?
Run a baseline, then run a short follow-up after a defined change window (often 4-8 weeks) focused on situation and action-plan progress. Avoid re-running the full LPC too frequently; you will get more value by tracking what changed in the environment and in daily behaviors. Keep follow-ups short so you do not create fatigue.
What should we do if results show low trust, low structure, and limited authority?
Start with situation fixes: clarify goals and roles, tighten the operating cadence, define decision rights, and remove obvious blockers. Then layer in coaching and support (mentor/sponsor) so the manager is not trying to "style" their way out of structural problems. Run a 2-4 week experiment cycle and re-check the situation items to see what moved.
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