Bush Jr. and Sr. Behavioral Style Differences
November 16th, 2004One way to understand the difference between the ways George Bush Senior and George Bush Junior approached Iraq is through the lens of behavioral style analysis.
Bush Senior’s style toward Iraq was geared to patience and team collaboration. He gave plenty of time for Saddam Hussein to back down and refrained from initiating force except to bring things back to status quo – all signs of a High S.
Bush Junior’s behavioral style was so clearly different. Bush goes to Iraq with no planning, no team collaboration, no details checked out, and ill-prepared to handle the situation. High Ds use force and aggressiveness, and to use pre-emptive force against a questionable threat indicates a very high D. No S (team focus, steadiness), no C (details, procedures, preparedness).
The one person in his administration who might counterbalance these tendencies in Bush Jr.’s style has just resigned.
Same family, different styles.
Different wars, different outcomes.
