Attentional and Interpersonal Characteristics of Restaurant General Managers in Comparison With Other Groups of Interest

To identify leadership qualities needed in hospitality management, the Test of Attentional & Interpersonal Style (TAIS) was administered to restaurant generalmanagers (GMs). The TAIS has previously identified high performers amongOlympic athletes, and business and sales professionals. The GMs rated themselves above average in their ability to concentrate in abusy environment, to compete, and to interact socially. They compared favorably totop performers in sales and business and were much more impressive on almost alldimensions than college students generally. They were similar to but far moredisciplined than hospitality students. Implications for selection and training arediscussed.