Abstract: A dynamic external environment, filled with a great number of variations and opportunities, makes specific demands of managerial and psychological nature to modern managers. Organizations come to appreciate the developments, innovation, and speed, not stability. Due to this fact, the question of consideration of the main psychological characteristics of successful middle-rank managers, and compiling a psychological portrait based on them becomes relevant. The subject of the study is peculiar features of interpersonal relationship chosen by groups of respondents while determining the characteristics of a successful manager. The object of the study is the managers. The method of psychodiagnostics was used: the method of interpersonal relationship determining by L.N. Sobchik. Statistical processing of the results was carried out by the Mann-Whitney method. The novelty of the study is due to the achievement of the results, which gave the opportunity to reveal both similarities and differences in the idea of middle-rank managers' success in groups of students studying in this field and professional managers. Conclusions:1. managers with seniority do not determine the success in their professional field through increasing a domineering style of behavior. In their diagnostic field, the personal qualities of a successful manager do not get to the level of despotism and emotional instability but have moderately high indicators. In turn, students of the faculty of management imagine success through the increase of indicators of the first octant; 2. in the psychological portrait were marked the characteristics, which help to build a flexible relationship with both internal and external environment of the organization: the desire for a strong partnership with the reference group, finding community with other people, susceptibility to the general mood of the group.