College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Graduation Date

6-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Department/Program Conferring Degree

Psychology

Keywords

360-degree feedback, multi-source feedback, leadership effectiveness, self-other agreement, self-awareness

Abstract

The study sought to identify the specific leadership behaviors and rater sources for which self-other agreement is most predictive of leader effectiveness. Hypotheses were based on the premise that certain sources may be better suited to provide feedback on specific leadership behaviors because they observe the individual in different setting and have a unique understanding of what it takes to effectively demonstrate certain behaviors. Participants included 847 leaders who, along with their observers, completed the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA; Management Research Group, 1992) as part of a leadership development program. Results revealed that self-other agreement may not be an important predictor of leader effectiveness. Instead, observer ratings of leadership behaviors were the most powerful predictors of leader effectiveness. Furthermore, results indicated that unique relationships exist between leadership behaviors and perceived effectiveness. For certain behaviors, higher ratings were related to greater effectiveness, while for others, lower or moderate levels of the behavior were viewed as more effective. Although not the focus of this study, results may point to the importance of considering the situational factors embedded in the organizational culture to provide a better understanding of the relationship between multi-source ratings of leadership behaviors and perceived leader effectiveness.

Share

COinS