A multilevel approach to building and leading learning organizations

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Despite the popularity of 360-degree feedback, meta-analytic findings suggest that these interventions can lead to a significant change in behavior but the effect sizes are typically modest and when done poorly may lead to both disengagement and a decline in performance. The research evidence addressing practical issues for coaches to successfully implement 360-degree feedback interventions is updated since previous review studies (e.g.,

Editor: Shelly Dionne Drawing on social comparison and identity literature, we suggest that individuals' comparisons of themselves to their own standards of leadership relate to their leadership motivation. We propose and test a model of motivation to lead (MTL) based on two types of self-to-leader comparisons: self-to-exemplar and self-to-prototype comparisons with respect to affiliation. In our main study, using data from a sample of 180 executives, we apply structural equation models to test our predictions. We find that self-comparisons with concrete, influential leaders of the past or present (self-to-exemplar comparisons) relate positively to MTL. We also find that selfcomparisons with more general representations of leaders (self-to-prototype comparisons in affiliation) relate to MTL. Whereas the effect of self-to-exemplar comparisons is mediated through individuals' leadership self-efficacy perceptions, the effect of self-to-prototype comparisons is not. We replicate these findings in three follow-up studies using different research designs. We derive implications for theory and practice. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Motivation to lead Self-to-leader comparisons Self-efficacy perceptions Leader identity Introduction Leadership is considered the key to success in today's organizations, and research strengthens this view by extensively documenting its positive consequences (e.g., Motivation to lead (MTL, Chan & Drasgow, 2001) is defined as individuals' willingness to engage in leadership training activities and assume leadership roles. Although 1 From a theoretical standpoint, affective MTL has been related to intrinsic motivation to lead Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Leadership Quarterly j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / l e a q u a shown that, among the MTL components, the affective one is the strongest predictor of leadership outcomes such as ratings of leadership potential made by supervisors Despite its importance, only a handful of studies have explored the antecedents of affective MTL. These studies show that relatively stable personal characteristics, such as personality and values, shape individuals' MTL. However, MTL is also in part malleable with experience We propose that cognitive variables underlying social comparisons can be particularly relevant for understanding MTL and its malleability via self-efficacy perceptions. According to In this paper, we propose that self-to-leader comparisons, defined as the extent to which individuals' views on attributes that characterize leaders match the attributes they ascribe to themselves, relate positively to leadership self-efficacy perceptions and, ultimately, explain MTL. In particular, we focus on self-to-prototype comparisons with respect to a key leadership dimension, affiliation, and self-to-exemplar comparisons to specific, influential leaders of the individual's past or present. Our underlying assumption is that how people feel toward the leadership role is governed by their own expectations associated with that role 2 The extent to which people are willing to lead may be influenced by self-comparisons with their own view of leadership. If someone, for example, thinks of her/himself as a people person, and considers maintaining interpersonal connections an essential attribute for leadership, s/he will be more motivated to lead than if s/he thinks that the quality of relationships at work is not especially relevant for leaders. Thus, we bridge literature on social comparisons Theoretical framework Motivation to lead Affective MTL is an individual difference construct that affects individuals' decisions to assume and persist in leadership tasks because they derive positive affect from the act of leading itself Identity theory suggests that managers work toward the development of a leader identity as a central part of their self-concepts Self-to-leader comparisons Literature on self-other comparisons proposes that there are two types of internal comparisons (e.g., The self-concept contains elements related to both types of comparisons, and they work together in guiding people's perceptions and reactions While prototypical representations set general, socially shared, normative and categorical leadership norms and standards, exemplary role models (such as a supervisor or a senior manager) fill the leadership role representation with more idiosyncratic, specific, detailed leadership contents and meanings Self-to-prototype comparisons People actively observe leaders in multiple fields (school, politics, family) and develop generic and nuanced views of them. Implicit leadership theory suggests that managers compare leaders to the mental representation of a leader prototype Individuals evaluate and judge others quite automatically with respect to affiliation and power-related attributes As this definition suggests, power is deeply ingrained in the core of how most people define leadership and has been consistently associated with leadership effectiveness. For example, implicit leadership theory depicts power-related behaviors, such as being strong and energetic The relationship between affiliation and leadership is less straightforward. On the one hand, much recent theory emphasizing shared leadership (e.g., When highly affiliative individuals also have a highly affiliative leadership prototype, they will be more motivated to lead than affiliative individuals who see leaders in general as non-affiliative. For example, David may consider himself as a highly sociable person who cares for others and at the same time may acknowledge that leaders in general are self-centered and do not invest time to build fruitful relationships. In contrast, John is also highly sociable but sees leaders as generally sharing this characteristic with him. We expect John to have higher MTL than David because his view of leadership matches his own self-perceptions. The self-to-prototype match enhances positive feelings toward the job, personal affirmation, and authentic beliefs Self-to-exemplar comparisons The preceding discussion refers to people's views of leadership in general. However, managers also compare themselves to specific exemplar leaders in order to assess their own concrete leadership skills and behaviors. Since these concrete skills and behaviors are not explicitly communicated, managers must freely pick and choose among a myriad of skills and behaviors shown by people at work and use them as benchmarks to define their own leadership identity. We propose that this selection is based on the observed behavior of specific individuals people encounter throughout their professional lives who have already made it into the leadership role. Research has shown that the effects of role models work through social comparison Being a leader is socially attractive By definition, however, there are profound differences across individuals in the specific content of their exemplar representations, which suggest that comparisons between self and exemplars are profoundly individualistic and idiographic. Several previous studies Leadership self-efficacy perceptions Self-efficacy can operate at different levels. At a superordinate level, self-efficacy This way of conceptualizing self-efficacy is quite broad and is more trait-oriented than state-oriented The mediating role of leadership self-efficacy Flattering self-to-leader comparisons inflate individuals' perceptions of their competence We therefore propose that the relationship between self-to-prototype and self-to-exemplar comparisons and MTL is mediated by individuals' perceptions of their leadership self-efficacy. Self-to-prototype comparisons and LSE We expect self-to-prototype comparisons in affiliation to relate positively with LSE. When people high in affiliation perceive their leadership prototype to be similarly high in affiliation, their LSE will be enhanced. We have framed LSE as the belief that one has not only the capabilities but also the psychological resources to meet the demands of the leadership role. Even if prototypical dimensions might fail to provide a specific behavioral roadmap for succeeding in the role, they might certainly relate to the extent to which individuals are attracted to and committed to it. We believe that congruence with the leadership prototype can signal to individuals that they are "in the right profession" and that what they do is personally meaningful, thus increasing their resilience and determination to succeed in that role, and their confidence that they have the psychological resources to do so (focus, resilience, perseverance), which increases LSE. Information from leadership prototypes can cognitively activate behaviors in which individuals judge themselves capable; the cognitive activation of the most general information makes salient more concrete information associated with it . For example, Pat may be worried about her career prospects at her organization and may reflect on how typical leaders behave to judge whether she is up to their standards. If she thinks of leaders as having affiliation concerns, then affiliation-related behaviors, such as listening, helping others, or welcoming others' contributions, are likely to become salient in her mind since they may lead her to the top. If she thinks of herself as able to enact these behaviors, then she will feel that she is capable of performing (at least that part of) the leader's job well. General information from social comparisons can also help individuals experiment with new variants of behaviors and judge what is appropriate and efficacious in situations that require going beyond what they have seen or heard in others Self-to-exemplar comparisons and LSE Self-to-exemplar comparisons increase the likelihood that leaders will identify appropriate solutions and engage in successful behavioral strategies. People may try out successful behavioral strategies they observe in their influential others We operationalize self-with-exemplar congruence as individuals' overall perceived similarity to their own influential leaders. To define exemplars, individuals can use a more or less rich repertoire of attributes that are connected with one another in their mental representations of the exemplars' styles and behavioral strategies Hypothesis 4. Leadership self-efficacy perceptions mediate the relationship between self-with-exemplar comparisons and the motivation to lead. Overview of studies We conducted four studies to test our hypotheses. In our main study (Study 1), we collected a large sample of executives with considerable leadership experience to test all hypothesized paths in our theoretical model. In three follow-up studies (Studies 2, 3, and 4), we gathered additional data to replicate the main effects of our model. We isolated the effect of self-to-prototype comparisons in affiliation on MTL and replicated it using a survey research design with lagged measures among a sample of MBAs (Study 2) and an experimental manipulation among a more general sample (Study 3). Then we also isolated the effect of self-with-exemplar comparisons on MTL and collected data from a sample of experienced leaders at two different points in time (Study 4). Study 1 Sample and procedure Data were obtained from 194 participants in open-enrollment executive education programs at a major European business school, who were asked to complete on-line surveys as a pre-assignment for the program. A total of 180 participants (93% response rate), 59 females and 121 males, completed the data and constituted our final sample. The participants were between 23 and 59 years old, and the average age was 35.73 years. The respondents averaged 5.04 years of leadership experience and 9.24 direct reports. To assess the relevant constructs, except where we specify otherwise, we used a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Measures Motivation to lead. To measure affective MTL, we used Chan and Drasgow's (2001) nine-item scale-for example, "Most of the time, I prefer being a leader rather than a follower when working in groups," and "I am the type of person who likes being in charge of others." The coefficient alpha was estimated at .84.

small attempt to make sense of a variety of extreme crisis events. I am fortunate that the Coles DBA program recognized the value in the study of these events allowing me to pursue a passion of mine. Although difficult, this dissertation was an immense pleasure to create. Hopefully others will find value it its content. Foremost I must thank Dr.‘s Neal Mero and Torsten Pieper. Without their steady hands and patience, given my sometimes out of control ideas, the work would never have been completed. The Coles program is extremely fortunate to have you as members of

The development of effective leadership capacity involves multiple factors including increasing students ’ leadership self-efficacy, motivation to lead, and leadership skills. This study of 165 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory leadership theory course explores the degree to which students report changes in these three areas of leadership from the beginning to the end of the course. Our analysis showed two important findings. First, students report significant gains in leadership self-efficacy, transformational and transactional leadership skill, and each measured form of motivation to lead at the conclusion of the course. Second, a closer examination shows that student learning is not across-the-board but, rather, differentiated. Students experience significantly different outcomes depending on their levels of self-efficacy and motivation to lead when they enter the course. These findings not only have broad implications for the way colleges and universities structure curricula around leadership development, but they also inform theoretical model-building regarding the process of student leadership development.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher efficacy levels and fifth grade Virginia SOL Mathematic achievement. This study sought to determine the extent to which personal efficacy, general efficacy, and total efficacy account for fifth grade Virginia Standards of Learning Mathematic achievement over and above that explained by teacher experience, teacher education, and class size. A critical review of the previous research methodologies and findings on teacher efficacy demonstrated the need for further research in this area. This study hoped to provide school officials in educational leadership with data necessary to plan professional development to improve classroom instruction, teacher efficacy, and student achievement. This study utilized a quantitative survey which measured personal, general, and total efficacy levels among fifth grade teachers in 11 elementary schools located in central Virginia. Twenty-one of the 27 (78%) 5th grade teachers that were surveyed, completed and returned the survey used in the study. Other data, such as teacher education, teacher experience, class size, and student achievement scores were collected from the division with the permission of the