Explorations of construct validity in a combined managerial and personality assessment programme

Abstract

A combined programme entailing separate managerial and personality assessment staffs was employed to explore the construct validity of managerial performance dimensions. For a sample of 119 MBA (Master of Business Administration) candidates, principal components analysis of mean ratings on 14 managerial performance dimensions identified a Strategic Managerial Style (SMS) (e.g. decision making, fact‐finding) and an Interpersonal Managerial Style (IMS) (e.g. oral communication, initiative). Among independent scorings for the managerial assessment procedures, performance on the in‐basket exercise best predicted SMS while performance in the leaderless group discussion best predicted IMS. Trait rankings, Adjective Check List impressions, and Q sort portraits recorded by the personality assessment staff were related to the SMS and IMS as well as to the managerial assessment staff's overall judgments of Managerial Potential (MP). Of the domains of the five‐factor model of personality dimensions, the SMS trait descriptors were most characterized by Conscientiousness and Openness, the IMS by Extraversion, Openness and low Agreeableness, and the MP by Extraversion and Openness. Implications were drawn for the relation of managerial assessment centre measures to concurrent personality measures and for alternative predictive models of career outcome criteria.