The fallacy of using in-basket based measures for the validation of leadership dimensions

Harold M Schroder

doi:10.4102/sajip.v30i2.152

Abstract

Harold M. Schroder was professor of psychology at Princeton University when he conducted most of the basic research on the High Performance Leadership Competencies. Their validation across public and private organisations was carried out by Schroder and his colleagues while he was Professor of Management at the University of South Florida. He is currently involved in organisational consultancy and research: No 10 Kings Gardens, London, NW6, 4PU, UK.

Highlights

The stated aim of a recent article in the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology by Spangenberg, H.H. and Theron, C.C. was to investigate “The Validation of the High Performance Leadership Competencies as measured by an Assessment Centre In-Basket “. In designing such a study, one would expect that the authors would select the most valid measure of the Schroder Leadership Dimensions, namely the High Performance Leadership Competencies (HPLCs), based on the research evidence
The major founding research publication on the validity of the HPLCs (Schroder, 1989), clearly presented data showing that measures of the HPLCs based on inbasket responses alone were only marginally correlated with hard measures of unit performance
The in-basket exercise cannot be used as a complete measure of leadership and cannot be used alone as the basis for investigating the validity of the HPLCs

Summary

Introduction

The stated aim of a recent article in the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology by Spangenberg, H.H. and Theron, C.C. was to investigate “The Validation of the High Performance Leadership Competencies as measured by an Assessment Centre In-Basket “. In designing such a study, one would expect that the authors would select the most valid measure of the Schroder Leadership Dimensions, namely the High Performance Leadership Competencies (HPLCs), based on the research evidence.

Results

Conclusion