Leadership Selection Process Research Articles

Shoot the Horse and Build a Better Barn Door: Exploring the Potential for a Superforecasting Methodology to Strengthen the DHS Leadership Selection Process

Shoot the Horse and Build a Better Barn Door: Exploring the Potential for a Superforecasting Methodology to Strengthen the DHS Leadership Selection Process

Leadership Selection and Cooperative Behavior in Social Dilemmas: An Empirical Exploration of Assigned versus Group‐Chosen Leadership

AbstractThis research explores the leadership selection process as an antecedent to group cooperation. We compare group‐chosen and assigned leaders and explore their resulting influence upon the group process and outcome in a social dilemma context. In three empirical studies, we predict and provide support for the idea that group‐chosen leaders will attend more to the social aspects of the group's interaction as opposed to the economic (bottom‐line) ones than will assigned leaders. Additionally, we found that those groups with group‐chosen leaders had more overall group cooperation (i.e., less economic self‐interest), greater trust in one another and in the leader, and had leaders who displayed more socially oriented leadership behaviors.

Dream Teams and the Apollo Effect

We model leadership selection, competition, and decision making in teams with heterogeneous membership composition. We show that if the choice of leadership in a team is imprecise or noisy—which may arguably be the case if appointment decisions are made by non-expert administrators—then it is not necessarily the case that the best individuals should be selected as team members. On the contrary, and in line with what has been called the “Apollo effect,” a “dream team” consisting of unambiguously higher performing individuals may perform worse in terms of team output than a group composed of lower performers. We characterize the properties of the leadership selection and production processes which lead to the Apollo effect and clarify when the opposite effect occurs in which supertalent performs better than comparatively less qualified groups.

The Politics of Leadership Selection and Party Discipline in Parliamentary Democracies

Internal party democracy and the opening up of candidate and leadership selection processes to broad selectorates tends to be seen as a normative good. However, empirical evidence regarding the consequences of political parties allowing grassroots members and non-members to participate in selecting their candidates for public office is mixed. Highly participatory candidate nomination processes have been shown to lead to less inclusive and representative legislative institutions and highly undisciplined political parties. This paper argues that the democratisation of leadership selection is likely to produce a similar effect as far as party discipline is concerned. To be successful in party primary contests, candidates for party leadership and executive positions need to move closer to the overall median voter, moving away from the median voter of their own party. Thus, the more inclusive the selectorate for party leadership selection, the more accountable the leader becomes to the wider selectorate and the more likely to neglect the ideological preferences of extreme factions among local activists and backbenchers once elected. These dynamics are likely to fuel the legislators’ use of dissent as a means of communicating their policy stances to voters. To test these expectations, a dataset containing the preferences expressed by backbenchers during the open primary contest organised by the French Socialist Party to select their 2012 presidential candidate was collected. The quantitative analysis finds evidence that the dissenting behaviour among the Socialist Party’s backbenchers during the 2012-2017 legislature followed from the ideological preferences expressed during the 2011 primary.

Policy transfer, contagion effects and intra-party reform

ABSTRACTThis article examines the extent to which the Australian Labor Party (ALP) engaged in a process of policy transfer, learning from the UK Labour Party, when it reformed its federal leadership selection process in 2013. Bringing together insights from both the public policy and party organisations literature, the article develops an empirical framework for identifying instances of policy transfer (or contagion effects) that consists of three criteria: intention, motivation and implementation, which can examined through various types of empirical data (including interviews, documentary, and network analysis). Applying this framework to the ALP reforms, the article concludes that while it is possible to see evidence of a general shift to a similar, more inclusive selection process, policy transfer is more difficult to substantiate. There were clear differences in the specifics of how the process would work, and a temporal disjoint between when actors sought information about UK practices and when the reforms actually occurred.

Raising a big tent: Internal party composition and leadership selectorate expansion

The trend amongst many parties toward the inclusion of rank-and-file members in the leadership selection process has often been attributed to opposition status and electoral defeat. However, these explanations are typical events for parties and hardly seem sufficient for party elites to willingly cede their authority over the selection of party leaders. This paper proposes that the electoral regionalization of the party contributes to the decision to expand the leadership selectorate. In the event a party is defeated to an extent in which their support is reduced to its regional base, this situation necessitates the bringing in of new voices to avoid further marginalization. This paper finds that regionalization plays a significant role in the decision of parties to expand leadership selectorates and that the role of opposition status and electoral setbacks have been overstated.

Primary elections between fortuna and virtù

ABSTRACTPrimaries have become an almost indispensable tool of the political game in the Italian centre-left coalition and, especially, within the Democratic Party. This article explores what has led to this important institutional change in the candidate and leadership selection processes. It assesses the consequences with reference to both competition and inclusiveness. It concludes by stressing that, frequent, undocumented and unfounded criticisms notwithstanding, Italian primaries have played, and promise to continue to play, quite a positive role in the Italian political system.

All at sea – gender and leadership in Britain’s Royal Navy (RN)

Purpose– This paper aims to investigate the relationship between leadership and gender in the UK’s Royal Navy (RN) to answer the research question “Do men and women lead in different ways?”.Design/methodology/approach– The research collected factual data on personnel statistics and organisational structure in the RN. The primary research adopted a grounded theory approach using repertory grid and critical incident technique. The research design was to interview a snowball sample of 27 mid-ranking officers, equally split between men and women and drawn from the main branches in the RN.Findings– There is a significant gender deficit in the RN officer cadre with no women senior-ranking RN officers currently in post. A model of RN leadership was developed from a content and statistical analysis of the primary data. This was broadly equivalent for both men and women, except in one regard: women are expected to manage the impact of their gender so that their self-presentation conforms to the prevailing androcentric norms. The analysis also identified the consequences of unreflective leadership for followers and developed the term “damagement” to conceptualise this.Research limitations/implications– The small-scale research design precluded any generalisable findings, but further research, if confirmatory, should make a substantive contribution to both the theoretical field of gender and leadership, and the practice of leadership in the RN.Practical implications– These would relate the practice of leadership in the RN. Given further confirmatory research, the findings should inform the leadership selection, training and evaluation processes operated by the RN. It should also influence the Ministry of Defence’s policy on the wider deployment of women in the armed services, when the issue is next reviewed.Social implications– The research may have social implications for the wider acceptance of the valuable contribution that women can and should be making in the national armed services of the UK and beyond.Originality/value– The research was primary. It has added value though both its contribution to the leadership and gender debate and also the conceptualisation of leadership in the armed services, particularly the RN. In addition, it developed a new concept, that of “damagement” that could be critical in the development of more effective leadership styles.

What matters most in leader selection? The role of personality and implicit leadership theories

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the primary basis upon which raters make decisions in the context of selection for formal leadership positions. Specifically, this paper examines the applicant’s personality, the rater’s personality, and the congruence between the applicant’s personality and the rater’s implicit leadership theories (ILTs) as predictors of interview scores. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses were tested via random coefficient modeling analyses using HLM software with the control variables included in Step 1 and the main effects entered in Step 2, and interaction effects in Step 3 as appropriate. Findings – Analyses suggest that both applicant and rater personality impact interview scores, but raters do not appear to select leaders on the basis of their conceptualization of an ideal leader. Research limitations/implications – The results suggest that raters may not consider their own ILTs when attempting to identify future leaders. Given this lack of a natural tendency toward selecting individuals that match one’s perceptions of an ideal leader, future research should focus on adapting current selection methods to leader selection and the development of new selection methods that are more valid. Practical implications – These findings suggest that current staffing practices may not encompass the most effective tools for selecting future leaders of the organization. These results highlight the importance of clarifying the outcome goals of the selection process in advance by giving raters a clear representation of the qualities and ideals that should be present in potential leaders. Originality/value – This study is among the first to examine the relationships between personality and ILTs in the context of a formal leadership selection process and makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing insight into the influence of both rater and applicant personality differences along with rater conceptualizations of ideal leadership in the context of formal leadership selection.

Fases del fraccionalismo. El caso del Partido de la Revolución Democrática

<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: xx-small;"><p>El artículo hace una reflexión sobre la definición de las fracciones dentro de los partidos políticos, las concibe como un fenómeno para comprender la dinámica intrapartidaria en los procesos de selección de dirigencias. Así, plantea algunas ideas para el caso del Partido de la Revolución Democrática en el periodo de 1989 a 2011, donde expone lo sucedido en sus procesos de selección de dirigencia en 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008 y 2011</p></span></span>

Keeping the Doors Closed

This article is the first systematic exploration of the leadership selection process in the Romanian party system. We use process-tracing and qualitative tools, using data from party statutes and documents of the national conventions. We focus on the parliamentary political parties throughout the entire post-communist period. The analysis shows that nothing has changed at the level of centralization of decision, and inclusiveness with the members’ involvement remaining marginal in all parties. The competitiveness of the internal elections presents a more diverse and dynamic picture. We propose a novel typology for cross-case comparisons that illustrates the association between informal decentralization and increased competitiveness. Second, we advance explanations for the persistence of the “exclusiveness” status quo that take into account intraorganizational, institutional, and exogenous factors.

Appointing top officials in a democratic indonesia: the corruption eradication commission

Democratisation has brought checks and balances, and new state agencies, to Indonesian politics. Checks and balances and greater responsiveness to the public have also been sought in the appointment processes for the senior management of these new bodies. This paper examines the merits of the new appointment processes, in particular sequential selection, through a case study of the leadership selection process for the Corruption Eradication Commission. It reviews the process stipulated by law and its implementation in 2003, 2007 and 2010. The study argues that, while the short-listing of candidates by the selection committee aims at unprecedented openness and meritocracy, the process used has been tedious and has given insufficient weight to candidates’ track records. Despite criticism that the final selection was pre-determined, the paper concludes that the overall selection process has upheld the principle of checks and balances between the executive and the legislature and ensured diversity of political support.

The Gordian Knot of Ethics: Understanding Leadership Effectiveness and Ethical Behavior

Recent ethical misconduct in American business has resulted in volumes of written commentary, various legislative responses, as well as litigation by those identified as victims. While legislators, judges, juries, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursue an increasing number of cases, there is little attention devoted to understanding what drives executives and other leaders to behave in ways that violate the ethical and legal standards of business in the United States. This understanding is a prerequisite to selecting leaders and designing interventions that prevent future misconduct. Understanding leadership’s nature and functioning is one key to understanding the ethical behavior of an organization as a system and of the people who lead the organization. Two models or frameworks provide the foundation for this paper. The first is a model of leadership competencies. This model identifies five key areas of competence related to overall, long-term leadership success. The second model targets leadership effectiveness. This model has three components – motivational patterns, decision criteria, and competencies. Using the Leadership Effectiveness Model to frame the discussion, the authors describe the nature and importance of the models, with particular focus on motivational patterns. Research suggests these patterns often account for 40–60% of overall leadership effectiveness. This article defines motivational patterns and describes key patterns that may impact ethical behavior of leaders. The article concludes with a discussion of how to use data on motivational patterns in leadership selection, development, and evaluation processes.

Environmental leadership development

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide a basis for comparing the interactions between the level of environmental support for leadership development and individual leadership characteristics in determining leadership selection and effectiveness within organizations.Design/methodology/approachA contextual model of leader selection and effectiveness examining the interactions between the level of environmental support and individual leadership characteristics to predict specific research propositions based on organizational needs is presented. The paper first provides an overview of leadership selection and effectiveness research and then illustrates a contextual model of leadership selection and effectiveness. The model design is based on a four‐quadrant structure with two propositions being suggested for each quadrant.Findings– Describes the context and proposed outcome of each respective quadrant for identifying and selecting potential leadership talent within an organization. The model also highlights the tendencies of organizational leadership to promote or select potential leadership talent from predictable employee groups based on how they match preconceived expectations.Research limitations/implications– The model has not yet been tested empirically.Practical implications– A very useful approach for organizations looking to improve their internal leadership development capabilities and leadership selection processes. This model lays the foundation for leadership identification and selection from all areas of an organization while emphasizing the necessity for leadership development at all levels.Originality/value– All organizations face the challenge of leadership identification, growth, development and effectiveness. This paper offers insights into understanding how leaders are identified for growth and development within an organization and how individuals within those organizations perceive themselves participating in leadership opportunities.

Choosing Leaders: A Group Interactional Approach

Executive Summary This article advances a theoretical framework for understanding how groups evaluate leaders using insights from small group research. Leadership selection is presented as an interactional involving the variables of personality, group, and situation. All groups expect their leaders to perform two basic leadership functions depending on the situation -- what we describe as instrumental and affective leadership roles. The instrumental and affective dimensions of presidential leadership are delineated to provide a more complete picture of the leadership roles parties and voters desire as they nominate and elect presidents. While the focus is on the selection of American presidents, the framework advanced is readily applicable to the selection of leaders in groups of all sizes. ********** The study of presidential selection in America is alive and well. Using a variety of different approaches, students of the presidency have focused on ambition and rational choice theories, institutional rules of the nominating game, campaign strategies, voter choice, partisan voting, issue voting, retrospective voting, candidate evaluation, and the relationship between campaigns and governance (Aldrich 1993). Although each approach focuses on some aspect of the leadership selection process, political science lacks an overarching framework that places these contributions in their proper perspective and indicates their relative importance to an understanding of the presidential selection process. This article advances a theoretical framework to provide such a perspective. The insights put forward are taken from political science, sociology, social psychology, and in particular from small group leadership theory. The focus will not be on the methodological problems of applying insights from small group studies to larger groups. Sidney Verba, in his landmark study Small Groups and Political Behavior (1961), has already addressed that threshold issue. We instead concentrate on two theoretical contributions from small group leadership theory directly relevant to our understanding of how we choose leaders. First, this work recognizes that leadership selection is an interactional process involving the variables personality, the group, and the situation. Second, this work points out the two basic leadership functions every group expects its leader to perform -- the instrumental and affective leadership functions. Our work combines these important insights from research on small groups into a broader theoretical framework for analyzing the selection of the president in particular and group leaders in general. Interactional Leadership Theory If one traces the evolution of thought among social scientists regarding leadership, one finds that early scholars tended to dwell on what we today would call the Great Man theory of leadership (see, for example, Gouldner 1950). According to this view, if we could identify the specific personality traits that made a leader and find a contemporary person with similar traits, then we would have identified a great leader. The Great Man theory was replaced as scholars recognized that the situational context out of which a leader emerged was just as important, if not more so, than any personal traits a leader may have possessed. To put their case bluntly and simply, no Moses would have emerged as a leader without the Jewish people yearning to be free from Egyptian bondage. It was the situational context, according to these scholars, that explained the emergence of the leader (Golembiewski 1978; Gouldner 1950). More recently, social psychologists have come to the consensus that a third variable, the group, is at work in the leadership selection process. Small group research focuses on the interaction between the personality of the leader, the group's beliefs, norms, needs, hopes and fears, and the situation confronting the group (Stodgill 1974). …

Beyond Westminster: The New Machinery of Subnational Government: Adapting the Westminster Model: Provincial and Territorial Cabinets in Canada

Key elements of the Canadian ‘model’ of cabinet differ markedly from the structures and processes of cabinets in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. This article outlines features of the Canadian provincial cabinet organization and operation which are unique or unusual in Westminster systems and suggests that important lessons for the new national institutions may be found in the experience of cabinet government in Canada. The five distinctive aspects of Canadian cabinets are outlined: their size and structure; the ‘representational imperative’ in their composition; the ramifications of party leadership selection processes; the prominence of political staff; and the widespread lack of political and parliamentary experience among ministers.

VIETNAM IN 2000 Toward the Ninth Party Congress

Vietnamese politics are shaped by the five-year cycle between national congresses of the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP). The last national party congress was held in mid-1996 and the next congress, the Ninth, is scheduled for March 2001. A national congress has four main responsibilities: approve the party’s Political Report, adopt a long-term socioeconomic strategy, amend the party’s statutes and platform, and elect a new leadership. In the months leading up to a national congress, various internal party factions maneuver to shape policy outcomes and the leadership selection process. Events during the year indicate that splits within the party over its senior leadership, that emerged at the Eighth Party Congress, still remained. This article reviews major political, economic and foreign relations developments during the year through this framework.

Ensuring effectiveness in our front‐line leaders

Clearly, the role of front‐line leader (often known as supervisor, team leader, foreman and so on) is a critical, challenging and often unappreciated role. However, the role must be performed effectively if work teams are to optimise their effectiveness. This paper argues that four practices, easily stated but difficult to fully implement, are required in order to fully develop the front‐line leadership function. The practices are: implement a well‐focused system of goals and feedback; employ rigorous leadership selection processes (including the removal of ineffective leaders); maintain well‐developed and evolving human resource management systems; and implement training and development as an ongoing process. The rationale for each practice is provided as well as examples from experience.

Leadership selection in six Western democracies

A comparative survey that discusses how national leaders in six Western democracies - France, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, and the United States - are nominated for the highest office in their respective countries. Emphasizing the traditional methods of career advancement, this title also reveals the increasing role of opinion polls, television, and professional campaign management in the leadership selection process in the six countries. Will be of interest to students and faculty in comparative government, political parties, and public affairs, as well as academic and public libraries.

Meet Dr. Clay and Dr. Glass: A Leadership Exercise

Projective testing has traditionally served to explore intelligence or personality. In this projective test, participants work individually or in groups to ascertain the leadership qualities of two CEO candidates: Dr. Glass (a shiny, clean, empty wine bottle) and Dr. Clay (a ball of multicolored modeling clay). The Dr. Glass and Dr. Clay exercise pushes students into divergent thinking. Issues of perceptions, projections, and paradoxes in the leadership attribution and selection process emerge from the debriefing.