360 degree feedback: accuracy, reactions, and perceptions of usefulness

This study examined how 360 degree feedback ratings and self-other rating discrepancies related to reactions to feedback, perceptions of feedback accuracy, perceived usefulness of the feedback, and recipients' receptivity to development. The results indicated that less favorable ratings were related to beliefs that feedback was less accurate and to negative reactions. Negative reactions and perceptions that feedback was less accurate were related to beliefs that the feedback was less useful. Those who found feedback less useful were perceived by a facilitator as less development-focused. Goal orientation did not moderate the relationship between ratings and perceptions of accuracy or reactions to feedback. Goal orientation was related to perceptions of usefulness of the process several weeks after receipt of feedback. The results question widely held assumptions about 360 degree feedback that negative and discrepant feedback motivates positive change.     

The Psychometric Properties of 360 Degree Feedback: An Empirical Study and a Cautionary Tale

Amongst the purported advantages of multi-rater feedback systems is their greater accuracy and objectivity. It is argued here that these benefits may be more imagined than real, and that there is no reason to believe such systems will avoid many of the rating errors and distortions found in traditional top-down appraisal. The first study reported in this paper investigates the psychometric soundness and concurrent validity of a pilot 360 degree feedback scheme operated by a multi-national oil company. The second study describes how analysis of the data provided by the first study was used to re-design the rating form, and demonstrates the resulting improvement achieved in the psychometric properties of the 360 degree scheme. It also examined some of the variables that influence rater’s assessment of the target managers. The conclusion is drawn that unless such feedback systems — irrespective of whether they are used for development or for appraisal — are constructed and evaluated along the lines associated with psychometric tests, they may produce assessments that are seriously misleading.     

Leader personality and 360‐degree assessments of leader behavior

To investigate the relationship between personality and multi‐source feedback, we assessed 190 health care managers by applying the Understanding Personal Potential personality test, which provides comprehensive measurement of the Big Five dimensions and eight narrower personality traits. Managers' leadership behaviors were assessed by colleagues, supervisors, a random sample of each manager's subordinates as well as the managers themselves using a 360‐degree change, production, employee (CPE) instrument. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis showed that the Big Five variables were significantly related to the Managers' leadership behavior in all CPE dimensions. Also, addition of narrow personality variables to the Big Five increased explained variance in leadership behavior. This study is the first of its kind to include the full range of viewpoints in a 360‐degree instrument, along with a large number of subordinate assessments. We found that both the strength of the relationship between personality and behavior and the configuration of different predictors varied depending on who did the rating and what leadership orientation was investigated, and this observation merits further investigation.     

Using 360 Degree Feedback Instruments up,down and around the world: Implications for global implementation and use of Multi-Rater Feedback

This report highlights some of the challenges faced when using multi-rater feedback around the world. It is based on the observations of coaches who have worked with a variety of managers from different cultures using a 360 degree feedback instrument — the PROFILOR®. Reference is made to some of the research on cultural differences in order to clarify, or otherwise, some of the issues raised.     

Impact of Decision-Making Empowerment on Attributions of Leadership

Although empowerment often makes a team more effective, managers do not use this tool extensively. One explanation for this is that managers fear that individuals will draw negative conclusions about their leadership abilities if they use an inappropriate degree of decision-making empowerment (DME). The current research explored this hypothesis, using scenarios to manipulate DME, organizational setting, manager gender, and task outcome. Officer cadets (N?=?173) judged appropriateness of the manager's use of empowerment; degree of leadership shown; and willingness to work for the manager. Cadets saw high DME as significantly more appropriate than low, resulting in significantly higher leadership attributions and a greater willingness to work for the manager. Findings held regardless of context or gender. Task outcome also affected attributions.     

Preferences for leadership in social dilemmas: Public good dilemmas versus common resource dilemmas

It has been argued that a structural solution to social dilemmas is to install a leader, but here we consider the possibility that group members will oppose giving up their decisional freedom. Previous studies have shown that feedback indicating collective failure results in a stronger preference for the leadership option. We argue that preferences for the leadership option depend not only on the feedback group members receive, but also on the type of dilemma they are facing. The results of our experiment, in which we manipulated dilemma type as well as feedback, corroborate our reasoning. The distribution of initial property in public good and common resource dilemmas helps to explain these findings.     

Effects on organizational context (culture and climate) from implementing a 360-degree feedback system: The case of Arcelik

The current study aims to investigate the impact of the 360-degree feedback system (DFS) on organizational context (culture and climate). This longitudinally designed study was conducted at the Arcelik Cooking Appliances Plant in Turkey with 77 white-collar workers. 360-DFS was based on relevant literature and feedback given to the employees by The Arcelik Competency Model. Results have shown that the 360-DFS has effects on organizational context (e.g., employees' perceptions regarding support and achievement culture). The results have also revealed some significant effects on the participants' perception of the communication and performance appraisal system in the organization.     

2003 Division 35 Presidential Address: Feminist Leadership: Feminist Visions And Diverse Voices

Although the theories and models on feminism and leadership exist, there has been little study of the intersection of the two. The literature on feminist leadership is scant. Few have defined it and fewer still have researched it. Thus, Feminist Leadership was chosen for my presidential initiative. This initiative kicked off a dialogue about feminist leadership that is summarized in this article. The article is based on my presidential address presented at the 2003 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in concluding my year as President of Division 35, the Society for the Psychology of Women. It identifies some challenges faced by women in leadership positions and by feminist leaders. It identifies the major issues that emerged during a web-based dialogue about feminist leadership. It discusses the intersection between theories of leadership and feminism. It ends with the lessons learned and implications for the future of feminist leadership.     

Leadership Team Cohesion and Subordinate Work Unit Morale and Performance

This study examined (a) the relationship of cohesion among members of a platoon leadership team to subordinate attitudes and performance and (b) the degree of consensus among squad members and their leaders regarding the leadership team's cohesiveness. In a sample of 60 light infantry platoons, squad members' perceptions of leadership team cohesion (LC) were signifi- cantly related (at both individual and unit levels) to their cohesion, organiza- tional identification, job involvement, task motivation, career intent, and perceptions of unit effectiveness. They were also related to ratings of performance in simulated combat. Regression revealed LC to be beneficial over and above the perceived quality of the individual leaders. Most of these relationships held true from the perspective of squad leaders, and some from the perspective of platoon sergeants and platoon leaders. The degree of consensus among the different levels varied as well. The results suggest that leaders should pay more attention to the impact their cohesion or dissension may have on unit morale and performance.     

仁慈领导与员工创新行为:内部人身份感知的中介作用和领导-部属交换关系差异化的调节作用

探究仁慈领导与员工创新行为的关系,以及在该关系中内部人身份感知的中介作用和领导-部属交换关系差异化的调节作用。以68名主管和215名员工为对象,通过对两阶段主管-员工配对调查所获取的数据进行分析,结果表明:(1)仁慈领导可以借助内部人身份感知的中介作用,对员工创新行为产生积极的影响;(2)领导-部属交换关系差异化能调节仁慈领导和内部人身份感知的关系,即当关系差异化水平越高,仁慈领导与内部人身份感知之间的正向关系越强;(3)领导-部属交换关系差异化能调节内部人身份感知在仁慈领导与员工创新行为关系间的中介作用,表现为被调节的中介作用模式,即领导-部属交换关系差异化水平越高,仁慈领导与员工创新行为之间通过内部人身份感知的间接关系越强。     

Leadership in the Organizational Context: A Conceptual Approach and its Applications1

The present research reviewed the literature on leadership, and noted the lack of a well-founded theoretical conception of leadership that would provide a general, cross-situational approach to leadership identification and develoment. Subsequently, it was suggested systems theory might be used to gain some understanding of leadership as it occurs in bureaucratic organizations. This led to the hypothesis that formal leadership activities will always be focused on the attainment of certain goals specified in the leadership role, and so will represent a form of problem-solving activity. The literature supporting this hypothesis was reviewed. The personal characteristics of a leader which would be likely to facilitate goal attainment and problem solving across situations were outlined as well as certain problem-specific processes. Finally, some implications of this approach to leadership identification and development were considered.     

The psychology of leadership revisited: An overview

An overview of the concept of leadership as it appears in social psychology, psychoanalytic theory and group psychotherapy is presented. In the absence of a generally accepted global view of leadership, social psychology has produced limited-domain theories with relevance to group practitioners. Following Freud's early contribution on the subject, psychoanalytic investigators have neglected the subject of group psychology, and with it of leadership, until very recently. Within group psychotherapy some promising research and theorizing have emerged, but there is a need to distinguish between the roles of group leader and group therapist in both theory and practice.This paper was presented at the 1979 Annual Conference of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society.     

Feedback format: Does it influence manager's reactions to feedback?

This study investigated the influence of feedback format (text versus numeric/normative) on leaders' reactions to 360 degree feedback received from bosses, direct reports, and peers. Leaders who received numeric/normative feedback reacted more favourably than those who received text feedback regardless of the source. The reactions recipients experienced following feedback were relevant to changes in their number of development needs compared pre‐ and post feedback. Those who reacted negatively had a larger number of development needs reported post feedback while those who had positive reactions showed fewer development needs post feedback. These findings suggest that, contrary to predictions of feedback intervention theory (FIT), feedback that provided scores and comparative information was reacted to more positively than text feedback that provided only self‐relevant data. In addition, negative reactions to feedback were detrimental to future changes.     

THE INFLUENCE OF UPWARD FEEDBACK ON SELF- AND FOLLOWER RATINGS OF LEADERSHIP

The impact of upward feedback (followers' perceptions of leadership provided to leaders) on leaders' self-evaluations and followers' subsequent ratings of leadership was assessed in a field setting. Subjects were 978 student leaders and their 1,232 followers. Results indicated that overall, leaders' behaviors as rated by followers improved after feedback. Leaders' self-evaluations following feedback became more similar to the evaluations provided by followers. Interestingly, when leaders were grouped according to whether feedback was positive, neutral, or negative based on agreement between self- and follower ratings, differences between groups in post-feedback self-evaluations and follower ratings emerged. Self-evaluations for leaders receiving negative feedback (high self- relative to followers' ratings) went down, while self-evaluations for leaders receiving positive feedback (low self- relative to follower's ratings) went up. Follower ratings of leaders who received negative feedback improved following feedback to leaders, while there was no change in follower ratings for those receiving positive feedback. Implications for using upward feedback in organizations are discussed.     

Differential item functioning in an international 360-degree assessment: Evidence of gender stereotype,environmental complexity,and organizational contingency

This research used logistic regression to model item responses from a popular 360-degree-for-development survey used in a leadership development programme given to middle and upper level European managers in Brussels. The survey contained 106 items on 16 scales. The model used gender of ratee and rater group to identify items that exhibited differential item functioning (DIF). The rater groups were self, boss, peer, and direct report. The sample consisted of 356 survey families where a survey family consisted of a matched set of four surveys: one self, one boss, one peer, and one direct report. The sample contained 88% male and 12% female raters. The sample contained 1424 total surveys. The procedure for flagging items exhibiting differential functioning used effect size computed from Wald chi-square statistics rather than statistical significance, resulting in fewer flagged items. One item exhibited rating anomalies due to the gender of the ratee; 55 items exhibited DIF attributable to rater group. The apparent effect of the DIF was small with each item. An examination of the maximum likelihood parameter estimates suggested the rater group DIF was the result of either hierarchical complexity or organizational contingency. The DIF due to gender conformed to prior expectations of gender-related stereotypical interpretations. This research further suggested that DIF due to environmental complexity or organizational contingency could be a naturally occurring phenomenon in some 360-degree assessment, and that the interpretation of some 360-degree feedback could need to include the potential for such DIF to exist.     

Fodor's information semantics between naturalism and mentalism∗

Political theorists have begun to re-examine claims by indigenous peoples to lands which were expropriated in the course of sixteenth-eighteenth century European expansionism. In Australia, these issues have captured public attention as they emerged in two central High Court cases: Mabo (1992) and Wik (1996), which recognize pre-existing common law rights of native title held by indigenous people prior to European contact and, in some cases, continue to be held to the present day. The theoretical significance of the two Australian cases is examined and the links drawn out between the current debate about Aboriginal land rights in Australia and the wider philosophical debate about indigenous land rights, property rights, and indigenous justice as characterized by Jeremy Waldron and James Tully. Justice towards indigenous groups requires substantial acknowledgement and recognition of the values and institutions of the relevant indigenous group; yet, these values and institutions may not readily fall under the framework of existing state structures. Attempts to redress injustice towards indigenous groups which do not question the justice of existing state institutions will therefore prove to be inadequate responses to indigenous peoples' demands for substantive justice.     

授权型领导对员工反馈寻求行为的影响机制：领导差异化授权两阶段的调节作用

从员工直接感知的角度编制领导差异化授权问卷,并通过构建两阶段有调节的中介模型探讨了授权型领导对反馈寻求行为的影响机制与领导差异化授权在其中的调节作用。对388份问卷数据分析后发现：（1）授权型领导正向预测员工的领导认同与反馈寻求行为;（2）领导认同在授权型领导与反馈寻求行为中起中介作用;（3）领导差异化授权调节授权型领导通过领导认同对反馈寻求行为的中介作用,即调节了中介过程的第一段（授权型领导−领导认同）与第二段（领导认同−反馈寻求行为）。研究结果揭示了授权型领导影响反馈寻求行为的中介与调节效应,可为管理实践中促进反馈寻求行为提供科学参考。     

Charismatic leadership and organizational outcomes: The mediating role of employees' work-group identification

This research examines the degree of employees' identification with the work-group as a function of charismatic leadership (e.g., Conger & Kanungo, 1998 1998) and the mediating role of work-group identification (Van Knippenberg & Van Shie, 2000 2000) in the relationship between charismatic style and different work outcomes. Thus, the general aim was to analyse leadership and work outcomes as they are associated to social identification processes, referring both to recent developments of charismatic leadership models and to the recent developments of the social identity analysis applied to the workplace (see Abrams & Hogg, 2001 2001). Two field surveys were conducted using 200 Italian public and private sector employees (two different working organizations). Two questionnaires were designed in order to collect data. They included different measures of charismatic leadership derived by the literature (e.g., the Conger-Kanungo Charismatic Leadership Questionnaire; Conger & Kanungo, 1994 1994, 1998 1998, for Study 2), a scale to assess the degree of identification with the work-group (Van Knippenberg & Van Shie, 2000 2000), and some scales to measure the different outcomes considered (e.g., Brown and Leigh's effort measure, 1996 1996; Mobley's turnover intention measure, 1977 1977). As predicted, results of Study 1 revealed that charismatic leadership was positively related to work-group identification, and employees' work effort was positively related to work-group identification. Work-group identification also mediates relationship between charismatic leadership and work effort. Results of Study 2 replicated the positive association between charismatic leadership and employees' work-group identification; work-group identification is also associated with their job involvement, job satisfaction, performance, and turnover intention. The same mediating role of work-group identification between charismatic leadership and the criteria mentioned above was found. Underlying mechanisms as well as implications are discussed.     

360 Degree Feedback and Developmental Outcomes: The Role of Feedback Characteristics,Self‐Efficacy and Importance of Feedback Dimensions to Focal Managers' Current Role

This longitudinal study investigates whether developmental changes following 360 degree feedback are predicted by the favourability of ratings received, and moderated by focal individuals' self‐efficacy and perceived importance of feedback. Five developmental criteria are investigated longitudinally: (i) self‐assessments, (ii) line managers' ratings, (iii) amount of developmental activity, (iv) global self‐efficacy and (iv) self‐efficacy for development. Feedback ratings from certain rater groups predicted changes in ratings, but not changes in self‐efficacy or amount of developmental activity. Self‐efficacy significantly moderated the feedback–performance association for certain rater groups, but feedback importance did not. Contrary to expectations, the focal individual's initial self‐assessment predicted changes in self‐efficacy, over the favourability of ratings received. The implications of these findings for organizations using 360 degree feedback for developmental purposes are discussed.     

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown: the link between guilt proneness and leadership

We propose that guilt proneness is a critical characteristic of leaders and find support for this hypothesis across 3 studies. Participants in the first study rated a set of guilt-prone behaviors as more indicative of leadership potential than a set of less guilt-prone behaviors. In a follow-up study, guilt-prone participants in a leaderless group task engaged in more leadership behaviors than did less guilt-prone participants. In a third, and final, study, we move to the field and analyze 360° feedback from a group of young managers working in a range of industries. The results indicate that highly guilt-prone individuals were rated as more capable leaders than less guilt-prone individuals and that a sense of responsibility for others underlies the positive relationship between guilt proneness and leadership evaluations.