Development of a uniquely South African leadership questionnaire

Date
2002
Authors
Spangenberg H.H.
Theron C.C.
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Abstract
This paper describes the development of a leadership questionnaire the aim of which is to assess the behaviours required to lead change and transformation, while at the same time managing organisational unit performance effectively. A Delphi technique was used to facilitate the identification and testing of emerging leadership dimensions and items, starting with a three-stage model of charismatic leadership, The resultant leadership model comprises four stages, measured as 21 dimensions. The research questionnaire consists of 235 items. The questionnaire was field tested by means of 360° assessment conducted amongst 189 unit managers from a diverse group of organisations. Seven hundred and fifty completed questionnaires were obtained. Unrestricted principal component analyses were performed on each of the sub-scales (dimensions) to examine the unidimensionality assumption. This procedure resulted in the formation of three additional sub-scales. Item analyses on each of the sub-scales produced highly satisfactory Cronbach Alpha values. Further confirmatory factor analyses using LISREL were conducted on each of the 24 sub-scales. A series of goodness-of-fit indices generally showed satisfactory results. Overall, results indicate that a 96-item questionnaire format consisting of 24 dimensions with four items each (selected on the basis of factor loadings) could be used with confidence. Recommendations are made for further research.
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South African Journal of Psychology
32
2