By Andrew C. Loignon
Center for Creative Leadership
John W. Fleenor
Center for Creative Leadership
Stephen Jeong
Center for Creative Leadership
David J. Woehr
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Summary
This paper tests an emerging understanding of multisource leadership ratings by applying the Leadership Arena-Reputation-Identity (LARI) model. Multisource ratings, a common tool in leadership development, are often complicated by the varying perspectives of different rater groups. The LARI model, however, provides a new lens to disentangle these shared and unique perspectives, offering fresh insights into leadership effectiveness.
The study focuses on examining the relationship between the shared (Arena) and unique perspectives provided by the LARI model and the effectiveness of a leader. It explores, in part, whether a leader’s effectiveness is better predicted by their general standing on a particular dimension (Arena) or by their adaptive responses to the demands of specific stakeholders. The research also takes into account the role of a leader’s Reputation, known solely by others, in shaping leadership effectiveness.
Using a large-scale dataset of multisource leadership ratings, the researchers applied the LARI model to explore these complex relationships. The findings suggest the LARI model corresponds to the actual 360 leadership ratings and thus may provide a more nuanced understanding of these measures. The study demonstrates that both shared and unique perspectives significantly influence leader effectiveness, highlighting the importance of considering these different perspectives in leadership development and performance evaluation.
There are several theoretical implications of this research. First, it replicates and extends the LARI model as a novel framework for understanding multisource leadership ratings, moving beyond traditional approaches that focus on aggregate ratings. Second, it provides empirical evidence for the influence of shared and unique perspectives on leader effectiveness, contributing to the broader literature on leadership evaluation and effectiveness. Third, it underscores the role of a leader’s Reputation in shaping their effectiveness, emphasizing the importance of external perceptions in leadership success. Fourth, the paper considers the observability of the dimensions of leadership being evaluated and finds that the degree to which a rater will likely observe a leadership dimension can affect the predictive validity of that source’s ratings.
Citation
Loignon, A. C., Fleenor, J. W., Jeong, S., & Woehr, D. J. (2024). Unpacking Multisource Leadership Ratings: A Test of the Leadership Arena-Reputation-Identity Model. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication.
