Assessing Leadership: A View from the Dark Side

Abstract

This article concerns leadership effectiveness studied from the reverse angle. We review the literature on managerial derailment and propose a taxonomy of derailment factors. We then describe an inventory designed to assess these factors, provide some evidence regarding the psychometric features of the inventory, and some evidence regarding its validity. We suggest that the base rate for managerial incompetence in any organization is quite high, and we propose our inventory is a useful device for management development ± because it focuses on dysfunctional dispositions known to be associated with failure as a manager.

Self- assessment and leadership development: an overview

“…Despite this vast literature, our understanding of leadership and how to develop leaders is still falling short. For example, evidence suggests that a shortage of eff ective leaders exists (Michaels et al, 2001), that organizations are not doing a satisfactory job at developing future leaders (Fulmer and Conger, 2004), and that between 50 to 75 per cent of individuals in leadership positions are underperforming (Hogan and Hogan, 2001), an estimate borne out by the tenure of individuals holding senior level leadership positions, which has steadily fallen over the past two decades (Burke, 2006;Burke and Cooper, 2006). Leadership research has been ongoing for decades.…”

Virtuous Leadership: A Theoretical Model and Research Agenda

“…Accordingly, one potential strategy would be the employment of sophisticated psychological testing as an important component of the leader selection process, at all levels of the organization. For example, Hogan and Hogan (2001) offer an approach that has promise for uncovering the hidden motives of would be narcissistic leaders. Nonetheless, this is an area that would benefit from increased attention.…”

Relationships between the Dark Triad and Delayed Gratification: An Evolutionary Perspective

“…Those who score high on the Dark Triad traits benefit from short-term behaviors because these render them unpredictable and able to avoid detection Wilson, Near, & Miller, 1996). For example, high Dark Triad individuals are more likely to get ahead of others in the workplace and obtain positions of leadership (Babiak & Hare, 2006;Furnham, 2010;Hogan & Hogan, 2001). They are also more successful in short-term mating efforts (Jonason et al, 2009; and employ a variety of social strategies to manipulate others for personal gain .…”