The document discusses a study examining whether the Denison Leadership Development Survey (DLDS) can be used across different cultures. The study found that the DLDS survey fits well across cultures and provides evidence that it can reliably measure leadership qualities in different countries. Both the overall index and individual trait factors of the DLDS were found to generalize across cultures, with no significant differences found in how leadership is perceived cross-culturally.
Is the Denison 360-degree assessment generalizable across regional cultures? As an organization grows and becomes global, leaders from one culture are expected to report to leaders from other cultures. With this exchange, organizations must adapt to effectively manage and develop leaders around the world. Research suggests that different cultures emphasize different qualities in leaders and so the question becomes whether or not the Denison Leadership Model can be used to assess leaders in different countries. Though reliable and valid scales of assessing 360-degree feedback reports in the United States exist, very little research has been done that measures reliability and validity across regional cultures. Without this information, it is hard to judge if leaders are being effectively assessed across different cultures. Statistical analyses suggest that the Denison Leadership Model could be used with confidence to assess diverse leaders from across the world. Second-order factors (i.e., indices) were found to fit the data better than a one-factor model (i.e., traits), as expected. Factor analysis was also conducted for each rater and cluster of regions. The DLDS was again found to fit indices across raters.
Multisource (360-degree) feedback instruments are widely used due to the ability they have to provide unique perspectives from raters across different levels (i.e., self, supervisor, peers, and direct reports). Combining these ratings allow individuals to target which areas of leadership they are doing well in and which areas they may still need improvement. Are there any cross-cultural differences in leadership perceptions? For the most part, there are no cross-cultural differences in leadership perceptions. Results found no significant variability in terms of rater (i.e., supervisor, peer, direct-report) perceptions across cultures. Notes: Source material from Denison, D., Kotrba, L., & Castano, N (2012). A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Leadership Assessment: Comparing 360-Degree Feedback Results From Around the World. Advances in Global Leadership , 7, 199-222. doi: 10.1108/S1535-1203(2012)0000007013