A Leadership Competence Utilization Questionnaire for South African Managers

Abstract

Schroder has developed ten independent High Performance Leadership Competencies (HPLCs) that predict superior work unit performance in dynamic environments. Assessment centre technology was used for measuring HPLC's. On the basis of recent research, Schroder developed a 360° instrument, called the Competence Utilization Questionnaire (CUQ), to measure these competencies. The aim of this study was to adapt the CUQ for South African managers. Subjects were 128 middle and senior managers from three major business and utility organisations. Respondents ( n = 658), who were either peers or work unit members of subjects, completed CUQ's regarding them. The questionnaire consisted of the ten Schroder competencies, and Contextual Sensitivity, a hypothesised South African competency. A true assumption-free, data-driven exploratory factor analytic study revealed seven well-defined common factors. These are Organisational Learning, Inspiration Building, Strategic Decision-making, Proactivity, Recognition for Development, Performance Feedback, and Contextual Sensitivity. Alpha reliability coefficients were above the 0.80 level, except Factor seven (0.74).