Authentic Leadership Quetionnaire
Authentic Leadership Quetionnaire
Authentic Leadership Quetionnaire
Questionnaire(ALQ)
MultiraterReport
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EnquiriestoMLQInternational
Tel:+61398193689
Email:[email protected]
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ThefullALQReportfollows..
Sample Person
The last rating received was at 10:41 pm EDT on August 09, 2010.
Sample Person
Sample Person
Sample Person
Transparency
To what degree does the leader reinforce a level of openness with others that provides them with
an opportunity to be forthcoming with their ideas, challenges and opinions?
Transparency refers to presenting ones authentic self (as opposed to a fake or distorted self) to
others. Such behavior promotes trust through disclosures that involve openly sharing information
and expressions of ones true thoughts and feelings.
In relationships authenticity involves endorsing the importance for others you are close to to see
the real you, both the positive and negative aspects. Toward that end, authentic relationships
involve a selective process of self-disclosure and the development of mutual intimacy and trust.
Authentic Leaders communicate to others their true intentions and desires. They say exactly what
they mean.
The items rated on the Transparency scale are:
As a leader I . . .
say exactly what I mean.
Transparency item 2 here.
Transparency item 3 here.
Transparency item 4 here.
Transparency item 5 here.
Sample Person
Ethical/Moral
To what degree does the leader set a high standard for moral and ethical conduct?
Moral perspective refers to an internalized and integrated form of self-regulation. This sort of
self-regulation is guided by internal moral standards and values versus externally derived
standards such as those from ones social group, work organization, or the current society one
lives in. Ethical/Moral behaviors provide evidence showing decision making and behavior that is
consistent with internalized values.
The items rated on the Ethical/Moral scale are:
As a leader I . . .
demonstrate beliefs that are consistent with actions.
Ethical/Moral item 2 here.
Ethical/Moral item 3 here.
Ethical/Moral item 4 here.
Sample Person
Balanced Processing
To what degree does the leader solicit sufficient opinions and viewpoints prior to making important
decisions in order to be seen as fair and just?
Balanced processing refers to leaders who show they go through the due diligence to objectively
analyze all relevant data before coming to a decision. Such leaders also solicit views that
challenge their deeply held positions.
Balanced processing is represented by leaders who are able to take input from diverse points of
view and consider how those views may fairly and objectively shape their interpretation and
decisions regarding a particular challenge or opportunity.
The items rated on the Balanced Processing scale are:
As a leader I . . .
solicit views that challenge my deeply held positions.
Balanced Processing item 2 here.
Balanced Processing item 3 here.
Sample Person
Leadership
Why are authenticity and the authentic characteristics of Self Awareness, Transparency, Ethical/Moral, and
Balanced Processing important to leadership and its development? Think about working for someone who exhibits
a genuine desire to understand their own leadership in order to serve you more effectively. They act in accordance
with their deep personal values and convictions to build credibility and win the respect and trust of you and your
colleagues. They encourage diverse viewpoints and build networks of collaborative relationships with you and your
colleagues. It is easy to understand the power of working with someone like this and why striving for greater levels
of authenticity makes practical sense in any leadership role or relationship with followers.
Direct Effects
Being aware of how one effects others, the balanced processing of information, transparency in relationships, and
consistency between values, words, and deeds (i.e., internalized moral perspective and ethical behaviors)
exhibited by Authentic Leaders instills elevated levels of commitment, willingness to perform behaviors outside the
work role (e.g., good citizenship in the organization), and higher satisfaction with the leader.
Indirect Effects
In terms of indirect effects, Authentic Leaders lead by example (e.g., role modeling) as they display high moral
standards, honesty, and integrity, thereby eliciting followers to personally identify with them and to then model their
style of leadership. Here, personal identification refers to the process whereby ones beliefs about the leader
become self-defining and self-referential. Thus, as followers model authentic leaders, they come to view
themselves as honest persons of high moral standards and integrity. Also, through this modeling, they begin to
cascade the authenticity of their leader to subsequent levels of leadership, in a sense operating as surrogates of
their leader.
Social identification refers to a process through which individuals come to identify with a group, take pride in
belonging, and see group membership as an important part of their identity. Authentic leaders increase followers
social identification by creating a deep sense of high moral values that characterize their group and expressing
high levels of honesty and integrity in their dealings with followers. Authentic leaders don't encourage identification
with the leader as a particular person but as a representative of the core values of their team, unit or organization.
Reinforcing social identification elicits in followers their commitment and satisfaction to the group and to achieving
positive work outcomes together. Authentic leaders become a role model for self awareness, transparency,
balanced processing and high moral/ethical standards, which can become modeled throughout the organization.
Sample Person
Sample Person
I.
The Authentic Leadership Overview provides you with the Authentic Leadership Development (ALD)
model and why it is important for your own well being and performance, as well as that of your followers and
organization.
II.
The Authentic Leadership Scales Profile and Norms is designed to give you insight into how you rated
yourself on the ALQ scales, how your raters rated you, and (for comparison how a population of several
norms of people rated others on the ALQ) additionally, there may be norms for your organization.
To provide you with even more insight about how you are perceived by your raters, two scales reflect your
impact on your raters, Satisfaction and Extra Effort. These provide ratings of how satisfied your raters are
with your leadership and how much extra effort they expend because of your leadership.
III. The Strengths and Developmental Opportunities section of the report sorts the items in the four ALQ
scales. Your Strengths are show in your eight highest ratings and your Developmental Opportunities are
show in your eight lowest ratings.
IV. The Authentic Leadership Item Ratings section shows the ratings by item, how you rated yourself and
how your raters rated you. This section is valuable for understanding the difference between your
perception of yourself and that of your raters. You can see if your raters perceive you the same or differently
by the spread in their ratings.
V.
Often one of the most effective tools in this report for gaining insight into how others perceive you is the
Narrative Feedback section where your raters have answered three narrative questions:
What are two or three things that would help Sample Person be more effective as a
leader?
One thing that gets in the way of Sample Person's effectiveness as a leader is...
What I admire most about Sample Person leadership is...
Sample Person
The narrative feedback section can be quite informative and it may be helpful for identifying behaviors that
relate to your Authentic Leadership. Look for behaviors described by your raters that you should start doing
to increase your Authentic Leadership, continue doing because they are effective in your becoming an
Authentic Leader, or stop doing because they hinder your being an Authentic Leader.
VI. The Personal Leadership Development Section will provide you with methods and tips for developing
your Authentic Leadership.
Consider your results in three separate but related phases.
Phase I: What does the feedback tell me?
First, resist the temptation to rush through or gloss over this phase in order to see how you are being rated.
Try to stay as impartial and objective as you can. Ask how you rated yourself on the four ALQ scales, how
others rated you on the scales and what where their narrative suggestions? Were their scale ratings similar
to yours or very different? To what extent (i.e., were the differences large or small)? In this first phase, stick
to the ratings as closely as you can. Look for trends, gaps, summaries, and metrics. Look for a comparison
between how you see yourself and how others perceive you, and where gaps exist. Assume these will be
good starting points for your development.
Phase II: What does the feedback mean?
The second phase of your process is concerned with making sense of your feedback. This is the
interpretive step of the process that seeks to identify the implications of your results. It is at this interpretive
phase that you should initially consider and evaluate whether your results -- and the similarities and
differences of your self-rating scores to the ratings of others -- are favorable or something you need to
develop. Remember that perception is yours and their reality. Keep this in mind as you consider the
implications of what your raters are telling you through the means of this inventory. If your perceptions differ
from theirs in significant ways, you either have to adjust your behavior or seek to understand how to change
the way you are perceived in order to see useful progress. The optimal goal is having the highest ratings on
these scales from both you and your raters.
Phase III: What are my next steps?
The third and most important phase of your process, is your Individual Development Plan (IDP).
What one or two key things will you focus on in order to increase your authenticity? We recommend a
maximum of two pivotal actions that will have optimal payback in terms of time and effort expended. An
optimistic laundry list of many areas to develop is neither realistic nor practical.
Usually, the one or two points in your IDP will reflect some aspect or combination of stop, start, continue;
that is, according to the analysis of your results and the perceptions of others:
What are some things you should start to do (because you rarely, if ever, show them at
work)?
What are some things you should continue to emphasize? Is it possible that these are strengths that
could be brought forward more often and leveraged for further benefit?
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Sample Person
What are some things you could stop doing (perhaps because you over-rely or overdo them at
present).
Did some aspect of this report challenge your thinking about your authenticity?
In your next steps, be sure to include some metrics, as well as some statements of appreciation to your
raters for providing you with this feedback. In working out your IDP:
Clearly state specific steps you intend to take in order to see consistent, lasting
improvement.
Include a metric that is a clear and obvious way to measure whether you are making
progress.
After gaining an understanding of what it is to be an authentic leader, you will need to brainstorm and
discuss with others behaviors and actions you can take to build your authenticity.
Once you choose these, you can build ways to clearly measure and track the frequency of these
behaviors. This should allow you to see the growth of your authenticity.
Finally, it is highly recommended that you approach those you work with and those who contributed to your ratings
in this exercise. You should deliver these four key messages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Above all else, remember that "change" is the main goal of the ALQ and to successfully sustain change you will
need both discipline and support.
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Sample Person
Transparency
2.9
2.9
Average
4
Balanced Processing
Average
4
Ethical/Moral
Average
3.4
Average
3.7
3
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Sample Person
Extra Effort
Average
2.6
Average
3.7
2.4
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Sample Person
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Several normative
groups (N = 892)
Transparency
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Several normative
groups (N = 892)
Average
3
2.9
2.9
2.2
Average
4
2.9
3.2
2.4
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Sample Person
Ethical/Moral
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Several normative
groups (N = 892)
Balanced Processing
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Several normative
groups (N = 892)
Average
4
3.4
3.4
2.5
Average
3.7
3
3.1
2.2
15
Average
4
2.6
3.2
2.7
Average
3.7
2.4
2.6
3.1
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Universal Norms (N =27,285)
Extra Effort
Self
Your Raters
Sample Org(9)
Universal Norms (N =27,285)
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Sample Person
Item
Scale
3.5
Ethical/Moral
3.4
Item text.
Ethical/Moral
3.4
Item text.
Ethical/Moral
3.3
Item text.
Ethical/Moral
Item text.
Balanced
Processing
3.2
ltem text.
Balanced
Processing
3.2
Item text.
Self Awareness
Item text.
Self Awareness
3.3
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Sample Person
Item
Scale
Self Awareness
2.5
Item text.
Balanced
Processing
2.8
Item text.
Transparency
2.8
Item text.
Transparency
2.8
Item text.
Transparency
2.8
Item text.
Transparency
2.9
Item text.
Self Awareness
Item text.
Transparency
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Sample Person
Average
2.3
2.9
3.2
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Average
2.8
2.8
2.8
2.8
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Average
3.4
3.4
3.3
3.5
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Average
2.5
3.3
3.2
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Average
2.3
2.9
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Average
2.5
2.4
2.4
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Sample Person
Narrative Feedback
What are two or three things that would help Sample Person be more authentic as a person and leader?
The rater comments below are unedited and in random order.
Try to control his mood swings and live in a world which is sometimes grey rather than black or white. Place data
gathering and analysis alongside opinions of others before coming to a conclusion; it's great to be 'people led' but
facts and analysis play a role particularly in his new Group sustainability role.
Keeping abreast of issues/challenges across the whole Sample Corp. Seeking to understand the impact that some
decisions may have on other areas of the Business.
Sample needs to spend more time on his leadership responsibilities [ie for his team]: on 1 on 1's, quality
conversations etc
could spend more time getting to know his teams, and more focus on personal develop of direct reports
Needs to spend more time with his people to understand where they are coming from.
I regard Sample as a role model for authentic leadership
One thing that gets in the way of Sample Person's authenticity in our organization is...
The rater comments below are unedited and in random order.
Sample's emotions can cloud his judgement on occasions.
Could share what he knows more often.
He doesn't always create an environment which enables his team members to be "true to themselves"
A willingness to, more of the time, see working with people as a way of getting things done rather than seeing
people as getting in the way.
Lack of authenticity from others
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Sample Person
Consider the outcomes of your Authentic Leadership style at present. Know that authentic behaviors relate
to the behaviors and self identity of those you interact with, so dont be surprised if you see in others what
they saw in your behavior.
b)
Carefully consider agreements and disagreements between yourself and others' ratings. These differences
can be the result of a number of different factors. Differences at the scale level of .5 or higher should be
taken seriously.
c)
Accept that the ratings reveal how others perceive your Authentic Leadership behaviors that really count in
influencing others, for better or worse.
d)
Consider increasing your authentic behaviors rather than just comparing yourself to normative groups.
Knowing you are 'above' or 'below average' of others in your group is often not very helpful for
developmental purposes. The norms comparisons provided in this report are for getting a sense of the
culture of the groups you may be part of and do not necessarily offer the type of guidance needed to show
you how to develop. Where the norms are most helpful is in providing you with some relative idea of how
you compare to others.
e)
To understand yourself and how others come to see you, you must really think about what constitutes your
core values, beliefs and perspectives. You might simply start by asking, if I could only have one core value
what would that be and how would I always express it consistently with my followers?
f)
Develop an action plan based on increasing or decreasing the frequency of your behaviors on particular
items in the ALQ. By increasing the frequency of how you display these styles of authenticity, you are
changing the way you transmit leadership to others. By transmission we mean how you communicate to
them your leadership. Pick items which will have the biggest effect (most different item rating) on your
overall average for a particular style and to which you can visualize yourself committing with your followers
or associates. Dont assume you can change in less than three months how authentically others perceive
you. It will likely take even longer to stabilize how they view you and the changes you have made to your
leadership.
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Sample Person
g)
Where appropriate, share your plan with at least one trusted advisor who can help you with feedback,
suggestions and encouragement. Consider working with a coach to help you achieve these goals.
Routinely seek and review feedback from these people about the progress you are making towards
achieving your development goal.
h)
Avoid putting raters "on the spot" about their ratings, or giving them the impression that you know how they
may have rated you. Such behavior undermines confidence in the whole process and will shut down any
other useful feedback.
i)
Consider setting a specific time when you will review your progress by repeating the ALQ and checking with
trusted advisors on how they view your progress.
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Ethical/Moral
What do you consider your red lines or boundaries for moral and ethical conduct? Have you
made these explicit to your followers, peers or supervisor?
Identify specific cases or stories of unethical behavior in organizations and use these to discuss
how you would have handled those situations based on your moral and ethical values.
Talk about a situation where you deviated from the ethical or moral path and how you were able
to come back to a way of behaving that you were more comfortable in dealing with the situation.
What is your single most important core value that underlies your ethical decision-making?
Balanced Processing
Plan to go through and debrief with those involved important decisions and the process you used
to arrive at those decisions. Try to see how others viewed the process in terms of fairness and
justice.
When making an important decision as a leader, be sure to identify who are all of the major
stakeholders.
What are the aspects you weigh most in terms of coming to a decision? Do others know what
aspects you consider when coming to a decision?
Go back to a decision that people felt was not fair or balanced. What did you do in that situation
that may have created or contributed to their perspective. In retrospect, how could you have
changed that situation to be perceived as more balanced and fair?
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Expected Outcome
Timeframe
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Articles:
Avolio, B.J., & Chan, A. (In press, 2008). The dawning of a new era for genuine leadership development.
Hodgkinson, G., & Ford, K. (eds.). International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 23.
Avolio, B.J., & Gardner, W.L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of
leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.
Avolio, B.J., Gardner, W.L., Walumbwa, F.O., Luthans, F., & May, D. (2004). Unlocking the mask: A look at the
process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors. Leadership Quarterly, 15, 801-823.
Gardner, W.L., Avolio, B.J., Luthans, F., May, D.R., & Walumbwa, F.O. (2005). Can you see the real me? A
self-based model of authentic leader and follower development. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 434-372.
Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B.J., Gardner, W.L., Wernsing, T.S., Peterson, S.J. (2008, February). Authentic
leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89-126.
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