How Leadership Surveys Can Improve Leadership Qualities

¶ … administration of the "LMX 7 Questionnaire" and the "Sample Items from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5X-Short" of the course text, Leadership: Theory and Practice. An analysis concerning how responses to both questionnaires indicate a personal leadership philosophy is followed by a description concerning any questionnaire results that were surprising. Finally, the paper provides an analysis concerning the impact that the characteristics of the Leadership-Member Exchange Theory and Transformational Leadership might have on a personal leadership style and how these characteristics might help an individual become a more effective leader.

The results that emerged from the completion of the LMX 7 Questionnaire and the MLQ Form 5X-Short form the basis for a personal leadership philosophy, a philosophy that might not otherwise be formalized. Indeed, many if not most people go through their workday lives without giving much thought to what style of leadership or followership they are using, and rather simply attempt to survive another day on the front lines. By guiding respondents to articulate their thoughts concerning their relationships with their supervisors and followers, the LMX 7 Questionnaire serves as a useful framework in which to evaluate the quality of these relationships and to identify areas of deficiency that could use work.

Likewise, the administration of the MLQ Form 5X-Short also provides a series of benchmarks in various leadership areas that can help respondents better understand their personal leadership philosophy and what areas can be improved. In both cases, subsequent administrations of these instruments can help determine if progress has been made in improving targeted areas of deficiency. Of course, this attribute of these survey instruments is only applicable if respondents are honest and forthcoming in their responses, and both of these instruments require thoughtful and forthcoming responses.

Although there no earth-shattering results from either survey, one question from the LMX Questionnaire, "Do you know where you stand with your leader (follower) . . . [and] do you usually know how satisfied your leader (follower) is with what you do?," made me pause and reflect for some time before answering. This question made me realize that while I am acutely aware of the quality of my workplace leader's practices, the hard work and sacrifices that I make on a routine basis at work may not be fully recognized or appreciated by my immediate supervisor. Similarly, some of my responses to questions on the MLQ Form 5X-Short such as, "I keep track of all mistakes" and "I wait for things to go wrong before taking action" indicated that a more proactive approach would be appropriate in many cases rather than keeping mental track of others' mistakes and waiting for them to make others.