PAPER: Are Contextualized Personality and Situational Judgement Tests a Means to Maximize the Validity of Leadership Assessments?

Introduction Leadership assessments within given work forces are among the most crucial decisions in HR departments, as the promotion of apt staff members enhances the performance of their respective teams. However, the validity of ordinary potential analysis is often limited due to severely restricted variance within pre-selected samples, which calls for test batteries that are optimized for leadership assessments. Objectives Two main objectives were addressed in this study. First, the incremental validities of a contextualized leadership questionnaire (KLF) and a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) above cognitive tests were evaluated. Secondly, the optimal weighting of the given set of predictors was calculated to achieve an optimal prediction of leadership performance. Design/Methodology A sample of 112 German police officers participated in the study. All participants were enrolled in a Bachelors’ program. While all candidates completed the set of psychological tests, their supervisors provided objective ratings of their leadership performance and potential on a graphic rating scale, used as a criterion measure. Stepwise regression analysis and relative weights analysis was conducted to assess the incremental validity of the contextualized personality measure (KLF) and behavior indicators (SJT) as well as an optimal scoring algorithm. Results The stepwise regression analysis revealed incremental validities of the KLF ( ∆ R² = 11.3), over cognitive predictors such as deductive reasoning and memory span. The SJT explained additional 12.4% variance above the aforementioned predictors. A relative weights analysis revealed the following optimal percentages to maximize the prediction of performance: deductive reasoning (2.7%), memory span (9.7%), contextualized leadership inventory (31.8%), and SJT (55.8%). Conclusions Both, the examined contextualized personality inventory and the SJT have been shown to add substantial information to the prediction of leadership performance.