The feasibility of transformational leadership training and development in South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The 1990s were characterised by a process of rapid political change in South Africa,which resulted in a period of transition in the economic and social spheres of thissociety. South Africans need to adapt to the shift in political leadership as well the rapidrate of technological innovation globally.Leadership theory has evolved from more traditional approaches such as the traitapproach and behavioural approach to more recent theories such as situationalleadership theories, leader-follower exchange theories and leadership decision-makingtheories. The recent trends in the field of Industrial Psychology lead to a morecomprehensive and all-inclusive theory of leadership, namely transformationalleadership. South Africa needs transformational leaders to drive and manage thechange process.From the literature study it is evident that there is a need for transformational leadershiptraining and development in South Africa. Therefore the main goal of this study was todetermine the feasibility of transformational leadership training and development inSouth Africa. The main problem is divided into four sub-problems.In order to develop South African managers into transformational leaders, it is importantthat a need for transformational leadership training exists. Therefore the first subproblemis concerned with the need for the development of transformational leadershipskills in South African leaders. The data of all South African leaders (7,563 cases) thatwere rated on Form 5X of the Multi-factor-Leadership Questionnaire (instrumentmeasuring transformational leadership) was obtained from Productivity DevelopmentPty. (Ltd.). This data was generated from March 1995 to June 1999. Firstly, the IdealTheoretical Leadership Profile is compared to the total South African sample (N=7563).Secondly, leaders who performed effectively in the world of work were extracted fromthe total South African sample and were compared to the rest of the South Africansample. Thus the Ideal Effectiveness Leadership Profile (N=657) is compared to therest of the South African sample (N=6906). In both instances the profiles of the SouthAfrican sample resembles the two ideal leadership profiles. The fact that the SouthAfrican leaders scored well below the norms of the two ideal profiles on transformationalleadership dimensions indicates that there is a need for the development oftransformational leaders in South Africa. Thirdly, the t-test is utilised in order to comparethe total South African sample (N=7,443) to an international sample (N=2080). TheSouth African sample scored significantly higher on transformational leadership scalesthan their international counterparts. This indicates that South African leaders comparewell to international standards regarding transformational leadership Once it was assessed that there is a need for South African leaders to be developed astransformational leaders, it was important to determine whether the Multi-factorLeadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is a valid instrument for measuring transformationalleadership in South Africa. Transformational leadership training and development cannot be managed in South Africa unless it can be measured. Therefore the second subproblemwas concerned with the construct validity of the MLQ in South Africa.Confirmatory factor analysis was utilised in order to assess the construct validity of theMLQ on 7563 cases. The final first-order analysis indicated that there is not conclusiveevidence for the 8-factor structure in the South African context. More comprehensiveresearch is needed in order to prove the validity of the MLQ beyond reasonable doubt inthe South African context.After the conclusion was reached that transformational leadership training is needed inSouth Africa, it was decided to investigate the practical implementation oftransformational leadership training in South Africa. In order to investigate the practicalimplementation of transformational leadership training, high-level managers trained atthe Graduate School of Business, University of Stellenbosch (USB) were assessed as amicrocosm of the larger South African sample. The USB group (N=120) was comparedby means of t-tests to two other groups, namely the rest of the South African sample(N=7443) and an international sample (N=2080). The third sub-problem was thusconcerned whether the USB group was a select group. The USB group scoredsignificantly higher on all of the individual transformational factors than the two othergroups. The results suggest that the USB is a select group.Once it was concluded that the USB group was a select group, they were tested onKirkpatrick's reaction level of evaluation in order to determine whether they benefitedfrom the course, although their MLQ scores reflected that they were already acting in atransformational manner. The fourth sub-problem was thus concerned with evaluatingthe reactions of the USB group towards the Full Range Leadership Programme. Overallthe participants (N=46) gave a positive reaction towards the programme. Although theUSB group can be classified as a select group, participants believed that the programmewas of practical use. This substantiates the argument that there is a need for developingtransformational leaders.The results indicate that transformational leadership training and development is feasiblein South Africa. Finally, on the basis of the results of this study, conclusions andrecommendations are made for future research.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University