Measuring leadership

An exemplar of accountability is the Veterans Affairs system that, under the leadership of Dr. Ken Kizer, established the Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety. Kizer chose physician and former space shuttle astronaut James Bagian to lead both the center and a relentless, evidence-based campaign to eliminate harm across the 170-hospital VA system and to test new technologies and interventions to make health care safer. While at the VA, Dr. Nancy Wilson developed a culture survey. This leadership tool evaluates whether specific tactics are in place to advance the culture of safety. The survey measures leadership and strategy, and it includes the following dimensions (Wilson, 2000) ... 

Values Discipline Opportunity Standards Measurement Leadership Service Trust Communications Integrity Resomces Respect Resources Application Character Selfless Pride Consequences... 

Measuring leadership with the Leadership Diagnostic Instrument (LDI)... 

How can a leader know where he or she stands in terms of these best practices We have found that the most effective way to measure leadership best practices (and leadership style) is by systematically asking people around the leader about their perceptions of the leader. This makes sense because the growth of organizational culture depends on how others experience and internalize the leader s influence. 

The simplest way to measure the effectiveness of leadership involves evaluating the size of the following that the leader can muster. To measure leadership more specifically, one may assess the extent of influence on the followers, that may involve testing the results of leadership activities against the goal, vision, or objective. 

Reference methods are generally arrived at by consensus and fairly extensive testing by a number of laboratories. For example, the flame atomic absorption method for Ca in serum developed under the leadership of the agency fondly remembered as NBS, now NIST (Cali et al. 1972), was established after several inter-laboratory comparison exercises. The results were evaluated after each exercise and the procedure was changed as necessary. After five exercises, it was felt that the state-of-the-art had been reached, with the reference method being capable of measuring Ca in serum with an accuracy of 2% of the true value determined by IDMS (note that attainment of high accuracy and precision is not only a matter of the method, but is a function of both the method and analyst expertise). 

We would like to thank Peter Blunder and Simone Laukemper-Ostendorf who initially established the collaboration between the company Membrana and the RWTH. They started NMR flow imaging studies to characterize filtration in hemodialyzer modules, and Volker Gobbels measured the first 2D VEXSY data of counterflow in such applications. All experimental work has been accomplished in the Magnetic Resonance Center (MARC) directed by Bernhard Bliimich, whose support and leadership is greatly acknowledged. 

Speaking to young Flory that day, Carothers said in his slow and measured way, You know, the polymer field is an area where it is my belief [that] mathematics could be applied. Flory spent the rest of his life doing just that and dominated the field of polymers for two decades after World War II. So gentle was Carothers leadership, however, that it was only after his death that Flory realized how much of a shield he had been, and how much of an influence.. .. It was an extraordinary opportunity, I realize now in retrospect. ... 

To understand how UPS has maintained its vigilance and continued to grow its business over a ninety-eight-year period while avoiding the death spiral of corporate arrogance, hubris, and insularity, one has to understand the UPS culture and the UPS operations research mentality. The two are so integrated and intertwined that they are seamless and both are perpetuated today at UPS through stories, processes, measurement systems, human resource policies, and leadership acts. 

VandeHei, Jim. On the Hill Guns n Poses. The New Republic, June 28, 1999, p. 15. Points out the little-recognized fact that about 50 House Democrats follow the National Rifle Association s lead and usually vote with Republicans against gun measures. The Democratic leadership often does not push hard for gun control for fear of alienating these members, who are generally Southern conservatives, or causing them to lose their seats. 

Consider a leader you admire. First, write briefly on what you admire about that person s leadership. Then, consider the ways his or her behavior measures up against the five features of exemplary leadership. 

Bureau of Standards or National Bureau of Standards(NBS), Washington 25, DC. It was established in 1901 as a part of the Treasury Dept and was transferred in 1903 to the Dept of Commerce and Labor. The fundamental purpose of the Bureau is to provide national leadership in the development and use of accurate uniform techniques of physical measurements. It conducts fundamental research in physics, chemistry,... 

Gallup University s seven demands of leadership were noted under essential qualities of leadership (Conchie, 2004). To further monitor your leadership and the leadership of your employees, choose two of the seven demands and develop measures to determine their impact on the organization. Review the results of the measures and make changes and modifications to ensure the organization s success. Other resources available from Gallup include an e-learning... 

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