Scaling Leadership

Appendix C Research Methodology

The research for the written comment studies reported in this book was conducted by Worldwide Institute for Research and Evaluation (WIRE), an independent research firm founded in 1978, to provide technical assessment support to individuals and organizations. Lani Van Dusen, Executive Director of WIRE, wrote this appendix on research methodology.

Description of LQ Indicator and the Selection of Specific Samples Based on LQ

The Leadership Quotient was used to sort the Leadership Circle database and define the sample groups.

The Leadership Quotient (LQ) is a categorical rating scale based on the progression of leadership development as viewed through the Creative and Reactive lens in comparison to the global database (using standard deviations as the metric for comparison).

There are 16 categorical ratings (scores) possible. (See the matrix in Figure C.1.) They range from .01 to 2.¹ A “tipping point” occurs at 1, indicating when a leader is predominately leading from a Creative stance—that is, an advanced stage of leadership development. Scores less than 1 suggest that leaders are still predominately operating at a level of leadership development in which Reactive tendencies may be overshadowing or canceling out their Creative competencies.

Figure C.1 LQ Categorical Scores Based on Comparison with Global Database³

The LQ positively correlates ...