BA, Kent State University, 2016, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

The need for authentic leaders has been increasing due to corporate scandals, banking failures, and an overall lack of accountability within leadership positions. Corporations can measure authentic leadership using assessment centers. Our study aimed to answer whether leadership assessment center (LAC) measures measure underlying concepts of authentic leadership and whether these measures cluster together in ways consistent with the theory of authentic leadership. Our study consisted of 88 employees from the Hyland Software Company who volunteered to partake in a LAC experience that involved participating in scenarios, simulations, roleplays, and interviews over the span of three days while being evaluated by trained observers. Using a common factor analysis with a maximum likelihood extraction method and an oblique, oblimin factor rotation, results showed a four factor solution with good model fit and strong internal consistency. Thus, the assessment center measured the authentic leadership construct through four established factors labeled: “Communicating with Integrity,” “Leading Through People,” “Confident Problem Solver,” and “Task Project Oriented.” The implications and potential of leadership assessment centers are discussed along with the possible use of cultural assessments to tie organizational culture and leadership together into a cohesive unit.

Committee: Mark Whitmore Dr. (Advisor); Joel Hughes Dr. (Advisor); Elizabeth Howard Dr. (Committee Member); Steve Riczo Dr. (Committee Member); Clarissa Thompson Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Occupational Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Psychology