| Previous research has considered how leaders' self-awareness relates to leadership effectiveness. Few studies, however, have considered the relationship between self-awareness, as measured by self-other agreement, and leadership development over time. The present research, rooted in self-awareness theory, suggests that the relationship between self-other agreement and leadership outcomes is complex and that previous models do not adequately capture this complexity. As such, this research used polynomial regression to analyze how the type and degree of self-other agreement relates to leadership development over time. In addition, this research examined how agreement between a leader and his or her supervisor on development plans moderates the relationship between self-awareness and leadership development. Finally, this research examined how leadership development contributed to improvement in ratings of team climate over time. As such, multiple levels of analysis were considered. In order to capture a diversity of leadership behaviors, this research included three scales: operations leadership, strategy leadership, and people leadership. In addition, four dimensions of climate were assessed: climate for teamwork, climate for respect and integrity, climate for innovation, and climate for performance. The study employed a one-group pretest-posttest design with a sample of 364 mid-level executives from a global pharmaceutical research and development company headquartered in the Northeast United States. Of the 364 initial participants, who attended a residential leadership development program, 144 (40%) completed the follow-up assessment. Results confirmed that self-subordinate agreement had an impact on perceptions of leadership behavior following multi-source feedback. However, the results did not support a main effect or moderated effect for development plan agreement. Finally, a significant relationship was found between individual leadership development and improvement in ratings of team climate. Implications for self-awareness theory, leadership development, and the practice of multi-source feedback processes, as well as directions for future research, are discussed. |
