D.Phil. (Personal and Professional Leadership) / According to recent studies it is indicated that 84% of American companies are in the process of at least one change initiative and that 46% indicated that they were busy with three or more change initiatives. This tendency is a worldwide phenomenon. For organisations to survive and grow in this setting, their rate of learning has to be equal or greater than the rate of change in their environment. Within this context the need for relevant leadership becomes imperative. Empirical evidence would suggest that there is a strong link between leadership competencies and leadership performance. With this in mind a large mining company in South Africa took the root of identifying specific competencies that they would like to see developed in their leaders. The specific company gave direction with outcomes that had to be obtained:  to position the leaders that they could practice their leadership role effectively to meet immediate and future challenges; and  to do specific leadership training investment for the empowering of leadership in attaining greater organizational success. Taking the current research and organisational need into consideration the researcher set out in developing a model that group these competencies in five mainstream domains, Personal mastery and well being, fulfilling my functional role effectively, Achieving with people, Actualizing a sustainable and desirable future and Navigating the organisational landscape successfully. It is against this backdrop that the Professional Leadership Development Model took shape. The study is set up in different phases that will play out in the following manner:

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This qualitative case study sought to better understand the complexity of developing executives to lead in a landscape of disruption and uncertainty, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of the development intervention in a world that is constantly changing. The purpose of this study was to explore how executives make meaning from what they learned in a development program, how these executives transferred the learning to lead their teams in today’s dynamic world, and how their organization benefitted (if at all) from having leaders with increased capabilities in leading through change. The researcher chose a single-case study design to evaluate the long-term impact of an executive development program within a bounded organization by looking at three key areas for the research questions: individual development, facilitators and barriers to learning transfer, and organizational outcomes. The 13 study participants were a subset of a cohort from an Executive Development Program (EDP), designed to harness the power of disruption to prepare leaders to navigate their teams through a constantly changing landscape with care, curiosity, and courage. The EDP took place at Global Financial Analytics & Insights (GFAI,), a pseudonym, which is a firm providing essential information to the global financial markets to inform decision-making. The data collection methods leveraged to conduct this case study were semi-structured interviews with the 13 participants and program architect, and a review of archival program documentation. The data were coded and organized according to the research questions and conceptual framework. Analysis, interpretation and synthesis of the findings were organized into four analytic categories: (1) individual shifts in mindsets or behavior; (2) enabling factors of learning transfer; (3) barriers to learning transfer; and (4) tangible or intangible benefits for the organization. This study revealed that all 13 leaders in EDP experienced a shift in their leadership style in at least one of the three lenses of care, curiosity, or courage. It also revealed that all participants encountered facilitators and barriers to learning transfer, which were grouped into the themes of individual motivation, work environment, and program design. All leaders were able to describe at least one way that GFAI benefitted from the investment in the EDP, with the top benefit being an engaged and committed network of leaders who could rely on each other to solve problems across the firm. Recommendations are offered to practitioners who aspire to build highly capable leaders prepared to navigate a dynamic and disruptive world, including: (1) leverage measurement tools to understand a leader’s ability to adapt to complexity; (2) design learning experiences that provoke new perspectives to enable transformation; (3) evaluate programs over time to allow for participants to apply their learning and for others in the organization to recognize the shifts the leader is making; and (4) engage the Executive Team (the level of leadership that reports directly to the CEO) as program sponsors and champions early in the design process and clearly articulate what is expected of them as organizational leaders and role models. Recommendations for future research are also included.

A management training course was' evaluated for effectiveness by using two specially compiled in-basket exercises equivalent in complexity. Outcome evaluation was performed so as to determine whether learning transfer took place, ie whether management skills in the application of the management dimensions planning, organising and control do manifest in the work context afterwards. Significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group in the application of the management dimensions planning, organising and control. These differences were investigated by means of the "Univariate procedure ... A management training course can therefore be effectively measured with the behaviour assessment approach by using two groups, where only one group is exposed to a management training course. It can thus be ascertained whether a change in management behaviour has taken place as a result of learning transfer. / Die effektiwiteit van 'n bestuursopleidingskursus is geevalueer deur twee spesiaal saamgestelde posmandjies van dieselfde moeilikheidsgraad te gebruik. Uitkomsevaluering is gedoen om te bepaal of leeroordrag plaasgevind het, met ander woorde of die nuut aangeleerde bestuursvaardighede in die toepassing van die bestuursdimensies beplanning, organisering en beheer wei na die tyd in die konteks van werksgedrag manifesteer. Beduidende verskille tussen die eksperimentele en die kontrolegroep is gevind in die toe passing van die bestuursdimensies beplanning, organisering en beheer. Die verskille is ondersoek met behulp van die "univariate procedure". 'n Bestuursopleidingskursus kan dus effektief vanuit die gedragsbeoordelingsbenadering gemeet word deur van twee groepe gebruik te maak waarvan slegs die een groep aan 'n bestuursopleidingskursus blootgestel word. Daar kan dus bepaal word of 'n verandering in bestuursgedrag plaasgevind het as 'n gevolg van leeroordrag. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

A management training course was' evaluated for effectiveness by using two specially compiled in-basket exercises equivalent in complexity. Outcome evaluation was performed so as to determine whether learning transfer took place, ie whether management skills in the application of the management dimensions planning, organising and control do manifest in the work context afterwards. Significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group in the application of the management dimensions planning, organising and control. These differences were investigated by means of the "Univariate procedure ... A management training course can therefore be effectively measured with the behaviour assessment approach by using two groups, where only one group is exposed to a management training course. It can thus be ascertained whether a change in management behaviour has taken place as a result of learning transfer. / Die effektiwiteit van 'n bestuursopleidingskursus is geevalueer deur twee spesiaal saamgestelde posmandjies van dieselfde moeilikheidsgraad te gebruik. Uitkomsevaluering is gedoen om te bepaal of leeroordrag plaasgevind het, met ander woorde of die nuut aangeleerde bestuursvaardighede in die toepassing van die bestuursdimensies beplanning, organisering en beheer wei na die tyd in die konteks van werksgedrag manifesteer. Beduidende verskille tussen die eksperimentele en die kontrolegroep is gevind in die toe passing van die bestuursdimensies beplanning, organisering en beheer. Die verskille is ondersoek met behulp van die "univariate procedure". 'n Bestuursopleidingskursus kan dus effektief vanuit die gedragsbeoordelingsbenadering gemeet word deur van twee groepe gebruik te maak waarvan slegs die een groep aan 'n bestuursopleidingskursus blootgestel word. Daar kan dus bepaal word of 'n verandering in bestuursgedrag plaasgevind het as 'n gevolg van leeroordrag. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)