2.1.4 Leadership Archetype Questionnaire (LAQ)
Purpose
The LAQ is a 360-degree leadership assessment tool. Its primary purpose is to help leaders identify their leadership styles, strengths, and weaknesses and to set development goals. It aims to:
Enhance leadership effectiveness
Promote self-awareness among leaders regarding their leadership styles
Facilitate team-building efforts by creating diverse leadership profiles within executive teams
Guide the development of leadership skills and strategies tailored to organizational challenges
LAQ is typically taken by leaders, executives, managers, and individuals in leadership positions within organizations. Leaders are presented with eight leadership archetypes: strategist, change-catalyst, transactor, builder, innovator, processor, coach, and communicator. These domains represent different approaches to complex organizational challenges (Kets De Vries et al., 2010). By understanding their behavioral preferences, the LAQ helps executives to work together more effectively. Self-awareness improves communication, streamlines decision-making, and optimizes how team members interact, ultimately leading to a more cohesive and efficient leadership unit (Kets De Vries et al., 2010).
Organizations may use aggregated results to inform leadership training and development programs, improve team dynamics, and make strategic decisions regarding leadership roles and responsibilities. Results can also help organizations build well-rounded executive teams.
Description
The LAQ was developed by The Kets de Vries, Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organizational Change and founder of the Kets de Vries Institute, and colleagues. The reliability of the instrument measured by Cronbach’s Alpha scored an average of .76 for self-report and a strong .81 for observer rate. Despite robustness of the validity reported by Kets de Vries and colleagues, it is important to note LAQ may have limitations related to factors such as cultural biases, and lack of support from other studies. These limitations would typically be addressed by testing the scale by research studies.
Access
This tool is accessible via academic journals and research databases, including in the relevant articles listed in the references section. Consult the original articles or contact the Kets De Vries Institute (https://kdvi.com/) to ascertain the instrument’s availability and any associated permission requirements.
References
Kets de Vries, M. F. R. (2009). Reflections on character and leadership: On the couch with Manfred Kets de Vries. Jossey-Bass.
Kets de Vries, M. F. R., Vrignaud, P., Agrawal, A., & Florent-Treacy, E. (2010). Development and application of the Leadership Archetype Questionnaire. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(15), 2848–2863.
