baldrige ceo attitudes and motivations: developing a model of excellence
Carl Harshman
John R. Latham
abstract
This report details the findings from an exploratory study on the motivational and attitudinal patterns (MAPs) of CEOs who have led organization transformations resulting in recognition of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The report identifies a Baldrige CEO Model of Excellence with seven differentiating factors and 17 common leadership factors. The results are based on a survey of 12 CEOs who led organizations that received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and in-depth interviews with CEOs of 14 Baldrige recipients. Nine of the participants were included in both groups for a total sample of 17. The Baldrige CEOs were compared to two groups: (a) the iWAM U.S. Standard Group (n = 1921) and (b) a sample of top leaders from various organizations (n=12) - nine from business, one non-profit, one government, and one university administrator. The sample of top leaders is referred to in the study as the “Leader Comparison Group” (LCG).
Why pursue the question of MAPs, leadership in general, and Baldrige Award-winning CEOs in particular? Baldrige Award Recipients have two common overarching questions: (a) how can high performing organizations (e.g., Baldrige recipients) sustain their current levels of performance given constantly changing external and internal environments and (b) how can they lead their organizations to even higher levels of performance? In 2006 executives from several Baldrige recipients along with academics from several universities and the Monfort Institute met at a Summit meeting in Colorado to develop and prioritize a research agenda to begin answering these two questions (Latham, 2008). The culture and leadership questions were ranked as the top two research priorities. Two specific leadership questions that emerged included: (a) how do leaders and leadership processes differ between Baldrige adopters and non-adopters and (b) what are the most effective methods to institutionalize leadership development? While many aspects of leadership have been researched extensively, as Bennis and Nanus (1985) note, "Never have so many labored so long to say so little" (p.4).
downloads
- Report (PDF) Download
- Presentation Slides, Baldrige Award Recipients (BAR) Consortium Meeting, Cambridge, MA, September 30, 2009 (PDF) Download
- White Paper version of the highlights from the report Download
cite this report
Appleby, C. A., Harshman, C. L., & Latham, J. R. (2009). Baldrige CEO Attitudes and Motivations: Developing a Model of Excellence. Loveland, Colorado: Monfort Institute at the University of Northern Colorado.