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The article reviews the book “Managerial Achievement: Action Strategies,” by Dalton E. McFarland.

Previous research on leadership effectiveness has often used criteria of one type and from one source. In this research, data on leadership effectiveness were collected with a variety of measures from different sources (leaders, peers, subordinates). Findings were analyzed for statistical convergence and by a multitrait-multimethod intercorrelation matrix. A satisfying degree of convergence but relatively little divergence appeared, and 47% of the variance was not accounted for by either one. Apparently, many measurement techniques or sources of data are essentially interchangeable. One cannot safely interpret results across different studies, however, because of the large amount of variance that remains unaccounted for by either convergent or divergent validity. The report is written for psychologists.

Leadership style and group effectiveness have been shown to be related to individual beliefs concerning the attribution of control of events. The individual believes that events are controlled either externally or by internal, personal forces. The research reported here involves measurement of the basic belief patterns and the investigation of the relationships with leadership style and group effectiveness. Survey instruments, including the Rotter Internal-External (I-E) scale, the Mach IV Machiavellian scale, Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity scale, Fiedler's Least-Preferred Co-worker scale, and the Military Leadership Behavior Scale, were administered to 275 Special Forces Reserves during their 2-week active duty training period. Analysis of the results showed the factor structure of the Rotter I-E scale to be similar to the original, supporting the common idea of internal-external locus of behavioral control and, further, that locus of control beliefs are multidimensional. The concept of the I-E scale is sound and moderately useful in understanding reward expectations of soldiers and improving effectiveness of military units.

A 32-item Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale was administered to 260 Army reservists participating in a field training exercise. The LPC scale yielded a 5-factor structure similar to a commonly recurring factor structure reported in the literature on peer ratings and implicit personality theory. Correlations between LPC factor scores and various performance criteria were examined for formal leaders, highest endorsed members, and nonendorsed members. Results suggest that the LPC dimensions are differentially predictive as a function of the criterion involved and the role of the individual in the team. Results were discussed in terms of item relevance and various psychometric properties of the LPC scale. The discovery of this particular 5-factor structure may represent a major step toward resolving the enigmatic quality of LPC by tying it to existing literature not dealing specifically with the LPC scale. There may be relationships between leader behavior and specific LPC dimensions.