Characteristics of high performing managers in The Netherlands

Abstract

Purpose Despite the abundance of literature on management it seems that the quality of management has not improved enough to prevent scandals which have occurred in recent years. It could be that either the results of these studies have not been put to use in practice or that the results were biased because of the rather one‐sided focus on US managers in much of the leadership literature. As national cultures signal different determinants of high performance, there is a need for leadership research into the effectiveness characteristics of managers in non‐US countries. This article aims to develop an empirically validated profile of high performing managers in The Netherlands using a leadership framework developed in Asia. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 808 Dutch managers and using the cross‐cultural framework of Excellent Leadership by Selvarajah et al., the profile of an excellent Dutch manager was derived. Findings The paper reveals that this profile can be described by a four‐dimensional factor structure consisting of managerial behaviours, environmental influences, personal qualities and organisational demands. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the research is that the findings are based on reports from a single source; namely managers' perceptions. Hence, common‐method effects may have inflated the correlations. Practical implications The results of the research can serve as guidelines for developing an empirically validated profile of high performance managers (HPMs) in other Western countries. They also have practical implications in that organizations can use the HPM profile to tailor their management development programs, evaluation and coaching programs, and recruiting processes in order to improve the quality of their managers. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a leadership framework developed in the Eastern world has been applied on Western managers, making this research one of the first of its kind. This is important because, as stated before, there is a strong need for research which extends the theoretical and practical basis of leadership theories from a solely Western focus to a more balanced Western‐Eastern focus. The results from this type of research can provide guidance for improving quality of management worldwide.

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