DO UNTO OTHERS: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A MEASURE OF MANAGERIAL INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Colloquium with Professor Shaun Pichler, California State University, Fullerton, Mihaylo College of Business and Economics

Friday, March 9, 2018

10:30 am – 12:00 pm

SB1 5100 (Corporate Partners Executive Boardroom)

Abstract

It is no secret that employees leave their organizations because of bad managers- but what about the good ones? How can researchers and organizations differentiate managers in terms of their interpersonal skills? And how are these skills related to outcomes for employees—and for managers themselves? These are fundamentally important questions for management scholars and for organizations. With that said, there exists no widely accepted conceptual model, definition or measure of managerial interpersonal skills (MIPS). We sought out to address these questions by developing and validating a measure of MIPS through a multiphasic research program that included four studies: First, through structured interviews with practicing managers and executives; next, through two pilot studies; and finally, in a validation study with matched supervisor-employee data from a large healthcare organization. Results of our research program suggest that, at least among employee reports, MIPS is three-dimensional construct comprised of supporting, motivating and managing conflict, each indicating a higher-order latent MIPS factor. Results also indicate that MIPS predict job attitudes and performance among both employees and managers.