Not All Managers Are Leaders...But What If They Could Be?

Using behavioral principles to improve organizational behaviors is a cornerstone of organizational behavior management. In this study, a manual for managerial behavioral training (MBT) based on behavioral principles was developed and tested. A randomized controlled trial compared pre- and post-training employee questionnaire data from experimental-group managers (n = 25) versus waitlist control-group managers (n = 24). Multilevel modeling was used for data analysis. MBT was found to positively affect the functional leadership behaviors of goal setting (d = .20; p = .039), performance feedback (d = .20; p = .073), value-based performance feedback (d = .22; p = .015), and consequential listening (d = .22; p = .050). In addition, MBT was found to positively affect leadership performance in terms of leader effectiveness (d = .21; p = .038) and employee engagement (d = .27; p = .024). This study describes how managerial leadership training based on behavioral principles can be used to improve managerial leadership behaviors and performance.

This will provide 1.5 Continuing Education hours.