methods for judging key leadership competencies in hospitality. The assessment
centre method is described by Brownell as “...a method of evaluating individuals’
knowledge and skills using a series of exercises or activities designed to elicit a
range of responses. Starting with a thorough job analysis, key competencies are
identified” (2005: 9). The specific competencies examined are leaders’ abilities
to: respond to change, foster trust, and lead in multi-cultural work environments.
The study concludes by recommending assessment centre methods as being
effective for assessing and predicting such leadership competencies.
The second leadership-competencies study by Brownell (2008) incorporates a
situational perspective by comparing perceived leadership competencies for land-
(hotel) and sea-based (cruise liner) hospitality leaders. The study found that
while senior hotel and ship practitioners share a need for certain core
competencies (positive attitude and effective listening), organizational context
likely influences the relative importance of specific skills and attributes/ abilities
required for effective leadership in each industry segment. In comparison with
Chung-Herrera et al.’s (2003) study, the range of leadership competencies
employed by Brownell more typically reflects the type of leadership behaviours
commonly reported in the generic leadership literature, although a number of
these competencies (such as conducting meetings, memos and letters, using
technology and preparing reports) can be considered more general-managerial
than leadership-specific.
3.3.3 Implicit leadership theory (ILT) approaches
The second sub-set within the behavioural thread of studies is represented by two
studies utilising implicit leadership theory. Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs)
refer to people’s everyday ideas about traits and behaviour of leaders (Schyns et
al. 2008: 774): people have preconceived ideas – implicit theories - about
leadership and these preconceived ideas have been shown to display remarkable
similarity to constructs of leadership characteristics obtained through practical
leadership assessment studies (Eden and Leviatan 1975).
Marnburg (2007) studied the implicit leadership conceptions of 148 newly-
inducted hospitality management programme students in Norway with the aim of
developing insights into how students’ ILTs might inform the nature of hospitality
curricula with leadership content. The study found that there were significant