Measuring leadership excellence

In Kanji's Business Excellence Model leadership plays the prime role for the creation of excellence in an organization. In this paper, we investigate why leadership is the prime and how leadership excellence converges from the core values of the organization. In order to do so, we start by discussing the concept of leadership and reviewing the main theories developed in its study. Then, we identify the fundamental competencies of leaders in a quality organization. Supported by an extensive literature review, we propose a structural equation model for leadership. To illustrate its application, we present a simplified example. Given the criticality of leadership, the emergence of a model that expands the understanding of the leadership construct and its measurement is of major importance for organizations to pursue business excellence. The purpose of this paper is to make a significant contribution in this regard and open the debate to further discussions and refinements.