Campbell Leadership Descriptor
The Campbell Leadership Descriptor (CLD) is a self-assessment designed to help individuals identify the essential characteristics of successful leadership. By doing so, participants will evaluate their leadership strengths and create an action plan for improving their leadership skills.
Available in online and print format
- Online version available through the HRDQ Assessment Center.
- Students may self-enroll in the online version.
- Self-enrollment is also a good option for trainers and consultants who wish to evaluate content for their organization or client.
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How It Works
The Campbell Leadership Descriptor (CLD) is a self-scoring questionnaire containing 40 adjectives. Each are focused on a specific leadership characteristic and are grouped into nine significant components.
After you complete and score the descriptor, you will use the 40 attributes to compare yourself to both a "good" leader and a "poor" leader you have known. The resulting profile will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, so you can define actions you can take to be a more successful leader.
Uses & Applications
The CLD helps participants understand, identify, and apply the Six Major Task Components of Organizational Leadership and Three Personal Components of Organizational Leadership.
The Six Major Task Components of Organizational Leadership
- Vision: Establish the general tone and direction of the organization
- Management: Set specific goals and focus organizational resources for achieving them
- Empowerment: Select and develop direct reports who are committed to the organization’s goals
- Diplomacy: Forge coalitions with important internal and external constituencies: peers, superiors, direct reports, potential organizational allies, and other important outside decision-makers
- Feedback: Observe and listen carefully to clients, customers, voters, employees, students, and team members; and share the resulting information in a manner that those affected see as beneficial
- Entrepreneurialism: Find future opportunities, including increased revenues, expanded markets, or a higher probability of desirable outcomes, such as international peace, a healthier environment, or the creation of beauty, through mechanisms such as new projects, programs, or policies
The Three Personal Components of Organizational Leadership
- Personal Style: By personal example, set an overall organizational tone of competence, optimism, integrity, and inspiration
- Personal Energy: Live a disciplined, wholesome lifestyle that provides the necessary energy and durability to handle the physical demands of leadership, long hours, stressful decisions, and conflict
- Multicultural Awareness: Be experienced and comfortable working with individuals and managing organizations across different geographic, demographic, and cultural borders
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this assessment, participants will:
- Understand the major components of leadership
- Identify the characteristics of a successful leader
- Evaluate one's leadership strengths and weaknesses by comparing one's results to "good" and "poor" leaders
- Develop a personal action plan for improving leadership skills
Product Details
Product Type: Self-assessment
Target Audience: Individuals at any organizational level, especially those in leadership training.
Measures: How participants view leadership strengths and areas requiring improvement by comparing personal leadership attributes to those of a “good leader” and a “poor leader”
Dimensions: Critical-thinking, leadership development, and leadership effectiveness
Time Required: Half-day workshop or either a 1 to 1.5 or 2 to 2.5-hour session
What To Order
Facilitator Guide: Order One Guide Per Trainer.
The Facilitator Guide is a paper product that offers everything you need to prepare and conduct a leadership workshop. This includes instructions for scoring and interpreting the descriptor, a sample of a completed descriptor, a step-by-step facilitator's script, illustrative case studies, a list of recommended books, and more.
Paper Assessment with Survey 5-Pack: Order One Pack for Up to Five Participants.
A comprehensive takeaway that includes critical content, worksheets, and forms used during the workshop, as well as additional tools for on-the-job use.
Online Assessment: Order One Per Participant.
The foundation for the workshop, the online assessment is administered to participants through the HRDQ Assessment Center. A full-color, detailed report is delivered electronically to the facilitator/administrator when complete.
About The Author
David P. Campbell is an American psychologist who created the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory. He was awarded the E.K. Strong, Jr. Gold Medal for Excellence and the 2001 Distinguished Professional Contributions Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. David received his BS and MS degrees from Iowa State University, and his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota.
Product Resources
Sample Report | Campbell Leadership Descriptor Sample Report