Development and Psychometric Testing of a Leadership Competency Assessment

OBJECTIVE: This article discusses the development and psychometric testing of the Nursing Leadership Competency Assessment (LCA). BACKGROUND: Several leadership assessments are available for purchase, which are aligned with professional organizations. A competency-based leadership assessment is needed to identify the developmental needs of nurse leaders. Competent and confident nurse managers are critical to ensure positive relationships between nurse managers and clinical nurses. METHODS: A multimethod approach was used to develop and test psychometric properties of the LCA. Items were drawn from 8 sources identifying nurse leader competencies. RESULTS: The 76-item assessment had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.99. Confirmatory factor analysis supported 6 hypothesized factors (domains): leading self, people, organizations, change, innovation, and globally. Subscale reliabilities ranged from alpha = 0.87 to alpha = 0.98. CONCLUSIONS: The LCA has demonstrated utility in assessing nurse leader competencies and guiding the development of educational opportunities in targeted content areas for specific leadership roles.