Leaders Practices Inventory: ALeader’s First Step Toward Achieving the Extraordinary

Over three million people have taken their first steps towards their personal leadership best with the Leadership Practices Inventory® (LPI®), a 360-degree assessment tool by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. Based on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model, the 360-degree assessments and facilitator materials illuminates both the effectiveness of your leaders and the level of commitment, engagement, and satisfaction of those that follow. 

No matter where your leaders are along their leadership development journey, the LPI will support the important work you do in developing, nurturing, and empowering your emerging leaders. The LPI is available in six language. What methodology was used to create the LPI?The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) was developed through a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research methods and studies. In-depth interviews and written case studies from personal-best leadership experiences generated the conceptual framework, which consists of The Five Practices of

Exemplary Leadership®:

 Model the Way
 Inspire a Shared Vision
 Challenge the Process
 Enable Others to Act
 Encourage the Heart

The actions that make up these practices were translated into behavioral statements. Following several iterative psychometric processes, the assessments were created and administered to managers and non-managers across a variety of organizations, disciplines, and demographic backgrounds. A version of the LPI (Student LPI) also has been developed for specific use with high school and college students.

What Does the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Measure?

Applying the proven principles of Kouzes and Posner's acclaimed Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model, the LPI enables individuals and organizations to measure their leadership competencies and act on their discoveries. Leaders will gain deep insight into how they see themselves as leaders, how others view them, and what actions they can take to improve their effectiveness. The LPI is available in six languages - English, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Mongolian.

Who is LPI for?

Anyone interested in becoming a more effective leader and learning to apply Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner's acclaimed Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model to real-life challenges and opportunities will benefit from the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). This comprehensive suite of LPI tools includes 360-degree leadership assessment instruments for both working adults and students with little or no work experience.The Theory and Evidence Behind the Five Practices of Exemplary LeadersThere is considerable empirical support for the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership framework. Download the report for an overview of the development and validation of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI).

How reliable are the LPI assessments?

All of the LPI assessments are based on solid research that spans over twenty-five years. Reliability of the LPI is routinely tested through analysis of internal reliability, and all five leadership practices have consistently shown strong internal reliability coefficients—meaning that the items are highly correlated within each scale. Test and retest reliability also is high. In addition, results have high face validity and predictive validity: the results make sense to people and, over time, have proven to predict high-performing leaders and moderate- and low-performing ones. Overall, the LPI has been extensively applied in many organizational settings and is highly regarded in both the academic and practitioner world.

How long does it take to complete the LPI assessments?

Typically, it takes a Leader or Observer approximately 10-15 minutes to complete any of the 30-item assessments.