A randomized waitlist-controlled trial of operant-based leadership training

Editorial verdict

Credible RCT with meaningful findings. The 18-month linear improvement trajectory is the standout result, but the small manager sample (n=20 experimental), COVID-19 disruption, and Swedish municipal context limit generalizability — treat the directional findings as promising, not definitive.

Executive summary

This article addresses the persistent challenge of achieving lasting improvements in managers' performance feedback behaviors through leadership training. The author, Martin Grill, argues that operant-based leadership training — grounded in operant learning theory and delivered via the Managerial Behavioral Training (MBT) protocol — can produce enduring improvements in both effectiveness-related and values-related performance feedback behaviors. The study employed a randomized waitlist-controlled design with 59 managers and 439 employees across Swedish municipal organizations, using multilevel growth curve modeling across four measurement points over 18 months. Key findings include a statistically significant interaction effect of training and time (β = 0.30, p = 0.04), indicating greater improvement in the experimental group, and the absence of a significant curvilinear deceleration (Δχ2(2) = 2.2, p = 0.34), suggesting the improvement followed a continuous linear trajectory throughout the study period. The article concludes that integrating operant learning principles — including behavior analysis, participative goal setting, and practice with behavioral feedback — into leadership training may be critical for sustaining long-term behavioral change, with positive utility reactions serving as a key reinforcement mechanism.

Frameworks mentioned

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