Why isn there a “Not Applicable” choice in the LPI Observer?
First, we assume that the leader gave the LPI to someone who has enough information about the person to offer observations. If that is not the case, then the LPI should be given to observers who do know the leader well enough to rate him/her. Also, keep in mind that the 1 to 10 scale is a frequency scale. The observer is being asked how frequently the leader does something. This is not a rating scale about how satisfied they are with the leader or how well the leader displays the behavior. It is about how frequently they see it. The frequency scale is used because it permits a rating under most conditions. With these things in mind, if an observer says, “I just don’t have enough information to respond,” it has been our experience that the observer is really saying, “I don’t see that behavior very often, so I can’t rate that person on this item.” In fact, the observer has already offered a rating by virtue of that observation. It means the rating of a “3-seldom” is most likely an approp
