The Revised Two-Factor Motivation to Lead Instrument

Introduction

A study undertaken by Cerff in 2006 investigated whether there is a connection between hope, self-efficacy and motivation to lead (MTL) in the development of leaders in South Africa. The Hope Instrument (Winston et al., 2005), the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) Instrument (Chen et al., 2001), and the Motivation to Lead Instrument (Chan, 1999) were utilized for the data collection.

Chan’s (1999) study in Singapore and the United States utilizing the MTL Instrument indicated high reliability for the three subscales of MTL. Following the differences in reliability between Chan’s study and the South African context, a revised two-factor model of Chan’s (1999) MTL Instrument, comprising the leading for self-benefit factor (MTL-S) and the group-centered leading factor (MTL-G), was developed and utilized in the study.

This chapter discusses the contribution that Cerff’s 2006 study makes to servant leadership through establishing the connection between MTL-G and altruism, and adds a valuable dimension to the research of Patterson (2003). Details are provided of the process leading to the revised two-factor model of Chan’s (1999) MTL Instrument, and the development thereof. Background information, including the role of cultural demographics utilized in the study as potential causes leading to discrepancies found prior to the revision, are also explored.

Commonalities relating to the study of Bobbio and Manganelli Rattazzi (2006), who utilized the MTL Instrument in the Italian context, are considered. The chapter also discusses two studies in which the MTL Instrument was utilized in a military context, namely the study of Amit et al. (2007) in relation to the Israeli army, and that of Kasemaa (2016) in relation to the Estonian army. Most recently, Badura et al.’s (2020) research focused on a meta-analysis and distal-proximal model of motivation and leadership in relation to the MTL Instrument.

Background

The research on which this chapter is based investigated the role of hope and self-efficacy as two variables on the MTL in the development of leaders in the South African college context. The 2006 study focused on college students due to their potential and capacity to form a significant core of the future leader pool in South Africa.

The development of future leaders in South Africa is closely linked to the concept of the African Renaissance, which “was born following the progressive regaining of power by the ethnic people in the nations of Africa” (Cerff, 2004, p. 6). A former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, articulated it as “a means to Africa’s empowerment” (as cited in Boloka, 1999, p. 4). It is notable that the concept “encompasses a recognition of the need for increased leadership and MTL as well as the development of future leaders to whom the baton may be handed in the pursuit of a better future for the nation and continent” (Cerff, 2006, p. 1).

Chan (1999) developed an empirical model that introduced MTL as a new general differences construct. MTL provides a framework for “understanding the relationship between individual differences and various leader behaviors” (p. iii). Chan and Drasgow (2001) defined MTL as “an individual-differences construct that affects a leader’s or leader-to-be’s decisions to assume leadership training, roles and responsibilities that affect his or her intensity of effort at leading and persistence as a leader” (p. 486).