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Motivation to Lead: a Novel Theorical Approach

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Abstract

Motivation to lead is a promising variable in the field of leader development. Despite this, literature presents some inconsistencies referring its measurement and the disconnection between its theoretical framework and other motivation theories. The objective of this paper is to review the definition and measurement of the construct, integrating it with the literature on motivation. Motivation to lead was redefined as a psychological process that directs, energizes, and sustains behaviors linked to self-determined goals of developing and maintaining leadership roles. A measure based on this definition was proposed, with one version for leaders and one for non-leaders. A total of 1727 Brazilian professionals participated in the study, 365 of whom held leadership positions. After conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the results showed good psychometric indices. In addition, the measure was consistently related to the emission of leadership behaviors. The findings were discussed, and a research agenda was proposed.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due the fact that they constitute an excerpt of research in progress but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code Availability (software application or custom code)

Not applicable.

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Funding

Partial financial support was received from CAPES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social, Organizational and Work Psychology, University of Brasilia, Brasília, Brazil

    Mariana Marques Santos & Juliana Barreiros Porto

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  1. Mariana Marques Santos
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  2. Juliana Barreiros Porto
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Correspondence to Mariana Marques Santos.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Appendices

Appendix A

Table 3 Final version of the instrument for non-leaders. Please read each statement carefully and choose the answer that best describes how often it applies to your work routine, using the scale below
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Appendix B

Table 4 Final version of the instrument for leaders. Please read each statement carefully and choose the answer that best describes how often it applies to your work routine, using the scale below
Full size table

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Santos, M.M., Porto, J.B. Motivation to Lead: a Novel Theorical Approach. Trends in Psychol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00323-6

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