Abstract
This study reports the development of a short measure of transformational leadership: the Global Transformational Leadership scale (GTL). The study sample was 1,440 subordinates who assessed the leader behaviour of 695 branch managers in a large Australian financial organisation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the GTL measured a single construct of leadership and had satisfactory reliability. Evidence for the convergent and discriminant validity is presented. We conclude that the GTL has a number of potential uses as an assessment and selection tool and in leadership research.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Allen, M. J., & Yen, W. M. (1979). Introduction to measurement theory. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Atwater, L., Penn, R., & Rucker, L. (1991). Personal qualities of charismatic leaders. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 12, 7-10.
Atwater, L., Roush, P., & Fischthal, A. (1995). The influence of upward feedback on self-and follower ratings of leadership. Personnel Psychology, 48, 35-59.
Avolio, B., Bass, B., & Jung, D. I. (1995). MLQ Multifactor leadership questionnaire: Technical report. Palo Alto, CA: Mind garden.
Avolio, B., & Howell, J. M. (1992). The impact of leadership behavior and leader-follower personality match on satisfaction and unit performance. In K. E. Clark, M. B. Clark, & D. P. Campbell (Eds.), Impact of leadership (pp. 225-236). Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.
Bagozzi, R. P., & Heatherton, T. F. (1994). A general approach to representing multifaceted personality constructs: Application to state self-esteem. Structural Equation Modelling, 1, 35-67.
Bass, B. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.
Bass, B. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, 19-31.
Bass, B. (1992). Assessing the charismatic leader. In M. Syrett & C. Hogg, (Eds.), Frontiers of leadership (pp. 414-418). Blackwell: Oxford, U.K.
Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper & Row.
Bernardin, H., Dahmus, S. A., & Redmon, G. (1993). Attitudes of first-line supervisors toward subordinate appraisals. Human Resource Management, 32, 315-324.
Bollen, K., & Long, J. S. (1992). Tests for structural equation models. Sociological Methods and Research, 21, 123-131.
Brown, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternate ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Bryman, A. (1992). Charisma and leadership in organisations. London: Sage Publications.
Carless, S. A. (1995). Transformational leadership and Australian bank managers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Cohen, R. J., Swerdlik, M. E., & Smith, D. K. (1992). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (2nd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Conger, J., & Kanungo, R. (1994). Charismatic leadership in organizations: Perceived behavioural attributes and their measurement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 439-452.
Conger, J., & Kanungo, R. (1988a). Behavioural dimensions of charismatic leadership. In J. Conger, R. Kanungo, & Associates. Charismatic leadership: The elusive factor in organisational effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Conger, J., & Kanungo, R. (1988b). The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice. Academy of Management Review, 13, 471-482.
Coulson-Thomas, C., & Coe, T. (1991). The flat organization: Philosophy and practice. Corby: BIM.
Crocker, L., & Algina, J. (1986). Introduction to classical and modern test theory. New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston.
Cudeck, R. (1989). Analysis of correlation matrices using covariance structure models. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 317-327.
Cuttance, P. (1987). Issues and problems in the application of structural equation models. In P. Cuttance, & R. Ecob (Eds.), Structural modelling by example: Applications in educational, sociological, and behavioral research (pp. 241-279). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cuttance, P., & Ecob, P. (1987). Introduction. In P. Cuttance, & R. Ecob (Eds.), Structural modelling by example: Applications in educational, sociological, and behavioral research (pp. 1-8). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39-50.
Gerbing, D., & Anderson, J. (1992). Monte Carlo evaluations of goodness of fit indices for structural equation models. Sociological Methods and Research, 21, 132-160.
Gerbing, D., & Hamilton, J. G. (1996). Viability of exploratory factor analysis as a precursor to confirmatory factor analysis. Structural Equation Modelling, 3, 62-72.
Gome, A. (1994, 16 May). Breaking down the macho culture. Business Review Weekly, 42-45.
Griffin, D., & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Models of the self and other: Fundamental dimensions underlying measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430-445.
Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Hater, J., & Bass, B. (1988). Superiors' evaluations and subordinates' perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 695-702.
Hegarty, W. H. (1974). Using subordinate ratings to elicit behavioural change in supervisors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, 764-766.
Hemphill, J. K., & Coons, A. E. (1957). Development of the leader behavior description questionnaire. In R. M. Stogdill & A. E. Coons (Eds.), Leader behavior: Its description and measurement. Columbus: Ohio State University Bur. Business Res. Monograph No 88.
Howell, J. M., & Avolio, B. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated-business-unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 891-902.
Howell, J. M., & Higgins, C. A. (1990). Champions of change: Identifying, understanding, and supporting champions of technological innovations. Organizational Dynamics, Summer, 40-55.
Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills. Enterprising Nation Vol 1 and 2. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Services.
Joreskog, K., & Sorbom, D. (1993). LISREL 8: User's reference guide. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software International Co.
Judd, C., Jessor, R., & Donovan, J. (1986). Structural equation models and personality research. Journal of Personality, 54, 149-198.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (1987). The leadership challenge: How to get extraordinary things done in organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (1990). Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI): A self-assessment and analysis. San Diego Pfeiffer & Co.
Larson, C. E., & LaFasto, F. M. (1989). Team-work: What must go right/what can go wrong. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Loehlin, J. C. (1992). Latent variables models: An introduction to factor, path, and structural analysis (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
McDonald, R. P., & Marsh, H. W. (1990). Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 247-255.
Messick, S. (1989). Validity. In R. L. Linn (Ed.), Educational measurement, (3rd ed., pp. 13-103). New York: American Council on Education and Mcmillan Publishing Co.
Murphy, K. R., & Davidshofer, C. O. (1994). Psychological testing: Principles and applications (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Nadler, D., & Tushman, M. (1990). Beyond the charismatic leader: Leadership and organisational change. California Management Review, 32, 77-97.
Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., Moorman, S., & Fetter, R. (1990). Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers' trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Leadership Quarterly, 1, 107-142.
Ragins, B. R. (1989). Power and gender congruency effects in evaluations of male and female managers. Journal of Management, 15, 65-76.
Riechmann, D. (1992). High involvement, high performance teams in higher education: The impact of leadership. In K. E. Clark, M. B. Clark, & D. P. Campbell (Eds.), Impact of leadership (pp. 257-268). Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.
Rubio, D. M., & Gillespie, D. F. (1995). Problems with error in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modelling, 2, 367-378.
Sashkin, M. (1988). Visionary leadership. In J. Conger, R. Kanungo & Associates. Charismatic leadership: The elusive factor in organizational effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sashkin, M. (1990). The visionary leader trainer guide: Leader Behavior Questionnaire (3rd ed.). Pennsylvania: Organisation Development and Design.
Schaubroeck, J., & Kuehn, K. (1992). Research design in industrial and organisational psychology. In C. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International Review of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Volume 7 (pp. 99-121). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
Seltzer, J., & Bass, B. (1990). Transformational leadership: Beyond initiation and consideration. Journal of Management, 16, 693-703.
Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory. Organization Science, 4, 577-594.
Smither, J. W., London, M., Vasilopoulous, Reilly, R. R., Millsap, R. E., & Salvemini, N. (1995). An examination of the effects of an upward feedback program over time. Personnel Psychology, 48, 1-34.
Stevens, J. J. (1995). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Iowa tests of basic skills. Structural Equation Modelling, 2, 214-231.
Tichy, N. M., & Devanna, M. A. (1986). Transformational leadership. New York: Wiley.
Tjosvold, D., Andrews, I. R., & Struthers, J. (1991). Power and interdependence on work groups: Views of managers and employees. Group & Organization Studies, 16, 285-299.
Walderman, D., Bass, B., & Yammarino, F. (1990). Adding to contingent-reward behavior: The augmenting effect of charismatic leadership. Group and Organizational Studies, 15, 381-394.
Wawn, T., Green, J., and others, Barraclough & Co. (1995). Experienced insights: Opinions of Australian managers, ideals, strengths & weaknesses. In Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills. Enterprising Nation Vol. 1 (pp. 521-586). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Services.
Yammarino, F. J., & Bass, B. (1990). Long-term forecasting of transformational leadership and its effects among naval officers: Some preliminary findings. In K. E. Clark, & M. B. Clark, (Eds.), Measures of leadership (pp. 171-184). West Orange, NJ: Leadership Library of America.
Yukl, G. (1994). Leadership in organisations (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carless, S.A., Wearing, A.J. & Mann, L. A Short Measure of Transformational Leadership. Journal of Business and Psychology 14, 389–405 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022991115523
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022991115523