The Leadership Motivation Assessment

How motivated are you to lead?

The first and most basic prerequisite for leadership is the desire to lead. After all, becoming an effective leader takes hard work. If you're not prepared to work hard at developing your leadership skills or if, deep down, you're really not sure whether you want to lead or not, you'll struggle to become an effective leader.

Are you motivated to lead? This assessment helps you find the answer.

How to Use the Tool:

To use this tool, show the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements on a scale running from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).

#	Question	Strongly Disagree (1)	2	3	4	Strongly Agree (5)
1	I am energized when people count on me for ideas.
2	As a practice, I ask people challenging questions when we are working on projects together.
3	I take delight in complimenting people that I work with when progress is made.
4	I find it easy to be the cheerleader for others, when times are good and when times are bad.
5	Team accomplishment is more important to me than my own personal accomplishments.
6	People often take my ideas and run with them.
7	When involved in group projects, building team cohesiveness is important to me.
8	When involved in group projects, coaching others is an activity that I gravitate toward.
9	I find pleasure in recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of others.
10	When involved in group projects, my team members’ problems are my problems.
11	Resolving interpersonal conflict is an activity that I enjoy.
12	When involved in group projects, I frequently find myself to be an “idea generator.”
13	When involved in group projects, I am inclined to let my ideas be known.
14	I find pleasure in being a convincing person.
	Total of weighted scores (see instructions):

Score Interpretation

Score	Comment
14-27	This implies a low motivation to lead
28-55	This implies some uncertainty over your motivation to lead
56-70	This implies a strong motivation to lead.

Source: This set of questions was constructed for this self-assessment and for illustrative purposes only. No prior validation work has been conducted that enables us to address the construct validity of this assessment. This self-assessment was patterned after that of A. J. DuBrin in Leadership: Research Findings, Practice and Skills (2nd edition) (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998). Pp. 10-11.

Armed with the results from this self-test, your next step depends on your situation.

If you have found that you're strongly motivated to lead, and you're already a leader – great! And if you're not already a leader, this is definitely an area you should investigate as you plan your career development.

On the other hand, if your score indicates that you don't have a strong motivation to lead, and you're considering moving into this area, you may want to look at other career options before you make a decision. Our article on Finding Career Direction will help you work through a process to find out what type of work does motivate you.

But if you're already a leader and you're just going through a low patch in the role, try out leadership motivation tools and regain the enthusiasm for the job that took you into leadership in the first place!

This test is one of five essential leadership assessments contained within Mind Tools’ “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” course. This teaches the 48 essential skills needed to be an effective leader in today’s workplace. Click here to find our more about “How to Lead"

MindTools.com - Join Our Community!

Where to go from here:		Join Mind Tools		Newsletter
		Download and Print		Next Article

New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club members

A Bit of Perfume - Giving praise, by Bruna Martinuzzi
Blake Mouton Managerial Grid - Balancing task and people-oriented leadership
Working in Virtual Teams - Team working that overcomes time and space*
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions - Understanding values around the World
The Uncertainty Factor - by Bruna Martinuzzi
Optimism - The hidden asset, by Bruna Martinuzzi
A Leader's Mood - The dimmer switch of performance, by Bruna Martinuzzi
Humility - The most beautiful word in the English language, by Bruna Martinuzzi
"I Swear by Apollo" - Being accountable to yourself in leadership
What's Empathy Got to Do With It? by Bruna Martinuzzi
Cross Cultural Leadership*
Leading Equals - Motivating people effectively, without authority*
Crisis Planning - Preparing your response to the unexpected*

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

return to top

Learn to manage the stress in your life with our sister site, stress.mindtools.com.

Online Training
Mind Tools Store: Mind Tools Ebook, Make Time for Success
 Stress Management Masterclass, How to Lead
 Relaxation MP3s

© Mind Tools Ltd, 1995-2010, All Rights Reserved

We welcome appropriate reprinting and reuse of Mind Tools material,
however, you must get our permission first!
To do this, please visit our Permissions Center.

Newsletter · Store · Corporate Services · Search · Advertisers

MindTools.com is one of the Internet's most-visited career skills resources.
Click here to see analysis.