Leadership and motivation-to-serve (MTS).

Abstract

A new construct, entitled "Motivation-to-serve" (MTS) is introduced. I defined MTS as an individual difference construct that affects an individual's (a leader's) willingness to promote the interests of his/her subordinates in the workplace. To enhance the theoretical understanding of the new construct, I first proposed nomological network of relevant factors that relate to MTS. Based on existing literature on servant leadership and mentoring, I developed a scale to measure an individual's MTS, and evaluated its validity in three different studies. Results from Study 1 (comprising 147 leaders) showed that after removing three negatively-worded items, the 6-item MTS scale (alpha coefficient = 0.79) was unidimensional, and distinct from, but related to, transformational and laissez-faire leadership behaviors. Results from Study 2 (comprising 157 leaders) further demonstrated that MTS (alpha coefficient = 0.90) was distinct from the construct of motivation-to-lead, another individual difference construct in the leadership literature.