Motivation to Lead and Leadership Development: Relevance for the Selection and Performance of Managers

Motivation to lead (MtL) mediates the relationship between personality and leadership (Stiehl, Gatzka et al., 2015). With a sample of 296 employees we assessed the mediation effect of MtL in the relationship between personality and leadership potential in assessment centers. Affective MtL always appeared as an important mediator, whereas calculative MtL had a significant, although negative, effect in the personnel selection assessment only. We then conducted a second study with 140 employees to investigate the long-term success of highly intrinsic motivated leaders and to examine the interplay with other motives. The staff only appreciated a high affective MtL when it came with a low need for power. The positive relation between affective MtL and the number of subordinate employees was dampened by a high avoidance of leadership. The results extend the knowledge of MtL in a different context and can be used for the selection and training of leaders.