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 or disagree with each of the following statements on a scale running from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).

For each statement, check the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the 'wrong direction'. When you are finished, please total your scores and add to the “My Total” column at the bottom of the test.

# Question 1. Strongly Disagree

2. 3. 4. 5. Strongly Agree

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.

My Total =

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.

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!